Waihuka Shark Dive | Caribbean Adventures Roatan

Waihuka Shark Dive

Roatan, Islas de la Bahía, Honduras
from/per person $105
  • 3 Hours
  • Transport Included
  • Tour guide

Description

Waihuka Shark Dive

Get up close and personal with one of the ocean's most interesting and dangerous creatures: the shark.

Actually, Hollywood films like Jaws have given sharks a bad rap. Yes, they are apex predators and, as with any wild animal, should be treated with caution and respect, but they aren’t necessarily the evil and terrible killers they’re made out to be.

In fact, sharks play an important role in the health of the marine ecosystem, helping control fish and marine mammal populations. So you don’t have to be an adrenaline junkie to scuba dive with Roatan’s sharks. Others have actually described their Roatan shark diving experiences as “awe-inspiring” and “surreal.”

Our shark encounter excursion is with the Waihuka Dive Center in Coxen Hole. A driver will meet you at the cruise ship terminal and transport you to the shark dive. The encounters are scheduled at 9am, 11:30 am and 2pm where Sergio or a certified PADI Divemaster will lead the dive.

Briefings take place in the dive center preparing you for a safe, enjoyable experience. There is also footage of previous dives being shown allowing you to further prepare yourself and add to the anticipation.
The dive site is located on a unique part of the reef surrounding Roatan, an arm that juts perpendicularly from the southern shore surrounded by walls that drop off to depths beyond the reach of divers. The dive site is named 'Cara a Cara' which in Spanish means 'face to face'. And you will be 'face to face' with the species of 'Carcharhinus perezi' - the caribbean reef shark.
 
Cara a Cara is also quite different from sites found on similar shark encounters around the Caribbean. Firstly the sharks have not been 'chummed' away from their natural environment, ask any local fisherman on the island of Roatan where the sharks are and they can tell you...sharks have been stealing fish from them here for years! The sharks we dive with are all female, displaying a daytime schooling behavior known only to a few species of sharks.

Typically about 6 to 9 feet long and several hundred pounds each, these are handsome, powerful fish – healthy hunters of the reef in natures system of checks and balances.
The dive is held among a beautiful reef of hard and soft corals between 60 – 70 feet (18 – 21 meters). Visibility is usually more than 80 feet as the site is located a ten-minute boat ride from Roatan's shore and thus not diminished by rain or other factors. Divers descend along the mooring line (there is often current) to a small wall where divers arrange themselves kneeling or standing, back to the wall and facing the Divemaster and anywhere from 10 -20 sharks. A snack of fish (1-2 pounds) is kept in a bucket to keep the sharks interested, divers watching the sharks circling the area. Often the divemaster allows the divers who want to swim into the crowd of sharks and having a direct interaction with them - of course no touching, just watching!
 
After 15 or more minutes divers are going back into the standing or kneeling position at the wall. When everyone is ready, the bucket is presented to the sharks for a few moments of action as they jostle for position and a snack. At no time are the sharks handled or fed individually. Although this species of shark is not known to pose a serious threat to divers we like to keep a healthy respect and a reasonable distance from the bait. Following this the sharks will usually swim off so there is an opportunity to move around the site and look for shark teeth on the bottom, check out our favorite Green Moray Eel and simply enjoy the splendor of the many other fish. There are usually large Groupers and Snappers that have all become quite tame, offering additional photo/video opportunities.
 
After your dive and the mandatory safety stop we head back to the dive center to watch the footage from the dive and sign log books. The shop offers a custom video of your experience, t-shirts and other memorabilia to buy at the end of your experience.
 
 

Requirements

Active scuba certification (e.g., Open Water)
At least 20 total dives (lifetime)
2 or more dives within the last 6 months

We strongly recommend that you dive during your cruise on the stop prior to Roatan.

Things to bring

You can bring your own equipment: Mask, Snorkel, Fins, BCD, Regulator and Wetsuit (unless you prefer to rent it).

Included Equipment

Tank, Weights

Extra Equipment

Mask, Snorkel, Fins, BCD, Regulator and Wetsuit

Notes

You can bring your own underwater camera or video camera, except GoPro cameras, because they attract sharks.
A professional video is also available for sale after the dive.
Cancellation policy: full deposit refund when cancelled 48 hours or more in advance.

Videos

Schedule

Time Slots
Monday09.00am / 11.30am
Tuesday09.00am / 11.30am
Wednesday09.00am / 11.30am
Thursday09.00am / 11.30am
Friday09.00am / 11.30am
Saturday09.00am / 11.30am
SundayClosed
Note: schedules are indicative and different arrangements can be made to better serve you. When in doubt, please inquire - we'll be glad to help.

Reviews

uriggin, Northern California

"Thrilling and wonderful"
Thrilling and wonderful. There is current and u should be an experienced diver to go go back up the line and deal with people hanging on. It is one of the real memorable experiences . You get to swim amidst the reef sharks and get to pet a large grouper, who behaves like a friendly labrador. The DM is friendly and keeps people safe and is helpful. The boat kinda sucks, since the the waves were a bit rough and no holes for the tank..it was rather uncomfortable...but just 15 mins ride...so deal with it.

219MaryG219, Louisville, Kentucky

You will hang out in very close quarters with about 10 sharks as they wait for their meal of fish-heads. Don't skip this! I felt quite safe the whole time (you stand with your back against a coral wall so that sharks cannot come up behind you).

mullen Grand Junction, CO

This was our first shark dive and if was very exciting. We were well informed on what to expect and got to see lots of Reef Sharks.

Jugebuce, Hermosillo, Messico

"Well prepared staff"
Well prepared staff, their main concern is your safety, we book with them trough Anthonys Key Resort. Sergio the Owner and dive master really knows what he was doing this is recommend for Advanced Divers

Maureen K Fort Worth, Texas

"An Incredible, Moving, and Beautiful Experience!"
My husband and I booked our shark dive through CoCo View, and both have nothing but good to say about this experience. There were only 6 of us diving on this day, so it was even more ideal. The boat ride out was about 15 minutes, and we were lucky that the seas were somewhat calm that day. The whole week we had wind and rough seas, so it was still rocky going out in a smaller boat with no roof, but it really wasn't a big deal. I was just so excited to do the dive that nothing could really ruin my day. If you get seasick, be sure to take care of yourself before you go out, as I did. I had no issues. You drop in and have a current line to grab ahold of is the current is strong, and then you just hand over hand it down the mooring line. As you descend you can start to see a few shark outlines under you. It's a descent to 72ft so the excitement just builds as you get closer. YOu drop to your knees with a small coral formation behind you so the sharks won't swim directly behind you. There was NEVER a point where I felt unsafe. The sharks will look at you, and swim at you and veer off but they really aren't interested. They were absolutely incredibly beautiful and graceful. There were 3-5 sharks to start between 5-8 or 9ft in length, and we ended up with 20. On any given day this number can fluctuate. These aren't tame animals, so every day could be different in terms of how many you will see. We had an AMAZING DAY! The first part of the dive you watch them come in and they swim and circle in front, around to the sides, and over top of you. I really cannot put into words the experience. They kind of poke at the bucket that is placed about 10-15ft away. It's not quite open yet, so they're not going crazy. Since we only had 6 divers we were allowed to SWIM WITH THEM!! Yes, we were able to go out and actively dive with these incredible creatures. And again, never was there a point where anything felt unsafe. After diving for 5 or so minutes we settled back in front of the coral, and then the DM opens up the bucket carefully (they're getting pretty interested in the bucket at this point) and he pushes it out about 15-20ft away, and the shark then go into a pretty cool frenzy. And after they realize that the fish heads that were in the bucket are gone, they disappear as quickly as they came. There is not much bait in the bucket, which is good. This is not a food source that these sharks depend on. It's more like a nice unexpected snack for them on dive days.The dive is to 72ft for about 45 minutes on air. I would like to ask to bring our own Nitrox tanks next time as I hit 7 Nitrogen bars on my computer. Never went into needing a Deco stop, but it was close. I would also recommend that if you do this dive you have adequate buoyancy skills, as well as being good on your air. You don't want to cut the dive short because you sucked down too much air too quickly. I came up with 2000psi as I'm a bit of a freak on air consumption, but there were some divers who came up with 500psi. Just something to consider and work on if you are going to do the dive. ALSO NOTE: No GoPros. All other cameras are completely fine. They had three incidents with GoPros and the sharks. I do believe people went in with their WiFi sensor on, and it messed with the sharks. They didn't like it and basically went after the GoPro. So this policy went into affect just to protect everyone. I left mine on the boat, but was able to get the video footage from the other diver who was with us. They also offer a nice DVD of you on your dive for $50, which we did get...great footage. The cost of the dive was well worth the money. We returned to CoCo View in time to get lunch, and do the afternoon 2pm boat dives.Absolutely recommend. Please go into the experience knowing that the number of sharks you may see may fluctuate, that if there are a large group of divers that you might not be able to swim with the sharks, and that the boat may be smaller without a roof. This is not diva diving. This is an adventure! When we return I want to do this dive again!