Maritime Museum

The Maritime Museum is the main building of the Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex in Mossel Bay, the bay where Dias landed in 1488 on the Portuguese voyage around the Cape. Its centrepiece is a full-size replica of his caravel, and it is the reason most people stop here on the Garden Route. Around the ship are displays on Portuguese, Dutch and English seafaring along this coast, which makes it a solid hour for anyone curious about the age of sail.

What to expect

The caravel was built in Portugal by the Samuel & Filho’s shipyard and sailed to Mossel Bay for the 500th anniversary of Dias’s voyage, arriving in 1988 after a three-month passage. Getting it indoors meant dismantling part of the ship, sliding it across on greased timbers and hoisting it in through a gap cut in the back of the building. That building went up in 1901 as a mill for wheat and timber and was converted to a museum in 1987. Look out for the tiled mural of Adamastor, the sea giant of Portuguese legend. Since 2002 the upper floor has carried local history displays.

The same complex includes the Shell Museum, with aquariums, the Granary, and the Post Office Tree, where a Portuguese captain left a letter in 1500.

Practical details

The complex is at 1 Market Street, Mossel Bay. It opens Monday to Friday, 9am to 4:45pm, and on weekends and public holidays, 9am to 3:45pm. It is closed on Christmas Day and Good Friday. Telephone +27 44 691 1067 or email info@diasmuseum.co.za.

Good to know

The museum’s website says the caravel is closed for boarding until further notice, so you can view it from the floor but not walk the deck. Check before you go if climbing aboard matters to you. The Post Office Tree and the Shell Museum are a few steps away and need little extra time.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Sources: Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex, Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex, Maritime Museum, Wikipedia.