Continuing on my most recent article about scuba diving, I thought I would share with you some places that I feel make great diving with sharks. Sharks are amazing and powerful animals. Although sharks are carnivorous, they do not preferentially prey on scuba divers or even humans in general. There is risk in everything we do, but we do not stop doing things we need to do or enjoy doing because of a small risk. I still drive cars and boats, and I will scuba dive with sharks at every chance I get! So, lets get on with the list:
1. Bahamas
This was the spot of the last time I went shark diving with Stuarts Cove. It is also probably the number one place on every divers bucket list. The main place to look however is Tiger Beach which is a shallow sand fat where divers not only get within touching distance of multiple tiger sharks, but also Caribbean reefs, lemons and occasional hammerheads that join in the mix.
2. Maui, Hawaii
Maui is blessed with an abundance of dive locations, from turtle-laden nearshore reefs to the open-ocean cinder-cone Molokini and the dramatic lava formations of Lanai. Maui insiders also know of a secret dive site where scalloped hammerheads mysteriously congregate. The site, called Fish Rain, sits of the coast of nearby Molokai. It’s visited by only a handful of dive boats, like Lahaina Divers, which makes a weekly run for an advanced drift dive among the highly sought-after sharks, which can include gray reef and Galapagos. Lahaina Divers also takes small groups to a secluded part of Lanai where you can kayak, snorkel or try stand-up paddleboarding.
3. Fiji
Fiji, primarily the Beqa Lagoon region, is considered one of the best shark dives in the world, Fiji’s Beqa Lagoon is famous for encounters with as many as eight species of sharks at one time, including tigers, bulls, sicklefin lemons and many more. The long-running feeding program happens at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve, a marine park created specifically for research and conservation of sharks. The departure point for the shark dive is Pacifc Harbour on Viti Levu, which is also where you can join a white-water-rafting excursion to the Upper Navua Gorge, home to some of the most dramatic and formidable terrain in the South Pacific.
4. Rhode Island, USA
Plunge into chilly North Atlantic waters for a cage dive with some of the fastest fish in the sea. Slender and shimmering blue sharks make regular appearances, but the guests of honor are the powerfully aggressive and lightning-fast mako sharks. Do double duty on the Snappa by hitting the Gulf Stream on a deep-sea fishing adventure.
5. Belize
Drawn by schools of spawning snapper, whale sharks show up like clockwork at Belize’s Gladden Spit between the months of March and June. This experience is open to both divers and snorkelers, as whale-shark sightings near the surface are common when the animals surface to feed. The best days for whale-shark encounters of the Placencia coast are around the full moon each month of the season, when the spawning action reaches its zenith. Once you’ve gone face to face with the biggest fish in the sea, turn your gaze inland, where the jungles of Belize conceal a network of caves and underground rivers. Take an inner-tube float through a jungle cave system or go spelunking to explore ancient Maya artifacts.
6. San Diego, California
Southern California has one of the best spots to catch a glimpse of blazing-fast shortfin mako sharks. These open-ocean hunters follow their food to the San Diego coast from June to November; divers often spot them alongside sleek blue sharks. Here you get the chance to go sans cage with both of these beautiful pelagic predators at one time. San Diego is also home to one of the most pic- turesque coastlines in the country. Spend a day exploring the clifs of La Jolla by kayak, where you can paddle inside wave-carved sea caves and snorkel among the kelp forests.
7. Costa Rica
Take a liveaboard from Coast Rica’s Pacific coast to the Cocos Island Marine Park, where you can do four dives a day with schooling hammerheads, marlin and filter-feeding manta rays against towering volcanic rock formations. Drop down on the legendary seamount Bajo Alcyone, and you’ll share the water column with a half-dozen shark species, not to mention pelagics like sailfish, tuna and wahoo. Between dives, outdoor adventurers can go ashore on this remote isle to hike and swim in the jungle waterfalls of this pristine island in the Pacific, where remote rainforests have earned the island UNESCO World Heritage status.
8. South Africa
The original home of great-white cage diving can be found in one of the wildest corners of the ocean. The southern sea of South Africa is a hotbed of shark activity, where apex predators cruise the temperamental waters for abundant local fur seals. Set out from Gansbaai for an undersea safari you’ll never forget when you slip into a cage alongside toothed behemoths the size of school buses. Those watching the experience from the boat won’t be disappointed, as the deck provides an all-around view of the sharks as they circle and descend. And then experience a topside safari in the famed Kruger National Park, where you have incredible odds of firsthand encounters with the Big Five: lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and buffalo.
I hope these locations were enticing enough for you to want to explore all that is shark diving. Who knows, maybe one of these dives I will see you on the dive with me and under the water. Until next time, stay frosty my friends and may you dive plentifully.
