See full version: The 13 Best Places to Swim With Sharks
If you want to understand more about these animals, come to Cocos Island in Costa Rica, where you can swim alongside large groups of stern-looking hammerhead sharks. Cocos Island is a remote, tropical, eastern Pacific island, boasting a magnificent biodiversity and fantastic opportunities for diving. But it’s the roving schools of hammerhead sharks that are the real draw here. here
The hammerhead shark is probably one of the most distinctive creative under the sea, with its angular head and characteristic features. here
Outside Australia, this stunning corner of Mexico has to be one of the best places in the world to see the infamous great white shark. The crystal clear waters of this Mexican island offer ideal viewing conditions, and there are multiple opportunities for cave diving in different spots around the island, each providing a different window on to the underwater lives of sharks. more
There is a particular concern here to ensure that marine tourism practices do not harm the natural eco-system, and the use of chum is prohibited. Instead, cages are dropped into the water at a depth of 30 feet, which is where great whites spend most of their time. Instead of attracting the sharks to the surface, visitors go directly to them, offering a chance to get close to one of the ocean’s most effective and breath-taking predators. more
The north of the United Kingdom is not known for its diving culture. The cold, rainy weather means that only the most committed shark hunters are prepared to don a wetsuit and plunge into the freezing Atlantic waters. However, head up to Oban in Scotland and it might just be worth the effort. This area is known for its abundance of basking sharks, the fish with one of the biggest mouths in the sea. Basking sharks have mouths that open thee feet wide, creating a petrifying chasm that is enough to scare even the most hardened of shark swimmers.
The Whale Shark is the largest species of fish in existence, and is a non-aggressive filter feeder. These aquatic gentle giants have a mouth that is about 4.5 feet wide, with a wide flat head and two small eyes at the front. Bearing distinctive yellow spots and stripes, the Whale Shark’s skin can be almost four inches thick, serving as natural armor against many predators. Even though the Whale Shark is huge, they pose little danger to humans, they are known to be very docile and sometimes give “rides” to divers (they let you grab their dorsal fins and they pull you along). Like most sharks, Whale Sharks are found in most warm coastal regions, one of the most popular regions you can find them is the Bay Islands in Honduras. The Deep Blue Utila resort, in conjunction with the Utila Whale Shark Research Project offer up a unique PADI certified diving package, as well as paradise on a private beach. more
Of all the sharks, the Bull Shark is the most dangerous to people, and the one that’s most likely to nibble your pink hand/foot bits that dangle off the end of a surfboard. A story about the series of shark attacks on the Jersey Shore back in 1916 was the inspiration for Peter Benchley’s Jaws story (they only missed Snooki by a hundred years or so). Generally it is the Bull Shark one sees when you think of anything shark-like, and it gets its name from its stubby appearance and aggressive nature. The Bull Shark is one of the few species of saltwater shark that actually tolerates fresh water, and they have been known to swim up the Mississippi River as far as Illinois. Bull Sharks are found in any warm ocean water coastal areas, in rivers, lakes and large rivers that are open to the ocean. Some of the best Bull Shark diving in the world is found in Fiji, and a great number of diving professionals name the Fiji Shark Dive as the best shark dive in the world. The Fiji Shark Dive is hosted by the Beqa Adventure Divers, which attracts some of the world’s best underwater professional cameramen and photographers.
Shaped like your most intuitive workshop implement, the Hammerhead Shark is one of the most distinctive sharks under the sea. Scientists have been arguing amongst themselves for years about the evolutionary function of their noggins, some argue that it is to improve either sensory input, maneuvering, prey manipulation or all three. The Hammerhead usually likes to swim in schools by day, then switches to solo-hunter mode at night. These unique predators can be found along almost every warm coast of the planet, from Costa Rica to Africa. There are only 11 species of Hammerhead shark, of those only 3 are considered to be ‘bitey’ to humans, none fatal, as of 2013 there have been 33 recorded attacks, none of them fatal. In Hawaiian culture, the Hammerhead is a sign of fortune, and to be passed by one is a sign that the gods are watching over your loved ones, and the ocean is clean. If you find yourself in the clean waters of Costa Rica, spend some time with a reputable dive operator, requesting a dive in an area frequented by Hammerheads. Rich coast diving is a well-reviewed outfitter, you would be served well to check them out: http://richcoastdiving.com/.
One of most common sharks in the Indo-Pacific, the Whitetip Reef Shark is easily spotted by its grey skin, slender shape, pronounced gills, and irregular swim pattern (its distinctive and hard to miss). These string beans of the shark family grow to be about 8 feet long but only weigh about 44 lbs. Whitetip Reef Sharks like to hang out in coral reefs, reef edges, sandy flats and shallow lagoons (they are relatively short water swimmers). Only found in the Indo-Pacific region, the Whitetip Reef Shark’s best habitat for the discerning diver is the Great Barrier Reef (one of the seven wonders of the natural world) in Australia. The very best reef shark-diving experience is from aboard a dive boat, in a live-aboard 4 Day Coral Sea Trip spanning two reef systems. Learn how you can book your Whitetip Reef Shark experience on the Spirit of Freedom by visiting the Diving Cairns website. [links]
The Cetorhinus maximus, also known as the Basking Shark, can’t help but eat with its mouth open, no matter what his mom says. Not a lot is known about this giant fish, second in size only to its cousin the Whale Shark, it grows over 35 feet long and has an enormous mouth over 3 feet wide. The mouth is not to be feared however, the teeth on this giant fish are tiny, and the wide open mouth is only menacing to the plankton and other small floating sea creatures it hoovers up as it swims along. Basking sharks like to swim in water that swings from warm to cool, and like staying close to the surface where their food lives. These big mouthed superfish patrol the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and can sometimes be spotted off the coast of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. When it comes to swimming with these living fossils, Oban Scotland seems to be the place to be, and there is an extensive dive program that caters to those that want to swim with Basking Sharks specifically. Feel free to check out their tour schedule at http://baskingsharkscotland.co.uk/. [links]
Located 240 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas and often called "Mexico's Little Galapagos", the Socorro Islands offer a wonderful chance to see a plethora of large pelagic animals. In November and December, whale sharks can often be seen along with giant mantas, humpback whales, and large gamefish. more
When the wind is calm, finding the whale sharks is usually not difficult, but if the water is choppy it can take a while and get a little rough if you are in a small boat.
Prime months for this experience are July, August, and September. Local fishermen take you out in their pangas, picking you up from either the shore or directly from the liveaboard boat. The whale sharks are here to feed on plankton, and if you are lucky one will be remaining still feeding vertically in the water column. There is also good scuba diving in this area, with colorful fish, many different nudibranch species and a good variety of macro subjects.
Read about our 2017 Dumaguete Photo Workshop or our 2016 Best of Visayas Trip. [links]
How to get there: Fly to the Daniel Z. Romualdez airport in Tacloban, before taking a three-and-a-half-hour drive down to southern Leyte. [links]
How to get there: Fly to Legazpi airport; Donsol is then about 90 minutes away by car. here
With this amazing piece of news in mind, it’s to be expected that people from all around the world would want to flock to the Philippines to get up close and personal (responsibly, of course) with the largest fish in the sea. Check out these destinations for some unforgettable whale shark encounters.
According to Wildbook for Whale Sharks (whaleshark.org) – an online photo identification library that collates whale-shark sighting data – the 1,600th whale shark has recently been identified in Philippine waters. This means that the Philippines is home to the second-largest known aggregation of whale sharks in the world!
However, while the slow-moving filter feeding shark can seem curious and even friendly, be sure to keep a safe distance from the creature and do not touch it at all costs.