Need Knowledgable Advice On A Trip

[moosicman]

My wife and I are looking at going to either Cozumel (again) or San Juan in August. That being said, I want to take a trip to dive with some sharks (not shark feeds but a place where I can up the odds of seeing them naturally--know what I mean???). I know that the Hammerheads are migratory during certain times and certain places. I'm not overly excited about seeing good ole' Nurse sharks. I'm not looking for Bull sharks so the common places in Florida are also not what I'm looking for (though that doesn't exclude Florida destinations--just the Bull sharks). Suggestions beyond San Juan or Cozumel are great, but my wife (travel agent) has a package with a flight there for only 99 bucks. SO...to sum up...I'm looking for a good "natural" shark dive destination. Any thoughts???

[moosicman]

NOBODY has any advice???

[caroln]

Originally Posted by moosicman

NOBODY has any advice???

I'm just jealous that you can do ANY trip for 99 bucks

I believe Costa Rica is a good place to see sharks, but not on your list of choices.

[boates]

The only place we've seen lots 'o sharks(every dive), with variety, naturally, was on the Sea Dancer Turks and Caicos.
Having said that, we haven't been to the 2 destinations you've mentioned.
I agree with the bull shark thing!
Cudos (sp?) to you for not supporting the shark feeding fiasco ever present.

[georoc01]

I saw plenty of sharks in Australia, but all reef sharks.

As far as Cozumel goes, I have only seen nurse sharks.

How about the Bahamas? I hear about shark dives there that seem to have other varieties like Tigers..

[scubarobin]

seeing sharks other than nurse sharks? --- well, the best places in the Caribbean are Bahamas and Turks & Caicos. Both places have Caribbean reef sharks and hammerheads along with an occasional tiger or bull. Best chances to see them is from a liveaboard but you can see them from day-boat trips also sometimes.

In the Pacific you can see white tip sharks in Hawaii, and every kind of shark in Palau or Fiji.

[Athena2c]

We just went on the Caribbean Explorer I in the Bahamas for just the same reason (I really wanted a 'natural' shark dive). During one dive we spent an hour in the water with the shark in my avatar-INCREDIBLE!

[cutter77]

Some of those east coast wreck dives with tigers sounds exciting.

[abcitydiver]

Some of the dive sites at cozumel have SLIGHTLY higher odds of seeing some different sharks. As I remember, the southern sites...punta sur, etc are better than the mid island sites, and if I remember right, also some of the more northern sites. However, sites at both "ends" of the island are more difficult dives, more current...etc. Often the boats will consider those sites unsafe depending on weather and currents..and who is on the boat.
Best of luck!

[chinacat46]

Just returned last night from a week in the Bahamas on the Caribbean Explorerer I live aboard. Saw between 15-20 scalloped hammerheads and about 10 reef sharks. Oh yeah and one very large nurse shark. I'll be doing a trip report in a day or two with some pics. If you do opt for the Bahamas August is not the time to see hammerheads there. Water is to warm. Didn't see any bull sharks.