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There’s no better place on earth for tiger shark diving than at Tiger Beach in the Bahamas. It is the longest and most established tiger shark diving hotspot available and divers have been traveling there for 2 decades. While the tiger sharks are certainly the headliners, there are a number of other shark species. Reef, Lemon, Bull, Nurse, and Great Hammerheads all make appearances creating one of the best shark dives you can find!!

The warm, clear waters of the Bahamas and shallow dive sites also make it an ideal shark dive for underwater photography. But don’t be fooled by the relatively easy conditions. There are a few mistakes we see commonly that can have big consequences. Here’s a list of the 5 most common mistakes we see while tiger shark diving in the Bahamas at Tiger Beach.

Being Under-weighted

Most divers visiting Tiger Beach for the first time are shocked when they hear our instruction of how much weight to strap on for the shark diving. It’s not what you would normally think of coming on a warm water dive trip. You’ll just have to trust us. We recommend most people wear approximately 25 – 30 pounds of lead, depending on the thickness of your suit and your own natural buoyancy characteristics. For the most part, we’re not swimming around and the extra weight will help to keep you nice and stable on the bottom. If the current picks up, the added weight can mean the difference between enjoying your dive, having to abort the dive, or worse yet, getting carried off by the current.

Taking safety for granted

It’s true, shark diving in the Bahamas is incredibly safe. But that’s because the shark dive operators are paying close attention to the animals, the weather, the dive conditions, and the divers. We have specific protocols in place to ensure that everyone remains safe. We depend on divers doing their part at keeping safe, and first and foremost, that means following the rules.

The most important thing is to never take your own safety for granted. If you are not going to look out for yourself, you should consider taking up another hobby. Not only are there the challenges of scuba diving (sea conditions, visibility, current, etc.), but you will be surrounded by very large predators that are not trained pets. These sharks are habituated to our routine and things go smoothly when we stick to it. Please pay attention to your surroundings at all times and never let the sharks make contact with you.

That tiger didn’t go crazy, that tiger went TIGER!

— Chris Rock

Camera Crazy

Okay, most people traveling to Tiger Beach in the Bahamas are coming with underwater cameras for the shark diving. We love taking photos too! You have to accept that no picture is worth an injury and remember to make safety your priority, not photography. If you have good situational awareness, the photos will come naturally and easily. You have to have excellent peripheral vision and judgement before putting on the blinders and focusing in on only one shark in front of you. Sometimes the closer shark, better picture, and bigger threat, is behind you. Don’t get tunnel vision.

Regarding selfies, operators absolutely hate them. ABSOLUTELY. Divers create a dangerous situation when they take their attention off a shark that is behind them. Especially one that is close enough to take a selfie. If you want a picture with you and a shark, ask a friend or crew member. More people are killed each year taking selfies than by sharks, but put the two together and it’s an accident waiting to happen.

Just Keep Swimming

No, STOP Swimming. For our typical shark dives such as classic Tiger Beach, there’s no need to swim around. It stirs up sand ruining visibility, confuses the sharks with commotion, divides everyone’s attention, and wastes energy. Stay solid on the bottom and enjoy the show, that simple. If you find yourself on a dive with strong current, this is especially true.

Despite specific instructions in our briefings, we see divers struggle with current. Working hard and trying to swim against strong current to get back to the boat. This can lead to a very dangerous situation of fatigue. Breathing down your tank with potential out of air emergency, and getting swept away. When the current is ripping, simply crawl along the bottom back to the boat when the dive is over. Remember to watch your air consumption and make sure you have plenty of air to make it back to the boat taking the current into account.

Tempted to Touch

The tiger sharks at Tiger Beach in the Bahamas have been in the game a long time. They are generally not too shy about getting close to divers. While we feel it is imperative to protect your personal space and never let a tiger shark touch your body, it doesn’t mean you need to touch or push away every shark that passes by. If a shark is not on a collision course, then there is no need to reach out and touch. It only creates potential danger.

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Hopefully these quick tips help you to have a rewarding experience tiger shark diving in the Bahamas at Tiger Beach. The crew gives detailed instructions and goes over all the shark diving protocols in the briefing. Safety is our top priority and we’re proud of our shark diving safety record so far!

Read our Shark Diving Safety Tips & Tricks blog post.

There are a few locations that come to mind when looking for the best shark diving hotspots on this blue planet. Cocos, Galapagos, South Africa, Fiji, Australia, and Mexico all have some amazing shark dives. But there’s no denying that the Bahamas ranks high on that list, perhaps taking the title of Shark Diving Capital of the World! We’re excited to bring you to some of the best of Bahamas shark diving. Read on for an introduction to each diving location and what species of sharks we expect to find there.

Tiger Shark Diving @ Tiger Beach

Just a small part of the Little Bahama Bank, Tiger Beach has long been a world class shark diving hotspot. Scuba divers can get uncaged and up-close encounters to this super predator! The tiger sharks that migrate through this area are very well known to the operators that work here. Some of the sharks that are still interacting with divers today have been documented at the site 15 years ago! Most of the animals you’ll see there are quite used to divers and the shark diving routine. Just stick to the rules and enjoy the show. Bahamas shark diving at it’s best!

Bahamas Shark Diving: Oceanic Whitetip

Once considered that most abundant vertebrates on earth (over 100 lbs), Oceanic Whitetip Shark populations have been decimated making them very difficult to find. The Bahamas, however, is one of the last strongholds for a healthy population of this pelagic shark. Shark divers from around the globe can expect to reliably encounter this species during their peak season of April – June. They’re bold, curious and incredibly photogenic, making the trip out here well worth it. This species makes Bahamas shark diving unique.

Bahamas Shark Diving: Great Hammerhead

Moving over to the Great Bahama Bank, divers can expect to see numerous Great Hammerhead Sharks. Once the elusive chance encounter, shark divers can expect to be surrounded by these large and unique animals during the winter months. Here’s another species where Bahamas shark diving reigns supreme.

Bahamas Shark Diving – and then some…

Each of these locations also provide shark diving beyond the target species. For example, at Tiger Beach, you can see up to 6 species of shark on a single dive, including tiger sharks, great hammerhead sharks, bull sharks, reef sharks, lemon sharks, and nurse sharks. While diving with great hammerhead sharks, its common to see nurse and bull sharks as well. During the oceanic whitetip shark diving season, divers will also encounter reef sharks, dusky sharks, as well as chances at seeing great hammerhead sharks and blue marlin!

What a great day today! We had some challenging conditions with a stiff current to battle, but it was all worth it the moment Emma showed up. Today marks her return to Tiger Beach after leaving the area at the end of 2018.  The crew was elated and the guests on this day trip to Tiger Beach were thrilled to have met the Queen of the Beach.  Emma, along with 4 other tiger sharks, a great hammerhead shark, a few bull sharks, and of course the reef and lemon sharks, along with a solitary nurse shark, made for a 6 species dive!  Shark diving doesn’t get much better than that!

We go over a lot of details during our shark diving briefings in the Bahamas, and make a lot of recommendations. One of them, is that divers make a negative entry. But this is not always clear, sometimes confused, and often done incorrectly. What is a negative entry, and why do we recommend it?

Doing a negative entry requires confidence and comfort in the water

SCUBA Diving Magazine (June 6, 2017)

Simply put, a negative entry means that you’re getting below the surface as quickly as possible. Usually you make a giant stride from the boat with air in your BCD and hang on the surface for a moment to get yourself situated. With a negative entry, you’re jumping in with no air in your BC and making your way to the bottom. Why do we do this?

Tiger Beach, Bahamas

At Tiger Beach in the Bahamas, the shark diving is technically pretty easy, but there are some challenges. First off, we often have to wait for the reef sharks and lemon sharks to clear a path for us so that we can get off the dive platform. There are loads of sharks hanging around the surface and it’s a good idea to get down right away. Often times, when divers are lingering at the surface, they are distracted and not looking in the water. That’s where the sharks are!

During the dives at Tiger Beach, we also occasionally experience strong currents. This means that the longer a diver spends at the surface, the further down current they will end up before hitting the bottom. Getting off the surface and down to the bottom quickly helps ensure that you end up as part of the dive group and not a lone diver down current having to struggle to make your way back to the line.

Here are some tips straight from SCUBA Diving Magazine’s article:

• Make sure you’re properly weighted – for our shark dives, that means wearing plenty of lead.
• Be prepared – because you’re heading straight down, empty the air in your BCD, hold your mask, and make your way off the surface
• Jump like a pro – make sure you clear the platform and exhale to empty your lungs.
• Equalize early and often – make sure you control your decent and equalize your ears, which likely means adding air as you descend.

Finally, if you have any questions on the technique, just talk to the dive crew. They’re always there and happy to help out! We always prefer people understand and feel comfortable with the diving so they can focus on and enjoy the sharks!

To say this season has been one of the best yet is a bit of an understatement. Tiger Beach has consistently been getting better and better and we have enjoyed every minute of it! We have been averaging 5 species on most dives, including Tiger, Reef, Lemon, Great Hammerhead, and Bull sharks. The nurse sharks are around but have been least likely of the 6 species we can expect to see to show up on our dives.

Here’s a short video to give you an idea of what the dives have been like:

This time of year is definitely hot at the beach! The dives have been incredible! We have had to contend with a bit of weather, but overall the divers have had their fill of sharks! Make sure when you’re planning a trip out during this peak season that you plan for weather. We recommend reserving a minimum of three dive days as well as securing dive specific travel insurance (www.DAN.org or www.DiveAssure.com) that will cover for lost days of diving due to weather cancellations. And don’t worry, as long as we’re able to make it out to the dive site, we’ll show you the very best that Bahamas Shark Diving has to offer!

We’re already filling in our 2020 calendar quickly, so let us know if you’re interested in getting in on the action! Check out our Tiger Beach Diving Packages here and don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

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Tiger Beach, Bahamas – 2019

We strongly recommend that travelers secure dive specific travel insurance for all our Bahamas Shark Diving Packages. There are a number of companies that offer this type of coverage.  By far, the two we see most often are offered by either DAN or DiveAssure. Here are some of details and benefits of getting the insurance.

Travel insurance gives travelers coverage for unforeseen problems, from a cancelled flight to a serious illness – DAN

Dive Specific Travel Insurance:

It’s not like most typical travel insurance, such as the kind you may get automatically through your credit card.  Dive travel insurance is tailored specifically to cover for the most likely things that could interfere with your scuba diving vacation. It can certainly take the sting out of missing dives for a number of reasons that are beyond your or anyone else’s control.  For example:

• Travel Delays

  Let’s face it, travel delays are not all that uncommon.  It’s especially true for divers with multiple bags of clothes, dive, and camera equipment.   A flight delay could cause you to miss out on dives as well as add expenses of flight rerouting or even additional and unexpected hotel stay. Travel insurance will come in handy here. On the same topic, occasionally luggage gets left behind and you may be without essential dive gear until the airlines get it sorted. These insurance policies will cover the cost of having to rent dive gear to make sure you don’t miss out on any shark dives.

• Illness/Injury

  Aside from travel, there could also be illness, injury that prevents you from making the trip. Obviously this is nothing that can be planned for, but dive travel insurance will help you recoup expenses for missing your Bahamas dive vacation.

• Weather

  Coverage for weather cancellations is another big reason to get the insurance.  We do our best to make up for lost time when we have to cancel the shark diving for weather, but that is obviously beyond our control. We know it’s disappointing for people to travel and miss a day because the weather doesn’t cooperate. Unlike standard travel insurance, the policies offer by both DAN and DiveAssure will reimburse you for the cost of diving if any days are canceled by the crew due to inclement weather.

Single Trip or Annual:

Both companies offer single trip as well as annual dive travel insurance, which may be a great option for divers that take several scuba diving vacations each year.  Remember, this is not the same as DAN membership.  DAN membership is a great idea for all divers and DiveAssure offers similar programs.  These cover for any expenses that are incurred for a dive related illness or injury, such as needing evacuation to a recompression chamber.

Coverage Type:

One last note on the insurance. Some policies offer an optional Cancel For Any Reason clause. This insurance must be purchased for the full shark diving package price and airfare and typically at the time of booking (some within 15 days of making your initial deposit). This would allow the greatest flexibility if you needed to cancel a trip entirely. If you are simply looking for the weather day coverage, you would only need to insure the cost of the diving. Your flights and hotel would not be reimbursed if the diving is cancelled for high winds and seas.

Before traveling, take a moment to browse DAN or DiveAssure’s website, get familiar with the different policies, call them with questions, and secure extra peace of mind before flying in for your Bahamas Shark Diving Expedition.

The specific insurance coverage does vary by region, so you would need to check with the company of what the coverage includes. Each company offers several plans that also offer different coverages and limits. Most provide an easy way of getting quotes directly on their websites, and have customer service numbers if you would like to chat.

Shark-diving tourism as a financing mechanism for shark conservation strategies in Malaysia

As seen in many other instances, this new publication serves to identify the monetary value of sharks to a local community through tourism.  Studies like these were instrumental in many locations, including the Bahamas, being declared as shark sanctuaries.  Here’s the information on the recent publication looking at shark diving tourism in Malaysia.

Shark Diving Tourism

If you would like to read more information on this particular study, click on the link here!

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.  Have you ever been diving in a shark sanctuary?

Read about Bahamas Shark Tourism Survey

Here’s the next segment on our Shark Senses Series.  If you missed the first article, click here.  Shark vision has always seemed to be a bit of a mystery. We often hear about the mistaken identity argument related to shark-human interactions and that leads many to believe that sharks have poor eyesight. We also constantly hear about sharks amazing sense of smell, and it’s often thought that some other senses are sacrificed as a result. Is this true? Do sharks have poor vision?

A research group in Australia has been studying shark vision for years. In fact, they may be the worlds experts on vertebrate vision and have studied the eyes of literally hundreds of different species of elasmobranch (sharks, rays, skates and sawfish). Here, we’ll try to summarize their findings and explain what that means in practical terms.

Sharks lack color vision. That’s right. Sharks lack the necessary cells that process color vision and can only see in Black and White. This seems to be the case for all sharks as none of the tested animals possessed the necessary photoreceptor cells to see in color.So what’s all that talk about Yum Yum Yellow? We’ll get back to that. On a side note, rays are able to see in color.

Visual Acuity. Sharks are thought to be able to see very focused images. The fact that shark vision is monochromatic does not mean they lack visual acuity. In the human eye, we have muscles that control the shape of our lens and focuses light signals on the retina. By contrast, the lens in a sharks eye does not change shape. Rather, they have muscles that move the lens forward or backward to focus light. In both cases, the effect is the same and the retina receives a focused image. Sharks have great visual acuity and they absolutely rely on that vision for many of their behaviors. Obviously, water conditions will play a major effect on their ability to see and from what distance. In ideal conditions (the kind we get while shark diving in the Bahamas), sharks can see clearly from 10-15 meters or more.  This means while their vision is good, it’s not the first sense that keys them into their prey and becomes more important as they get closer.

Light Sensitivity. The ability to see in low light conditions varies greatly between the shark species studied. Essentially, there are 2 types of photoreceptor cells located in the retina. The cones are active in bright light conditions and the rods are active in low light scenarios. Each species will have a different proportion of these cells. Not surprisingly, deep water sharks have large eyes with a much higher proportion of low light photoreceptor cells (rods) compared to cones. Shallow water sharks have cells in the opposite proportion. In addition, sharks possess a structure called the Tapetum lucidum. This is the reflective part of the eye that lies behind the retina and causes the shining eye you may have seen in a cat or a deer in headlights. This will actually reflect the light one more time back through the retina thereby making it available to the retina a second time and increasing low light vision.

In Practical Terms. Sharks have monochromatic vision. Sharks have good visual acuity. Sharks have vision suited to the environment they live in. Given their sharp focus and black and white view of the world, do we need to worry about the color of our dive gear? In short, Yes! Sharks do tend to be interested in high contrast areas. It’s the reason we don’t like very bright accent colors on dive gear as that may peak their interest. It’s also the reason we require divers to wear gloves for our shark dives. A pale fleshy hand sticking out of a black wetsuit sleeve may be a recipe for trouble.

If you’d like to learn more about shark vision, take a look at Vision in elasmobranchs and their relatives: 21st century advances.

Shark Vision

Images used are by Jean-Lou Justine licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

We’re really proud to be able to introduce divers to the tiger sharks at Tiger Beach. It’s an amazing experience and definitely worth investing a few extra days to get the most of it. Since we offer day trips, we do get a lot of inquires asking about booking a single day of shark diving at Tiger Beach. Here’s a few thoughts on why you should consider spending a bit more time there.

Tiger Beach Diving: Travel

The pain in everyone’s trip! We have seen our share of travel delays, canceled flights, missed connections, and delayed baggage. Fortunately, Freeport is the second largest international airport in the Bahamas.  It can accommodate larger commercial jets which does decrease the likelihood of significant delays.  But it is certainly still a possibility.  Not having an essential piece of gear or missing a flight all together could ruin the only dive day you have planned.

Tiger Beach Diving:

Have you just dusted off your gear and packed it for the trip? Did you just get your gear back from servicing and haven’t broken it in yet? Did you just get a new mask, one that’s sure to fog up on you? Have you just gotten a new wetsuit and not really sure how much weight you should wear? Did you just get new gear or are renting equipment and aren’t very familiar with it yet? The shark diving at Tiger Beach is technically pretty easy.  That doesn’t mean we don’t see a fair share of first day blunders. If you’re not diving on a regular basis, consider the first day a check out. They’ll certainly be sharks all around, but you may be focused on clearing your mask and getting your BCD inflator to cooperate.

Tiger Beach Diving: Photography

A lot of divers that visit Tiger Beach are hoping to get that perfect image to take back to their friends. From the GoPro to the biggest DSLR camera rig, it’s not always a sure thing that you system is going to dial itself in and give you that perfect shot right away. Seasoned photographers are constantly adjusting their settings.  You may have to work with the dive conditions to get great images. Booking a multi-day trip to Tiger Beach also gives you the opportunity to experience the different dive sites. In reality, it’s quite a large area and we tend to visit different sites each day.   We take advantage of the different topography, from sand flats, to sargassum beds, to the beautiful reefs of Tiger Beach.

Tiger Beach Diving: Sharks

Spending so much time in the water with the sharks really allows us to appreciate the individual behaviors of the animals. We know them by name and by personality. A multi-day trip gives you the opportunity to gain more insight into what these animals are really all about. You gain a better appreciation for the sharks the more time you spend with them. In addition, we can see up to 6 species of sharks out at Tiger Beach. Having several days gives you the best chances of having that special encounter!

Tiger Beach Diving: Weather

With only a single day booked for the shark dives, you’re really rolling the dice. No matter what time of year, no matter what the season is.  There is always a chance that mother nature forces us off the water. Tiger Beach is located on a shallow sand bank off shore.  There is really no protection from high winds and seas. Even if it was safe for the boat to be out there, even if you weren’t seasick, there’s still a high likelihood that rough weather would wipe out the visibility on the site and keep us from doing any shark diving at all. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, it certainly pays to have some buffer days scheduled in.

We’d hate to end this conversation with only focusing on the potential negative reasons that 1 day may not be enough.  Here’s a look at the positive side.  If the conditions are perfect, and you have a great day of diving and fall in love with the sharks, you might want to do it again.  Unfortunately, 99% of the time, we won’t have any space left open the days before and after your trip.  Make sure you don’t regret giving it only 1 shot!

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Perhaps no more thrilling adventure awaits a diver.  A dive with tiger sharks in the crystal clear, warm waters of the Bahamas is unforgettable. Epic Diving runs daily tours out to the world famous Tiger Beach during the tiger shark high season. Virtually guaranteeing guests come face to face with these large, but well behaved, predators. According to the crew, the diving there has only been getting better, season after season. Here are some of the reasons why…

Dive with Tiger Sharks…made easy!

You’re not going to find better conditions anywhere for a dive with tigers than Tiger Beach in Northern Bahamas. Technically speaking, the dive conditions out at Tiger Beach are quite easy. Most of the dive sites there are shallow, between 20 – 35 feet (6 – 10 meters).  There are some reefs a bit deeper, between 40 – 60 feet (12 – 18 meters). The water temps are usually pretty warm during the season, but can dip down to the mid 70s F (23.5 C). Those two features, combined with the generally great visibility, pose few challenges to divers.

The one factor that can catch guests by surprise is the occasionally very strong currents, typically driven by the turning tides. To compensate for this, divers are instructed to wear extra lead to help keep them stationary on the sandy bottom.  Tiger shark diving at the classic, sandy Tiger Beach are static dives, meaning divers will be positioned in a line on the sand and remain stationary for most of the dive.

…Close Up!

All of our trips are out of the cage and up close and personal with the tigers (in addition to the reef and lemon sharks). We do not offer any cage diving and all of the guests need to be SCUBA certified. During the dives, we’re typically surrounded by 30 or more reef and lemon sharks in addition to the larger-than-life tiger sharks. Without any barriers, the animals get close, making for some incredible photographic opportunities!

…and more!

When you sign up for one of our trips to dive with tiger sharks, you’re not going to just see tiger sharks! They’re certainly the stars of the show, but let’s not forget about the other sharks. Diver’s will certainly see reef sharks and lemon sharks, in addition to the tigers. During the winter time, there are also very high chances of seeing great hammerhead and bull sharks as well. Throw in a nurse shark or two, and we’ve seen up to 6 species on a single dive! At some of the sites we visit, there are also loads of large, friendly grouper and southern stingrays.

Dive with Tiger Sharks…sign me up!

Ready to book your adventure of a lifetime? Interested in returning to the worlds greatest shark dive? Take a look at our packages to dive with Tiger Sharks which includes all the details you’d need, including travel tips, boat details, accommodations info, and frequently asked questions. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need any more info or would like to make your reservation.

Dive with Tiger Sharks: Best of Bahamas!