EXCELLENT  
  
 Based on 283 reviews 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 Claudia B 
 
 
 
 Verified 
Five days I will never forget
Wonderful place with very caring staff. As a guest, one feels safe and well cared for in every way. The dives are adapted to the customers' wishes and abilities. It's a bit tough with the sailing sometimes, you should be in reasonably good shape 😊. Advantage if you come by car since there isn't much to do in the vicinity. But even here the staff patiently helps with suggestions and transfers if you wish. Everything I ate at their restaurant was super tasty, large portions for very reasonable prices. Highly recommended!
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 Grace2764 
 
 
 
 Verified 
Best spot for diving and encountering sharks.
What can we say: We loved the very professional crew, the dive instructors Chris, Travis and Chuck, and skipper Cammy, did a more than wonderful job by giving us the best experience in snorkeling and the baited shark dive our son had. It all felt safe, and that is what you want. So thank you! The restaurants is ok with an extinctive menu.Had all our meals there, since there is really nothing around, unless you have a car and willing to drive. There aren’t many Ubers by the way. So order a taxi to get back to Durban if you fly back like we did. We stayed 3 nights.
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 Russell K 
 
 
 
 Verified 
Best customer experience is top of their list
We went down for the snorkel with sharks experience and man, it was absolutely awesome to get so close to these creatures. The staff were amazing, friendly, helpful and comforting to those that were a little sceptical. YOU CANNY GO WRONG WITH THIS AMAZING TEAM!!
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 SPApoints 
 
 
 
 Verified 
Great Service at a Beautiful Dive Site
Blue Ocean Dive Resort is a fantastic home base for diving on the famous Aliwal Shoal. The dive shop and instructors are fantastic, and the lodge itself offers all the amenities that one could want from a dive resort. Check-in: We arrived in the evening from Durban Airport. For an extra fee (~$50), the resort arranged transport for us from the airport, which I'm thankful that I booked. I found the Uber situation in Durban area to be less robust than in Cape Town and Johannesburg, so it was nice to have transportation already set up when we arrived. Staff were helpful at getting us to our room and gave us a briefing for what to expect for diving the next day. Room: Our room was clean and well-appointed, with just about everything one might expect from a 3 or 4 star hotel in South Africa. Daily housekeeping kept the room very clean, but there was inevitable residual sand in some places. Our room was at the back of the property and well isolated from any noise in the restaurant or dive center. Amenities: The restaurant is delicious and affordable, which is a good thing given the small quantity of dining options available in Umkomaas. Breakfast is included in the accommodation rate, and is available a la carte at the restaurant. The restaurant opens at 8am though, so expect to eat after you dive if you're scheduled on a morning boat. There is a small pool on site, but it was much too cold to swim in during our winter visit. Diving: The diving at Aliwal shoal, though sometimes quite rough, was excellent. On our first day of diving, we had 12 meters of visibility and saw some great wildlife. The second day had a much stronger current and lower visibility, but we still saw quite a lot. Blue Ocean has fantastic divemasters and instructors to make your experience a positive one. I worked with DeeAnn and Chucky to finish my open water certification and they were both fantastic instructors. Turner and Travis were excellent divemasters who clearly had deep knowledge of the areas we were diving. Blue Ocean's dive shop also includes many small features to make the diving experience great. They offer an excellent variety of high quality rental gear, including both open and closed fin styles. They also have abundant shower facilities in the dive shop, which is great for warming up or cleaning off if you don't want to head back to your room. Blue Ocean is considered a PADI five-star shop for good reason. Bottom line: I had a fantastic experience diving at Aliwal shoal, and Blue Ocean was a fantastic place to do it. I have much more to see and hope to come back!
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 Mike & Karina 
 
 
 
 Verified 
Great facilities, equipment and staff
Staff and facilities were excellent, Georgia and Turner our dive masters did a great job and were excellent guides.
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 Tourist62908125872 
 
 
 
 Verified 
5 star resort diving a 5 star dive site.
4th or more visit now and as great as ever. No minimum boat load so when you book you know you will dive - they take the risk not you. Super slick operation, no trouble is too small for them to help with. Divemasters and skippers are all very professional (speaking as a dive instructor). As for Aliwal, its not rated as one of the best shark dive locations in the world for no reason. Popped in for the day and saw 17 oceanic blacktip and 2 bull sharks in 30m+ visibility on the 1st dive. 2nd dive a giant manta ray. Then back in the centre for 11am. Go with Blue Ocean and you won't regret it.
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 Flyer16123330510 
 
 
 
 Verified 
UH...MAZING!
What a phenomenal place. The food is amazing, they're all hospitable - Staff, Management, EVERYONE. The food is amazing, the beers are cold, I'm from Jo'burg and this place is like nothing I've seen over there. Also, the patrons are so friendly and welcoming. Just WOW!!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 Martina 
 
 
 
 Verified 
The place to be for the best diving!!
Blue ocean is the perfect place for divers!! Hotel, restaurant and dive center all nicely located in the same building. The dive team takes extremely good care of the divers so they can experience top diving at Aliwal shoal reefs. Luc had a wonderful time!! This was our second visit and although there is not much to do for a non diver like myself, the Blue ocean team was very helpful and caring for me and their enthousiasm made my stay a pleasant one as well. Big Thanks to the entire staff at blue ocean!! Georgia, Cammy, Chuck,Turner and last but not least Natasha and Gary, plse take care and hopefuly see you again !! Luc and Martina
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 michel o 
 
 
 
 Verified 
Extra stay!
I just spent a week there not knowing exactly what was waiting for me, well the result was far beyond what I could have imagined. The whole stay went very well. I very warm and friendly welcome from Georgia, Chris, Klu....the "ladies" of the club. Spectacular dives with sharks, the Protea reef... The very professional and very safe supervision of the dive masters, Chucky, Jason ... nothing is left to chance, everything is impeccably organized. What positive reviews about this club is to say! It is very rare to find a place with such an atmosphere. That one desire is to go back.
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Posted on Tripadvisor  
 
  
 
 
 Emma D 
 
 
 
 Verified 
Diving
Diving is just out of this world and the staff are incredible. From the minute we arrived till we left we felt like family. Everybody is so nice and always with a smile. Dive masters and boat skippers also giving us such an unforgettable experience. Came here hoping for some sharks but never expected the Greater Hammerhead and the Great White to be on my list and not only seeing them once but twice😀 We will be back soon 😎Thank you to all the team for such an amazing holiday.