Duration: 8 days / 7 nights

Number of participants: 4 - 8

Price per person:

• €3,900 with 8 participants, or
• €4,300 with 6–7 participants, or
• €4,650 with 4–5 participants.

10% early-bird discount for bookings made by 22 October 2026

Everything is included except:

– international flights to East London and back
– medical insurance
– South African visa (not required for Russian citizens)

Approximate flight costs:
– Johannesburg – East London – Johannesburg: USD 250,

Flights are usually purchased independently; we provide consultation and assistance.

Single occupancy: available upon request, subject to availability


TRIP PROGRAM: SOUTH AFRICA


Day 1. 30 May 2027. ARRIVAL IN EAST LONDON

We arrive in East London — a quiet coastal city in southeastern South Africa, where white-sand beaches and old piers stretch into the ocean at the mouth of the Buffalo River. Once a port where British ships would dock, today it serves as the gateway to the Wild Coast and the beginning of our route.
At the airport, a group transfer will take us to Mdumbi. The five-hour drive will fly by: every hour, the landscape outside the window seems to turn another page — hills, fields, villages, ocean. We’ll stop at a supermarket to stock up on food for the next five days and our favourite snacks for the road. Bring whatever you can’t imagine travelling without: water, fruit, coffee in a thermos, chocolate.
By evening, we arrive in Mdumbi — a village at the edge of the continent. We’ll meet the local team, check in, have dinner and attend our first evening lecture on marine biology and what awaits us ahead.

*Recommended flights to East London, South Africa:
– Airlink: departure from Johannesburg at 10:30 on 30 May, arrival in East London at 12:00 on 30 May, or
– Airlink: departure from Johannesburg at 18:05 on 29 May, arrival in East London at 19:30 on 29 May,
– Etihad: departure from Moscow at 12:40 on 29 May, 7-hour overnight layover in Abu Dhabi, arrival in Johannesburg at 08:20 on 30 May, or
– Emirates: departure from Moscow at 23:10 on 28 May, 4 h 25 min layover in Dubai, arrival in Johannesburg at 16:15 on 29 May, or
– any other flight arriving in East London before noon on 30 May or the evening before.

Meals included: dinner
Accommodation: traditional huts


Day 2. 31 May 2027. HEADING OUT INTO THE OCEAN

We wake up before sunrise — the ocean doesn’t wait. Breakfast, getting ready, adjusting our equipment. Today we put on our wetsuits for the first time — and see them dry for the first time too :)
We head out into the ocean at around 7:30 and return to shore at approximately 15:00 — everything depends on the weather and the will of the ocean.
This is our first day of whale encounters. We head out to sea with the local team — a skipper and a marine biologist who know this stretch of ocean like the back of their hands. With every wave, you’ll understand that you’re in safe hands.
After returning, we rest. You can go for yoga or a massage, or take a short hike, go kayaking, or explore Mdumbi on foot (optional activities are available at an additional cost). Dinner in the evening.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation included: traditional huts


Days 3–7. 1–5 June 2027. DAYS IN THE OCEAN. THE SARDINE RUN

We get up before sunrise, have a quick breakfast, grab our gear — and soon we’re gliding across the first light of day. It may seem like every day is the same? Not at all — the ocean always finds a way to surprise us.
As the migration season begins, millions of sardines move along the coast of South Africa in the famous “Sardine Run” — one of the largest natural phenomena on the planet. These silver shoals attract dolphins, sharks and seabirds. Humpback whales also join the spectacle, following the fish and creating a true underwater symphony of movement. This is a unique opportunity to dive into a “silver tunnel” of sardines, observe their synchronized movements and witness their interaction with predators in the wild.
Today, dolphins race us for speed, while a sea turtle lazily drifts along the horizon. Tomorrow, a snake suddenly surfaces, and around the next corner the waves bring a bait ball to the surface — the marine world lives according to its own unpredictable rhythm. And always, always nearby are humpback whales: majestic, curious, sometimes playful, as if they know exactly why we came.
In the quiet moments between these encounters, we learn to listen to the ocean, observe the reefs and try freediving — feeling the water become part of our bodies, our breathing synchronizing with the tides. Every day is a small expedition of its own, filled with discoveries and unexpected encounters. And every evening we return to shore with the feeling that we have seen something that only the vast ocean remembers.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation included: traditional huts


Day 8. 6 June 2027. RETURN HOME

After breakfast, transfer to East London Airport. We can choose an evening flight or stay overnight in a hotel and fly out the following day.

**Recommended flights from East London, South Africa:

– Safair: departure from East London at 17:10 on 6 June, arrival in Johannesburg at 18:40 on 6 June
– Airlink: departure from East London at 12:35 on 7 June, arrival in Johannesburg at 14:05 on 7 June (additional night)
*Recommended flights from Johannesburg to Moscow:
– Emirates: departure from Johannesburg at 22:20 on 6 June, arrival in Dubai at 08:20 on 7 June (1 h 25 min layover)
– Qatar Airways: departure from Johannesburg at 20:40 on 7 June, 2 h 45 min layover in Doha, arrival in Moscow at 14:15 on 8 June, or
– any other flight departing from East London in the evening of 6 June or the following day.

Meals included: breakfast
Accommodation included: no

* The expedition is planned around favourable weather conditions. The number of days spent at sea, as well as the order and schedule of activities, may change. If part of the program cannot be carried out due to circumstances beyond our control, it will be replaced with an alternative activity.