When I first heard that you can go bull shark diving in Playa del Carmen, so many thoughts ran through my mind. Since diving with bull sharks is at the very top of my bucketlist, the first questions of course were, “How much is it?”, “Are they here right now??”, “Do we have to be in a cage???”
At first I did a quick google search to find some answers. I was pretty surprised to see how many places offer the tours, and that they were even on big booking sites like Viator! But if I was going to go swimming with apex predators, I wanted to make sure it was done right!
A fellow expat who has lived here in Playa del Carmen for 3 years connected me with a girl from France who is a Marine Biologist. Her name is Kim, and she also started a small, all-female diving company here in Playa called Double K Diving! She was so incredibly knowledgeable and reassuring of all of my concerns, telling me I was going to absolutely love it, which I absolutely did!
If you book a dive with them, please mention me because I get a small commission and that’s what helps keep this free blog alive!
So now that I’ve ticked off my major bucketlist of bull shark diving in Playa del Carmen, I can tell you what it’s like, how to plan it, and some tips!
(PS If You’re coming to this area of Mexico, please read my post first about “Is Mexico Safe? Safety Tips for Playa and Tulum”)
Jump To:
Bull Shark Diving in Playa del Carmen in a Nut Shell…
Female pregnant bull sharks supposedly started coming to the warm waters of Playa del Carmen several years ago. According to Kim, (who again, is a Marine Biologist), because it’s an area with no potential predators, and years ago some fishermen used to dump fish here so they were attracted in that particular spot.
Then, fishermen stared catching the sharks, and selling them as meat! In fact there was one fisherman who would go out nightly to catch them, and once he caught 12 in one night! To stop him and other locals from shark fishing, dive enthusiasts and companies actually pay them off, and have taught them to turn the sharks into a profitable tourist attraction, instead of a meal.
There is some debate about whether or not the bull shark diving in Playa del Carmen is ethical or not to the sharks. Well, in many of our opinions, allowing people to carefully observe them under water is A LOT better than observing them mounted on a wall or in a bowl of soup! There’s also a big debate about the companies that feed the sharks by hand in order to “put on a show” for divers. The dive I did didn’t do that, but even if it did, again, I’d rather people pay to see them, than locals kill them to get paid for their dead parts.
Now for the actual dive! It’s about 30-35 minutes and about 80-90 feet deep! It’s shorter because you go deeper, and use air faster. The cost for the shark dive plus a reef dive with Double K Diving is $135, and in my opinion 1000% worth it!
It’s a very straight forward process. The dive guides know where the bull sharks are (only about 400 meters from the beach, HA!), and you simply descend down a rope all the way to the bottom, sit down, and watch.
More details below!
Is Bull Shark Diving Dangerous?
Potentially. But not really with the ones you’ll be diving with in Playa del Carmen. This is because the ones that come to Playa are pregnant females, who come during their gestation period. There are also no males around so they are more relaxed.
However in other areas bull sharks can definitely be more dangerous. In fact you have probably heard that they are one of the most aggressive types of sharks!
But don’t worry, this dive is carefully executed in a way that is safe for you, and that they are used to! There has never been an incident with a bull shark in Playa del Carmen.
Is The Dive Scary?
Chances are that if you’re reading this, you aren’t too afraid of sharks. Because if you were there is no way in hell you’d even have ended up here!
For me personally, I was not afraid of being around the sharks at all, and actually found the experience to be very beautiful and peaceful. The only scary part for me, as an “anxious diver” was thinking about the depth since I’d never gone down that deep, and not being able to surface if I felt like it on my own (which you shouldn’t do anyway).
To be honest, I was a little panicky going down at first, but after a minute I could already see the bottom! And the sharks! As soon as I saw the sharks I got really excited and completely forgot about the depth! In fact, I was shocked when it was time to go up, because I was so mesmerized by the sharks swimming around us!
((BTW I had a traumatic dive experience in a cenote 2 years ago that made me afraid to dive again, but I REALLY wanted to see the sharks, so I practiced diving in Cozumel, then went and did it, now I’m not afraid anymore!!))
As Kim said, “I promise, you will love it!”, and that’s the damn truth!
Do You Need a Special Scuba Diving Certification?
Technically you should have your Advanced Open Water because of the depth. Regular Open Water is supposed to only be to 18 meters or 60 feet, and this is an 80-90 feet dive.
However, if you’ve done more than 15 or so dives, most of the companies will let you do it with an Open Water license, and will just brief you beforehand for a deep dive.
If you aren’t certified yet for Open Water, Kim does that as well in Playa for $400! You can do it with her and then also do the Shark Dive later after you’ve gotten a few more dives under your belt.
When Are the Bull Sharks in Playa del Carmen?
The official season for Bull Sharks in Playa del Carmen is between November and March. However this can vary! For example, something unknown happened last year where they came for only two weeks, and then left for the rest of the season. It’s likely someone fished one of them, and scared the rest away.
Why Do the Bull Sharks Come to Playa Del Carmen?
As I mentioned in the nut shell, it is said that originally they came to eat the bi-products of fish that the locals caught and threw into the sea. Now some of the shark dive companies feed them (by hand), so it is also said that they come back for the easy food and relatively safe waters during their gestation period.
After their 10 month gestation (pregnancy), they swim to Sian Ka’an Bio Reserve area to have their babies in the mangroves. Then it’s back up towards Florida! …Where they can be a bit more aggressive.
How Many Sharks Can You Expect to See
You can’t predict this at all. Before I went, some people said 4-5 and I thought that was a lot!
But then I went, and there was about 9 of them! We could see at least one at all times, and half the time there were two or three crossing paths! I actually couldn’t tell there were nine until we were starting to swim up, and I saw them all from above!
Do They Feed the Bull Sharks?
There’s two types of bull shark dives; observatory and feeding. You can probably guess what happens in each. I did the observatory dive, so there was no feeding.
Apparently the point of feeding dives is to see more action and supposedly for the sharks to get closer. But when I did it without a feeding, they still got as close as two feet from my face!
Again this is a constant debate of whether it’s good or not to do. On the one hand, it’s better to have tourism than shark fishing. Plus, I meeeannn, easy free food for the preggo sharkies. On the other hand, it’s bad to get them used to being fed in case they stop wanting to hunt in the wild.
How Much is it to go Bull Shark Diving?
Each bull shark diving company in Playa del Carmen has a different cost. I’d highly recommend that you don’t make your decision based solely on the cheapest price! Do your research on different companies and who people recommend!
As you already know, I highly recommend Kim, not just because everything was SO well executed, but because she’s highly knowledgeable about the sharks as well! And super sweet!
Again the shark dive plus another reef dive (without the sharks) is only $135! Please mention that I referred you so that she knows I’m spreading the good word!
What do You Do During the Dive Process?
Here’s a basic timeline of how my bull shark dive went:
- 1 hour of briefing and gear fitting
- 5 minute boat ride from the Reef Club (!!!), yes, they are THAT close to the beach!
- 5 minutes gearing up and jumping into the water
- 2-3 minutes descending down to the bottom of the water using a rope attached to a bouy
- 20-25 minutes situating everyone kneeling or laying down holding onto a rope at the bottom, observing the sharks as they swim around you!
- 6-7 minutes swimming away from the sharks (yes, past them!) and ascending, including safety stops
The entire dive only lasted about 35 minutes, because as I mentioned earlier, you use more oxygen at deeper depths!
What Gear Should You Use to Take Photos and Videos?
Of course you’ll want photos and videos of your shark experience right?! Well, many of us will, but some may want to just enjoy the experience!
Many of the dive companies offer an actual photographer for an added fee, but it can be super pricey. Usually around $50, which is definitely worth it if you don’t want to take your own!
If you want to try taking your own though, these are the products I’d suggest you bring:
Note: The first row is DJI products which are cheaper, and same quality, and the second row is GoPro. You MUST have a waterproof case for either of them at this depth. The point of the red filter is so everything doesn’t look so blue! You can also edit with the Dive+ app later.
PHOTO TIP: If you don’t want to attempt taking your own photos, Double K Diving will take your photos for an additional only $35 ! Or $50 for groups. Definitely worth it! They took most of the photos you see in this post!
Safety Tips for Diving with Bull Sharks
Kim and also my cousin Ani (who certified me years ago) gave me a bunch of safety tips for swimming with bull sharks! Some may seem obvious, but just in case they’re not:
- Don’t flail around, especially at the surface. That’s what sharks look for naturally when looking for prey!
- Try not to kick up the sand on the ocean floor. It creates cloudiness which is terrible for visibility…both for your camera, and the sharks.
- Don’t hold your camera out. Keep it close to your body. So you don’t lose a limb or something.
- Always stay with your group! It makes it seem like you are one giant animal rather than one tiny one that’s easy to target!
- Hold on to the rope at all times! You do NOT want to drift off by yourself!
If you enjoyed this post or found it useful, please share it on social media and leave a comment! That’s how I’m able to continue providing free posts! (BTW it takes several days to write and edit them!)
I love sharks! I have been snorkelling with reef sharks in Thailand, and I’d like to see other types of sharks as well. I find your photos and experience incredibly cute (even though it could be potentially dangerous). :)) I hope to dive with bull sharks one day.
THat’s amazing! You would love to dive with them here!
Thanks for the detailed information on bull shark diving. I love adventurous activities, and I would love to try this one. By the way, the pictures are stunning.
Thank you! Hope you get to do it some day!
Thank you for all the info’s!! Btw amazing photos!! You made me want to visit Mexico.
Aww thank you! I hope you do!