The 10 Best Places to Snorkel with Sharks

Swimming with sharks is an unbeatable experience and high on the wish list for many divers and snorkelers. Read on to discover the best places you can snorkel with these amazing animals.

1) South Africa

Diving in South Africa is synonymous with sharks and there are many opportunities to go snorkeling with sharks there as well. You can go cage diving with great white sharks at Gansbaai or snorkel with numerous blue and mako sharks off Cape Point.

Visit Seal Island near Simon’s Town to snorkel with ancient-looking broadnose sevengill sharks and bronze whalers. It is a fantastic place to go snorkeling and meet some of the 60,000 noisy cape fur seals that call the island home.

Hop on a plane from nearby Cape Town to Durban and you’ll be at another top shark diving and snorkeling destination, Aliwal Shoal at Umkomaas. There you can go snorkeling with oceanic blacktip sharks.

2) Mozambique

Inhambane in Mozambique, with its idyllic beaches stretching along the coastline, is the perfect place to base yourself for a beach and snorkeling holiday. There you will find an incredible reef system with areas that remain unexplored to this day. You can go snorkeling with whale sharks from Tofo Beach, go dolphin and whale watching or simply enjoy the reefs this area is known for.

3) Cuba

Cuba’s Jardines de la Reina is one of the best places for shark encounters in the Caribbean, where you can swim with dozens of different shark species in protected waters. Relatively off the radar, you won’t find any crowds at this destination.

Go snorkeling there to encounter Caribbean reef sharks, silky, lemon, nurse, bull, blacktip reef sharks and more. Shark sightings are pretty much guaranteed year-round, and you can even go snorkeling with crocodiles during your stay.

4) The Bahamas

The Bahamas designated its entire territorial waters as a shark sanctuary in 2011 and is one of the best places in the world to swim with sharks.

Bimini Island is the place to go for snorkeling with great hammerhead, lemon and Caribbean reef sharks. If you want to snorkel with oceanic whitetip sharks, be sure to take a trip to Cat Island in the Central Bahamas.

5) Indonesia

Raja Ampat’s Cenderawasih Bay is one of the best places to snorkel with whale sharks in Indonesia. The fishermen of Cenderawasih Bay give fish to the whale sharks to bring luck and there are numerous whale sharks in the bay.

Cenderawasih Bay also sits in one of the most sought-after dive destinations of the world, Raja Ampat. There you can encounter thousands of fish species, manta rays and hundreds of vibrant corals. If you are a certified diver, make sure you go diving in Raja Ampat during your trip to this special area.

6) The Maldives

Diving in the Maldives is synonymous with huge whale sharks, drifting over gorgeous coral reefs and endless pretty atolls. All of which you can enjoy as a snorkeler as well.

South Ari Atoll is the best place to go snorkeling with whale sharks, though you can also see them at Huvadhoo Atoll and Thaa Atoll in the south. Vaavuu Atoll, the easternmost atoll of the Maldives, offers unspoiled reefs and an abundance of marine life. Visit Alimatha Island in Vaavuu Atoll to go night snorkeling with numerous docile nurse sharks and huge stingrays.

7) French Polynesia

When it comes to romantic destinations for snorkelers, it doesn’t get much better than French Polynesia. Picture-perfect Moorea Island offers dedicated snorkeling safaris to meet blacktip reef sharks, whitetips, grey reef, tiger and lemon sharks. You can also go snorkeling with humpback whales.

8) Mexico

No Mexico snorkeling trip would be complete without going shark cage diving at Guadalupe Island. This is the only island in the world where you can snorkel with great white sharks in warm, calm and crystal-clear waters.

You can also go snorkeling with numerous whale sharks at Isla Mujeres on the Yucatan Peninsula.

9) The United Kingdom

The waters off the United Kingdom might be chilly but don’t be put off, they offer seasonal diving with basking and blue sharks.

Cornwall, in the southwest of England, is a prime spot to swim with both basking sharks and blue sharks during late spring and summer. You can also go diving with basking sharks at the Isle of Man and in Scotland.

10) Belize

If you love nurse sharks, don’t miss snorkeling at Shark Ray Alley in Ambergris Caye. There are numerous nurse sharks there, which you can snorkel with during dedicated snorkeling trips.

With clear waters and beautiful reefs nearby, there is also plenty to experience after you’ve had your shark snorkeling fix.

---

Kathryn Curzon, a shark conservationist and dive travel writer for Scuba Schools International (SSI), wrote this article.