Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Our resort caters to divers giving a homely feel from the minute you walk in. Mi casa es su casa! Our accommodation is comfortable with a rustic feel so you know you're by the sea and on holiday. Having the bar restaurant and dive centre on one premises means you get to roll out of bed and into your wetsuit with a vibey chill area after diving. You can hide your car keys from yourself for the duration of your stay and mingle with our friendly staff and fellow divers.
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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.
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Date of stay: November 2024
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Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
❤️ Loved it!!!!❤️ Great experience. The dives delivered all I could wish for. Sharks, dolphins, rays, turtles, colorful fish and beautiful reefs. Blue ocean will get my best recommendations. The dive staff were professional, helpful and outstanding in every way. Everything was organized and I could relax and concentrate about next dive as everything was catered for. My equipment was washed and dried after each dive day. The tank was changed during the surface time between the dives, everything ready for departure the next mooring. Only thing you had to do was suit up and eat a sea sick pill.
I will go back next year ❤️
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Date of stay: March 2024Trip type: Travelled with friends
Room Tip:Remember sea sick pills
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Blue Ocean Dive Resort (dive with us - stay with us) is not only characterized by high quality and service. In addition to TOP equipment, it is above all the motivated and helpful local people (whether they are dive centres, guides, chefs, service, restaurants, ...) that make the customer's heart beat faster. My husband and I felt very well looked after and part of the team - from the beginning to the end. If you had a wish, they tried to fulfill it (whether it was the room or the diving). The rooms are all gradually renovated and are very nice and lovingly decorated. Also the food was always very tasty and high quality and was freshly prepared. Diving with the Zodiac from the river / beach is always an experience; especially riding through the surf. The skippers know exactly what they are doing and know almost every wave. The guides are very well trained or have many years of experience (such as Rae). This then also benefits the divers themselves. Diving to South Africa is not for "sissis." That's right. It is generally demanding and no bath diving (rather sometimes like in a washing machine;-) "insider on site". It is always a good experience and is definitely fun. Those who want to see sharks will not be disappointed here. On (almost) every dive we had seen some. 7mm and head hood are mandatory (we had 20-22 degrees water temperature). The surface breaks take place naturally on the Zodiac and are immersed with Nitrox, whereby you can freely choose the bottle size. We liked it very much - we plan to come back.
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Date of stay: November 2024
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My “future son-in-law” and I once again decided to visit Blue Ocean Dive Resort, this time to complete our PADI Deep and Wreck speciality courses. My wife and daughter, who were unable to join us on our previous visit, joined us for the last two nights and had a great time. As the accommodation, restaurant, bar, and dive centre are all on the same premises, the eat, sleep, dive, repeat, daily routine is extremely convenient, and even though my wife does not dive, she enjoyed just chilling and relaxing at the lodge.
Once again from the moment we arrived we were made to feel a part of the Blue Ocean family, and the hospitality and friendship that was extended to us by Gary, Nicki and the rest of the Blue Ocean team was exceptional and greatly appreciated.
Our rooms were spacious, clean and comfortable with ensuite bathrooms and showers. The aircons in the rooms added to the comfort, and the electric kettles were very convenient.
We ate most our meals at the restaurant which has a good varied menu, and the food was superb, particularly the all-day breakfasts, the pizzas and the milkshakes. The evening entertainment, including live music and karaoke was great fun.
With regards to diving, everything was handled extremely well by the experienced, competent, and friendly staff, including organizing rental equipment, the dive planning, the “shuttle” ride to the beach, and getting to the dive sites by rubber inflatable boats, which for each trip was an exhilarating experience, handled exceptionally well by skilled and experienced skippers.
Our dives at numerous sites were incredible, including the Produce Wreck, the Nebo Wreck, Bay of Caves, Cathedral, Baff Cave, South Sands, Eelskins, Raggies Cave, Shark Alley, and Garden of Eden. A special word of thanks to Julia who is extremely pleasant, professional, and knowledgeable, who went out of her way to ensure that we were safe and well looked after at all times, and that we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Whilst diving we saw lots of amazing marine life, including ragged tooth sharks, bull sharks, white tip sharks, devil ray, round ribbon tail ray, blue spotted stingray, marbled electric ray, grey spotted guitar fish, honeycomb moray eel, yellow mouth moray, potato bass, tomato rock cod, lionfish, scorpion fish, stonefish, trigger fish, parrot fish, pipefish, and many other fascinating marine fish.
We also went on a baited shark dive which once again was brilliant and definitely worth it, being surrounded by oceanic blacktip sharks swimming all around us, enabling us to appreciate and observe these impressive sharks up really close in their own environment.
Overall, we had an awesome stay at Blue Ocean with plenty incredible diving and cannot wait to return once again.
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Date of stay: December 2021
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Nicki Gibson, General Manager at Blue Ocean Dive Resort
Responded 04 Dec 2022
Aaaaaaaaah!!! Thank you so much for the awesome review Mr Weston :) :) :) We're super happy always when you leave here happy. We can't wait for your next visit, this time we'll be putting your names on the wall! whoop whoop!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
spent the week diving with the BODR team. Most excellent choice, lekker like a cracker even ! Had dived with others here on previous trips thought we'd try BODR, for a change and delighted we did. Facilities at the base are as good as anywhere we've dived worldwide - clear communication, great organisation pre departure each day, good hire gear, friendly service from Crystal and AD who are always on hand to assist, great dive guides (Kyle and Rae) and expert boat skippers Malcolm and Cam will get you out and back safely thru the surf break along with great sense of humour and customer service from the team too. These guys know the sites, baited shark dives are excellent and reef dives were pretty good too. The reef Viz can be up and down (they can't control that!!) Whatever the conditions they work hard to try make every dive a good one. When you get back hot showers and great wash down areas to clean dry gear, excellent camera bay for charging set up and safe storage of gear, hot coffee and toast and a great restaurant on site if you want it. Faultless, will definitely use these guys in future when we return - thanks for an awesome time, our family loved diving with you guys !!
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Date of stay: April 2023
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Room Tip:Use their WhatsApp they have great daily communication on here
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This was our second time here, and it’s so incredible that we’re already planning to come back every year! The diving experience is simply out of this world - expert dive masters, skilled skippers, and an underwater paradise like no other. From thrilling shark encounters (blacktip, whitetip, bull, reef sharks, and more!) to majestic mantas, graceful rays, and vibrant schools of fish, every dive is an adventure. Macro lovers will be in heaven too, with nudibranchs and even millimeter-sized marine wonders - perfect for photographers and videographers alike.
Beyond diving, the resort itself is just as amazing. The apartments are nice and comfortable, with brand-new bathrooms, air conditioning, and reliable Wi-Fi. And the food? Absolutely delicious!
Best of all, the price for a 10-day diving trip is surprisingly affordable. So, my final words?
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!
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Date of stay: February 2025
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Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Try it and you will not regret it - you have my word!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I spent 10 days at the resort which is in need of some refurbishment. The room was surprisingly good and was cleaned daily. The restaurant has a wide range of food and drinks, many people come from elsewhere to dine there. The dive centre itself is well kept but it lacks of proper communication between staff/DMs and divers. Good thing that diving in Aliwal Shoal is a gif that keeps on giving.
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Date of stay: January 2025
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Location
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Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Great experience snorkeling on the aliwal shoal woth Blue Ocean. Good, consistent communication while making the arrangements around changing weather and friendly service once I got there. Skilled crew that know what they're doing, including making the guests comfortable. I would definitely suggest this, especially for a solo traveller.
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Date of stay: August 2024Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Truly world-class dive centre. Friendly and helpful crew - they made us feel relaxed and welcome. Thanks Ash for helping with gear. Tea, coffee and toast is available upon arrival. Fun boat ride out, felt safe and secure even in big swell - thanks Malcolm. Saw many raggies and Kyle was a great DM, even found some raggies teeth for us. Hot chocolate and fruit on the boat after the dive, and we were offered jackets to keep us warm. Hot showers afterwards and the crew took care of washing the gear, which was a blessing. I would recommend Blue Ocean to everyone I know.
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Date of stay: July 2023Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
What a GREAT experience - from the minute you are greeted on your arrival, until the sad farewells, this place and its staff are amazing. Everything is explained, nothing is too much trouble and the diving on Aliwal Shoal is just out of this world. We had a few dives where the weather and visibility were not playing along, the boat skipper simply drew on his extensive experience and found us a different party of the reef that DID allow us to dive. Equipment is of the highest quality and if you have any issues, it is immediately checked, sorted or changed as needed.
Thank you Rae and the rest of The Blue Ocean Dive Resort for helping us make memories - we WILL be back: Bruce and Brent
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Date of stay: January 2024
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Umkomaas area.
LOCATION
South AfricaKwaZulu-NatalUmkomaas
NUMBER OF ROOMS
27
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