Bayworld is focused on public education. It aims to stimulate a greater awareness of the need for conservation of our natural and cultural heritage. At Africa Deluxe Tours we prefer observing animals in the wild and we tend to cringe at the idea of animals in captivity. However, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the dolphin show offered daily at Bayworld. We expected a rather corny commercial event but found it not only highly entertaining but also very informative. A visit, especially attending the dolphin show, will be more than worth your while.

If you are really interested in dolphins and other marine life you should consider a guided boat based excursion onto the open ocean sometime during your trip. This best places to do this is from Plettenberg Bay through to Cape Town where various operators provide a professional, informative and highly entertaining service - as long as you're not prone to getting sea sick! We will gladly organise such an excursion for you. If you prefer to arrange it yourself make sure that you use an operator with a whale/ dolphin watching permit as issued by the relevant conservation authorities.

The Port Elizabeth Museum
Bayworld's museum addresses cultural and natural history. Displays range from prehistoric dinosaurs to ethnic beadwork and historical pieces. Noteworthy exhibits include a 15m skeleton of the last southern right whale harpooned in Algoa Bay (an activity long since banned), a life-size reconstruction of the giant prehistoric dinosaur Algoasaurus, a replica of the Dias Cross, a 5m bronze cannon dated 1640 and recovered from a Portuguese galleon wrecked near Port Elizabeth, scale reconstructions of shipwrecks and a display on the amaXhosa.

Oceanarium
The biggest attraction of the smallish oceanarium is the above mentioned dolphin shows (3 to 4 daily shows depending on the time of year). The Dolphin Pool also features an underwater viewing window to stare at the dolphins at they come gliding past. The dolphin show supports and is part of the oceanarium's in-house dolphin research centre. Exhibits within the Oceanarium include various smaller tanks for 40 different species of bony fish, as well as two larger tanks housing sharks and stingrays. If you are planning to visit Cape Town during your holiday the Two Oceans Aquarium at the V&A Waterfront is excellent - rather spend more time there and limit your visit here to the dolphin show.