If you’re looking for an unmatched adventure on your upcoming trip you’d be hard-pressed to find something better than swimming with the sharks. Once you get past their size and amount of teeth you’ll find that swimming with sharks is an incredibly memorable experience. In an effort to step outside and get a closer look at the world we’ve compiled a list of some of the best places around the globe for diving into the deep.
- Stuart's Cove in the Bahamas is where you can take a group of friends underwater to explore Caribbean reef sharks. You’ll soon find yourself close to the feeding site whereupon your second dive in you are able to be in control of the feeding trough and release food to see how they interact in the wild.
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Some of the clearest waters in the world are found in Fiji (pictured below) which makes it ideal for shark diving. One of the best places in this location is done with a group called the Bequa Adventure Divers. The highlight of their dives is called “The Shark Dive” and is often considered one of the best in the world. This famous dive will bring you face to face with up to eight different species of sharks one of which is the Bull Shark known to be one of the most dangerous to humans.
- Heading even further around the globe to New South Wales, Australia. Down under! There’s a certain spot called Fish Cave Rock where you’ll be treated to seeing fish, turtles, and moray eels. There are also some large, speckled Wobbegong Sharks on the eastern side of the cave. The South West Rocks Dive Center offers daily charter trips to take people out to see the cave.
- The largest group of Whale Sharks reside off the coast of Cancun, Mexico. The largest fish in the ocean is the Whale Shark and they come in weighing more than 27,000 lbs. While at the Keen M International Blue Water Encounters you can see Whale Sharks as well as Manta Rays, which typically swim with them, and feed them at the surface of the water.
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One of the very best places is the Bodufolhudhoo, Maldives (pictured below). You’ll need to make sure that you go to Atoll Scuba which is a popular diving site for divers of all skill levels. You can circumnavigate the entire area based on what the ocean current is doing on the day you go. The coral there is stunning and you’ll find yourself among Great Reef and Whitetip Sharks.
- No list of best places for shark diving is complete without mentioning Hawaii and Oahu is an incredible place to experience it. At the Hawaii Shark Encounter, they work to educate guests about ongoing problems in the ecosystem and how the illegal killing of sharks affects both smaller fish and humans. During your excursion, you’ll find Galapagos Sharks and even Tiger Sharks on some rare occasions.
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Playas del Coco, Costa Rica offers a rich diving experience unlike any other. Playas del Coco sits along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica where you’ll see turtles and octopi in addition to sharks as you swim.
- At the Oslob Whale Shark Watching tour in Oslob, Philippines you’ll discover that you have the option of either snorkeling with the Whale Sharks or just observing them down below from on a small boat. Usually, they will come right up to you! Few places on earth compare to the amazing surroundings you’ll find in the Philippines.
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In Gansbaai, South Africa (shown below) you can get as close to some Great White Sharks as is possible while staying safe. Visiting here will allow you to do some cage dives and observe some Great Whites and Copper sharks as well. Of course, you’ll still see quite a few sharks if you remain in the boat 😉.
- In the US there is a great place to go diving in Wilmington, North Carolina. There are many shipwrecks that are found near Wilmington just off the Atlantic Coast. These sunken ships have attracted many kinds of fish especially Tiger Sharks which make their breeding grounds there. Local diving centers such as the Patriot Dive Center have made it a place to learn about the seas and discover marine life without leaving the country.
There are more than 465 known species of sharks in the oceans today. Sharks are considered an apex predator and are at or near the top of the marine food chains. They belong to a species of fish that have their skeletons made out of cartilage with is a tissue that is more flexible and lighter than bone.
They breathe underwater through a series of gill slits that are located on either side of their body. They have multiple rows of teeth and while they continually lose these teeth on a regular basis they will replace them with new ones.
Some species such as the Great White will attack and surprise their prey, usually seals and sea lions, from below. Others will attack a school of fish and create a feeding frenzy while still other larger sharks such as whale and basking sharks filter feed near the ocean’s floor trolling for plankton and krill.
Sharks span a wide geographical area so it’s hard to determine the population of many species, but overall their numbers are in decline due to the destruction of their habitat caused by humans. Many species give birth to only one or two pups at a time so replenishing their population takes some time.
You can actually track sharks in real time using Osearch.org and seen where they’ve been and where they are headed next.
In order to get you in the spirit, check out our Ocean Leather Products. Celebrate Shark Week in style! It’s a fantastic neutral color that is very appealing to both men and women.
If you’re set on traveling international, remember we have some great Passport Covers in our Ocean color as well.
