Great Shark and Ray Dives around the World
Although sharks and rays may be encountered throughout the world’s oceans, there are certain areas where either through natural occurrence or artificial encouragement, particular species are vastly more plentiful or accessible. A good example of a shark diving ‘hotspot’ is Cocos Island, off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, where schooling scalloped hammerhead sharks are seasonally encountered in incredible numbers.
Although this section of SharksAndRays highlights many elasmobranch hotspots, it is by no means exhaustive. If you feel that a particular shark diving hotspot deserves to be added to the list, please drop us a line and we’ll take a look.
Aliwal Shoal, Umkomaas, South Africa
Cape Point, South Africa
Simon’s Town, False Bay, South Africa Dyer Island, South Africa
Playa Del Carmen, Mexico Isla Holbox, Mexico Stingray City, Grand Cayman Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras
St. Maarten, Netherland Antilles Santa Lucia, Cuba
Tiger Beach, Bahamas Nassau, Bahamas Walkers Cay, Bahamas
Fish Rock, Southwest Rocks, NSW, Australia
Hamelin Bay, Western Australia
Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia
El Cabron, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands Los Gigantes, Tenerife, Canary Islands
The Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall, UK
Quadra Island, British Columbia, Canada Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada
Guadalupe Island, Baja California, Mexico Catalina Island Blue Water, California, USA Farallon Islands
Morehead City, Outer Banks, North Carolina, USA
Venice, Louisiana, USA
Isla Malpelo Cocos Island, Costa Rica
Monad Shoal/Malapascua Island, Philippines
Burma Banks/Silvertip Bank, Myanmar
Dangerous Reef, South Australia
Darwin Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
El Bajo Seamount, La Paz, Baja Peninsula, Mexico
Elphinstone Reef, Egypt
Poor Knights, New Zealand
Fakarava, French Polynesia
EUROPE AND NORTH AFRICA
El Cabron, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
Common angel sharks.
Los Gigantes, Tenerife, Canary Islands
Common stingrays, common eagle rays.
The Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall, UK
Basking sharks, smallspotted catsharks.
Isles of Mull, Coll, and Tiree, Scotland
Basking sharks.
SOUTHERN AFRICA
Aliwal Shoal, Umkomaas, South Africa
Blacktip sharks, tiger sharks, raggedtooth sharks (Sandtigers), and bull sharks.
Cape Point, South Africa
Blue and mako sharks.
Simonstown, False Bay, South Africa
Breaching great white sharks, catsharks, and sevengill sharks.
Dyer Island, South Africa
Great white sharks.
Gansbaai, South Africa
Great white sharks.
WESTERN ATLANTIC / CARIBBEAN
Santa Lucia, Cuba
Bull sharks.
Jardin de la Reina (Garden of the Queens), Cuba
Silkt sharks and Caribbean reef sharks.
Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
Bull sharks.
Isla Mujeres, Mexico
Whale sharks and mantas.
Isla Holbox, Mexico
Whale sharks.
Stingray City, Grand Cayman
Southern stingrays.
St Maarten, Netherland Antilles
Blacknose sharks and Caribbean reef sharks.
Tiger Beach, Bahamas
Tiger sharks, great hammerheads, Caribbean reef sharks, bull sharks, lemon sharks.
Nassau, Bahamas
Caribbean reef sharks.
Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras
Whale sharks.
NORTH AMERICA
Quadra Island, British Columbia, Canada
Spiny dogfish.
Guadalupe Island, Baja California, Mexico
Great white sharks.
Seattle, Washington
Sixgill sharks.
Morehead City / Outer Banks, North Carolina, USA
Sandtiger sharks.
San Diego, California, USA
Blue sharks and mako sharks
Venice, Louisiana, USA
Dusky and silky Sharks
Jupiter, Florida
Tiger sharks, lemon sharks, bull sharks, sandbar sharks.
Rhode Island
Blue and mako sharks, spiny dogfish.
EASTERN TROPICAL PACIFIC
Isla Malpelo
Smalltooth sandtiger sharks, scalloped hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks, whitetip reef sharks, eagle rays, mobulas, mantas, and whale sharks
Cocos Island, Costa Rica
Scalloped hammerheads, silkies, silvertips, prickly sharks, Galapagos sharks, whitetip reef sharks, and marble rays.
Revillagigedo Archipelago (Socorro)
Oceanic manta rays, scalloped hammerheads, Galapagos sharks, silky sharks, silvertips, whitetip reef sharks, diamond and longtail stingrays.
El Bajo Seamount, La Paz, Baja Peninsula, Mexico
Scalloped Hammerheads (sometimes).
Cabo San Lucas, Baja, Mexico
Blue sharks, mako sharks, smooth hammerheads, and silkies.
Wolf and Darwin Islands, Northern Galapagos, Ecuador
Scalloped hammerheads, Galapagos sharks, whitetip reef sharks, silky sharks, and whale Sharks.
Fernandina Island, Southern Galapagos, Ecuador
Galapagos Bullhead Sharks.
CENTRAL PACIFIC
Fakarava, French Polynesia
Grey reef sharks, blacktips, blacktip reef sharks, reef whitetips and nurse sharks
Rangiroa, French Polynesia
Grey reef sharks, great hammerheads, blacktip reef sharks, reef whitetips.
Nuku Hiva, Marquesa Archipelago, French Polynesia
Scalloped hammerheads, blacktip sharks, reef blacktip sharks, silvertips, and reef mantas.
RED SEA, INDIAN OCEAN AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
Elphinstone Reef, Egypt
Oceanic whitetip sharks, pelagic thresher sharks.
Monad Shoal/Malapascua Island, Philippines
Pelagic thresher sharks, bamboo sharks, and coral catsharks.
Chiba, Japan
Banded houndsharks, Japanese bullhead sharks.
Izu Peninsula Japan
Japanese angelsharks, Japanese wobbegongs, scalloped hammerheads.
Yonaguni Island, Japan
Scalloped hammerheads.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
Dangerous Reef, South Australia
Great white sharks
Fish Rock, Southwest Rocks, NSW, Australia
Wobbegong sharks and grey nurse sharks (sandtigers).
Hamelin Bay, Western Australia
Cobbler wobbegongs and necklace carpet sharks.
Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia
Whale sharks, whitetip reef sharks, tasseled wobbegongs, ward’s wobbegong sharks.
Poor Knights, New Zealand
Schooling marble rays, NZ swellsharks.