Shark Dive North Shore Oahu Review

I went diving with Hawaii Adventure Diving on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii.

We left from the Hale‘iwa Boat Harbor on the North Shore of Oahu. I went with two friends and the boat left the harbor at 7:30am. We got there about 15 minutes early to use the restroom, and make sure we had everything we needed. There's free parking right beside the boat. My friend found Hawaii Adventure Diving online. Be sure to read the entire post to see if I'd recommend doing this again. I'm always totally honest with my reviews.

We brought our own snorkel and mask and fins, but honestly their mask and snorkel they provided was better than mine! So I used their snorkel, mask, and my own long fins I got from leader fins!

I would recommend bringing the following:

- Towel

- Fins

- Sunglasses or hat (my hat kept blowing off my head in the wind, so I'd recommend the sunglasses)

- Sunscreen

- Bottle of water

- Snack (I brought a cliff bar)

- GoPro (if you have one)

- Hair tie (for those with long hair to put into a pony tail when swimming. My hair kept floating in my face and it was harder to see the sharks)

It's about a 15-20 minute boat ride and you'll be 3 miles away from the shoreline. There's a chance to see other wildlife like dolphins or whales during whale season!

We saw this incredibly beautiful rainbow. The brightest rainbow I've ever seen!

When we got to the location, you can look down and see the sharks already swimming around the boat. The captain will run the boat engine so that it creates bubbles at the surface to attract the sharks. They let out a yellow rope that floats behind the boat, so those who feel more comfortable hanging onto it, have the chance to do so and view the sharks that way.

It's important to pay attention to the safety divers while doing this activity. They teach shark behavior and what to do and what not to do. You don't want to splash around, make crazy movements in the water. If a shark is swimming towards you, you want to make eye contact with the shark. You can put your fins out towards them to create more space if you want to feel more comfortable. In my experience, the sharks came no further an about 6 ft away from me, then they turned around.

Check out the video I created at the bottom of this blog to see how it was!

The day we went, the waves were pretty rough. So I chose to hold onto the yellow rope because the waves were strong and there was a current. Other people were comfortably swimming not holding onto the rope, so it's a personal choice. There were two divers with us, one was a safety diver and the other was a professional photographer that offered to take our photos for $75 each. I had my GoPro, so I opted out of the photos during this activity.

The sharks were SO incredible to watch! We saw about 3-4 Galapagos sharks that were about 6-8 ft long. My friends saw a box jellyfish and a barracuda, although I didn't see those unfortunately! I did get stung by another jellyfish called a Man O' War. These stings barely hurt, and create small bumps on your skin that last a few days. The sting itches for a few days and it feels similar to a mosquito bite. It's quite common to be stung by these little guys in Hawaii, so don't let that steer you away from entering into the water! It's very minor and manageable. This wouldn't be an honest review if I didn't include this event! :)

There were two people that got into the boat early because the waves were making them feel sea sick. If you do get prone to sea sickness I recommend bringing some peppermint oil or motion medicine just in case.

Overall, I'd highly suggest this company Hawaii Adventure Diving and seeing the sharks for yourselves! It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to be swimming and relaxing with sharks. The safety divers and the captain were absolutely incredible and made us feel very safe and secure. They taught us all about sharks, their behaviors, and how they are being wrongfully killed for their fins! That's so terrible! Stay away from shark fin soup... please! Sharks were never supposed to be eaten by humans. Just a single bite of their fin contains more mercury than we should eat in our entire life. It's actually not good for us at all. Check it out here.

Sharks are highly misunderstood animals! They are beautiful creatures and we can swim with them within the safety of the shark dive tour on the North Shore! Don't miss this amazing opportunity if you're visiting Oahu, Hawaii! :)

I can't wait to do this again!