14 Best Places to Swim With Sharks Around the World
Experience the thrill of a lifetime. Dive with ferocious ancient predators. Find the best places to swim with sharks.
Worried About Swimming With Sharks?
Did you know that only five people are killed by sharks every year around the world? That’s the same amount of people that are killed annually by cows in Great Britain. The vast majority of attacks are accidental and cases of mistaken identity in unnatural situations. If you plan to swim with sharks responsibly, the activity is considered very safe.
Best Places to Swim with Sharks
(Free-diving and Snorkelling)
The best way to swim with sharks is out in their element. Free-diving and snorkelling with sharks is an unbeatable thrill. Where can you go to swim with sharks in the wild?
Australia & Pacific
French Polynesia
It is said that in Bora Bora, the sharks outnumber the people. A fantastic dive site to swim with sharks, divers will find black tips, white tips, hammerheads and grey reef sharks. This is a year-round destination, with millions of sharks calling the region of French Polynesia home.
Sharks to swim with in French Polynesia:
Blacktip reef sharks
Lemon sharks
Grey reef sharks
Whitetip reef sharks
Tiger sharks
Hammerhead sharks
Fiji
The waters off the magical island of Fiji are home to some truly stunning opportunities to swim with sharks. You’ll find a total of eight large sharks here, including the infamous bull shark, alongside reef sharks. You can visit and dive at all times of year, however, bull sharks do leave the area between November to January. This either makes it the best or worst time to swim with sharks around Fiji, depending on what kind of sharks you want to encounter.
Sharks to swim with in Fiji:
Bull sharks
Tiger sharks
Hammerhead sharks
Grey reef sharks
Whitetip reef sharks
Blacktip reef sharks
Nurse sharks
The Great Barrier Reef
Australia’s famous Great Barrier Reef is absolutely teeming with life, well-known for its scuba diving. The abundance of prey here attracts sharks up and down this expanse of coral. Because prey is generally small, you’ll get smaller sharks, commonly black and white tip reef sharks, as well as sandbar sharks, sand tiger sharks, nurse sharks, wobbegong sharks and lemon shark. The best time of year to swim with sharks on the Great Barrier Reef is during the summer months of June to October, but only because the seas are calmer which makes the swim itself more comfortable.
Sharks to swim with on the Great Barrier Reef:
Blacktip reef shark
Whitetip reef shark
Grey reef shark
Tawny nurse shark
Silvertip shark
Scalloped hammerhead shark
Whale shark
The Americas
Bahamas
Between the months of October and March, Tiger Beach just off Grand Bahama Island is perhaps the best dive site in the world to swim with tiger sharks. The ‘tiger’ in Tiger Beach gives this one away. Here you’ll find a large congregation of curious tiger shark living on the famed Caribbean reef. Tiger sharks are deadly predators, but diving with the right guides keeps you safe and offers the trip of a lifetime, getting up close and personal on your shark dive. Scalloped hammerhead sharks and bull sharks are also becoming increasingly common as their numbers recover.
Sharks to swim with in the Bahamas:
Caribbean reef sharks
Hammerhead sharks
Tiger sharks
Lemon sharks
Nurse sharks
Bull sharks
Blacktip reef sharks
Cancun, Mexico
The waters around Isla Mujeres, just off the coast of Mexico’s Cancun, are rich and teeming with life. Isla Mujeres is an amazing dive and snorkelling spot that attracts people from all over the world and allows you to get up close with many species of sharks. With an impressive array of life on offer, including whale sharks (famous gentle giants), those eager to swim with sharks will find it a fantastic place to spot reef sharks and bull sharks. The best time to swim with sharks here is between June and September.
Sharks to swim with in Cancun:
Bull sharks
Nurse sharks
Blacktip reef sharks
Lemon sharks
Whale sharks
Costa Rica
World Heritage site, Isla del Coco in Costa Rica has garnered increased attention in recent years amongst shark fanatics, especially between the months of June to December. Some 500 km off the Costa Rican coast, this beautiful location is reachable only by a live-in boat, which takes 36 hours to reach the island. Once you reach the island, you’ll discover a shark swimming experience like no other. The largest congregation of hammerhead sharks anywhere on the planet (that we know of) you’ll find hundreds of sharks swimming in schools around the island. Cocos Island is also another top destination for swimming with sharks in Costa Rica.
Sharks to swim with in Costa Rica:
Bull sharks
Tiger sharks
Hammerhead sharks
Whitetip reef sharks
Blacktip reef sharks
Nurse sharks
Silky sharks
Galapagos sharks
Asia
Maldives
The waters around the Maldives are perhaps some of the most inviting anywhere in the world. This luxury holiday destination is famed for its opulent setting. There is a reason though, that these waters look so enticing. Here, life thrives beneath the surface. If you through the world above the waves of the Maldives was stunning, just wait until you journey beneath. Home to numerous vibrant reefs, these shallow and sheltered waters make for great shark habitats. You’ll find hammerhead shark, whale sharks and whitetip reef sharks in these waters, with the best time to visit being between January and March.
Sharks to swim with in the Maldives:
Whale sharks
Grey reef sharks
Blacktip reef sharks
Whitetip reef sharks
Nurse sharks
Hammerhead sharks
Tiger sharks
Philippines
For some, the ultimate shark diving experience is not the famous great white or the deadly bull shark, but the fascinating and sublime thresher. These creatures are made distinct by their long, pointed tail fins and rounded face. They are thrilling to behold in the wild, and can be encountered in no better place than Malapascua Island in the Philippine. A stunning destination in its own right, Malapascua Island draws people from around the world looking to swim with sharks. This is a year round destination, but the best opportunities for swimming with sharks are between January and April.
Sharks to swim with in the Philippines:
Whale sharks
Thresher sharks
Hammerhead sharks
Whitetip reef sharks
Blacktip reef sharks
Nurse sharks
Tiger sharks
Bull sharks
Indonesia
Famed for being home to the notorious Komodo dragon, there is far more to Komodo National Park than one large lizard. The waters surrounding Komodo are teeming with life throughout the year, (although best to visit between March and May) with rich waters around the coast providing excellent feeding grounds for sharks. Common types of shark include whitetip and blacktip reef sharks. Hammerheads and threshers are known to visit the area. Touted as the next Bali, Komodo National Park is currently a quiet location, but is likely to become a tourist hotspot in the future, which means now is the perfect time to visit.
Sharks to swim with in Indonesia:
Whale sharks
Blacktip reef sharks
Whitetip reef sharks
Grey reef sharks
Nurse sharks
Wobbegong sharks
Hammerhead sharks
Tiger sharks
Thresher Sharks
Africa & Europe
Egypt
The Red Sea is sheltered inlet found boarding numerous countries, including Sudan, Saudia Arabia and Egypt. Egypt is of particular note, as the coral reefs found near the nation’s coast are simply breathtaking, and some of the finest on Earth. This underwater paradise supports a wealth of life, including a thriving shark population that includes oceanic whitetips, hammerheads and reef sharks. Visit here to swim with sharks between May and October.
Sharks to swim with in Egypt:
Oceanic whitetip sharks
Grey reef sharks
Silvertip sharks
Hammerhead sharks
Thresher sharks
Tiger sharks
Bull sharks
Mozambique
Ponta D’Ouro, on the southernmost tip of Mozambique, very close to South Africa, is potentially one of the most underrated places to swim with sharks in the world. During the winter months (May to October) sightings are likely to be scarce, but during the summer of November to April the waters and reefs around Ponta D’Ouro explode with life. Expect to swim with sharks like bull sharkst, whale sharks, tiger sharks, hammerhead sharks and an assortment of reef sharks. Chances of encountering dolphins and even whales also increase during the summer period.
Sharks to swim with in Mozambique:
Whale sharks
Bull sharks
Tiger sharks
Hammerhead sharks
Blacktip reef sharks
Whitetip reef sharks
Grey reef sharks
Scotland
The United Kingdom is rarely found on lists for encounters with exotic wildlife, but when it comes to sharks, you might be surprised to learn it’s a true hotspot. Basking sharks frequent The Hebrides during the summer months of May to August, making it one of the best places anywhere in the world to swim with sharks of this species. Massive but gentle, basking sharks are a thrill to behold in their natural habitat.
Sharks to swim with in Scotland:
Basking sharks
Spurdog sharks
Porbeagle sharks
Tope sharks
Swimming with Sharks Spotlight:
The Galapagos Islands
The Galapagos Islands, an archipelago off the coast of Ecuador, are famous for their remote nature, as well as their diverse and unique ecosystem.
There are many reasons to visit the Galapagos Islands, but one that attracts thousands of visitors every year is the promise of swimming with sharks. To swim with sharks around the Galapagos Island is to encounter some of the largest gatherings of sharks on the planet. Thousands of hammerheads congregate here in the early months of the year, although a healthy population is present year-round.
When you swim with sharks here, you’ll also encounter Galapagos sharks, reef sharks and whale sharks. In total, you can swim with nearly 30 different species of shark of the Galapagos Islands, many of which are non-migratory and never leave this underwater island paradise, making the Galapagos Islands an ideal place to swim with sharks whatever time of year you visit.
Best Cage Diving with Sharks:
Guadalupe Island, Mexico
At Xplore Our Planet, we’re not massive advocates of the bucket list, adrenaline-junkie activity of cage diving with great white sharks. This is not because we see anything wrong with the method in practice. Protecting yourself when diving with large predatory animals and coming face-to-face with such powerful sea creatures seems like a good idea. But instead, we stand dive operators who offer these trips because cage dive shark encounters are often intrusive, disruptive, and potentially even harmful to sharks. That's not to say ethical shark cage diving experiences don't exist. Passive cage diving, the act of finding sharks naturally without baiting or feeding sharks, is available and something we fully support.
Welcome to Guadalupe, Mexico.
Mexico’s Island of Guadalupe is famous for its great white sharks, and one of the best places in the world for divers to see this shark species. Around 350 sharks visit this area between August and October, making it one the highest density populations of great whites in the world. The waters are calm and clear, and deep-sea cages allow divers to submerge themselves in the world of the shark with high chances of getting up close and personal with one of the world’s most impressive predators.
Chumming (the act of baiting sharks) is illegal on Guadalupe, which means that all operators of shark cage diving experiences are required to observe ethical and passive tour experiences. This cannot always be guaranteed, as some follow the ethos that rules are meant to be broken, so make sure you travel with a reputable guide service that doesn’t break the law, and you’ll enjoy a thrilling encounter that is both responsible and ethical.
