Great white shark diving: where and when
Coastal plus trans-oceanic. 5 known encounter sites across 4 countries: Mexico, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. Best single site: Guadalupe Island, Baja California, Mexico — very high reliability, peak aug-oct. No certification is required at the easiest sites — some are snorkel or freedive only.
- Sites
- 5
- IUCN status
- Vulnerable
- Min. certification
- No certification
- Typical depth
- Surface–10 m
4 countries
Every known great white shark site
Very high reliability
Guadalupe Island, Baja California
Mexico
Peak Aug-Oct · Surface-10 m
No certification needed
High reliability
Neptune Islands, South Australia
Australia
Peak Jun-Oct · Surface-5 m
No certification needed
High reliability
Gansbaai / Dyer Island (Shark Alley)
South Africa
Peak May-Sep · Surface-5 m
No certification needed
Moderate reliability
False Bay (Seal Island)
South Africa
Peak May-Sep · n/a
No certification needed
Moderate reliability
Stewart Island (Rakiura)
New Zealand
Peak Dec-Apr · Surface-5 m
No certification needed
Other shark encounters
Explore it on the globe
Pick a species, a month or a certification level and see every real encounter site plotted live, ranked by how likely you are to actually see it.
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