Diving with Sharks in the Bahamas

How do you feel about sharks? If you are like most people, being in the water and hearing someone say the word "shark" is enough to send shivers down your spine and make you anticipate seeing a circling dorsal fin. However, sharks shouldn't be a frightening experience, as long as you know enough to respect the creatures and stay out of their way. In fact, in the Bahamas, shark dives have become a very popular tourist attraction.

Finding a place to dive with sharks in the Bahamas is quite easy. You can choose from a number of different companies that offer a variety of different "styles" of shark dives. Each offers divers a unique and safe opportunity to see sharks up close, to see that they are as beautiful as they are dangerous.

One of the most popular shark dives in the Bahamas is located in Nassau and run by Stuart Cove. This dive experience has been in operation since the 1970s, and many people may be familiar with Stuart from his appearances on a variety of shark related shows on the Discovery Channel. The shark dives offered by Cove's company are what are called two tank dives. With the first tank, the divers are introduced to the Caribbean Reef Shark-filled water where they are allowed to free swim with the sharks. The divers use their second tank when they go down and actually witness the sharks feeding. This brings the sharks up quite close and is an incredible experience.

You can find plenty of other shark diving opportunities as well. The Shark Buoy, which is located about an hour's boat ride outside of New Providence, is a very popular destination for shark enthusiasts. Out here, miles from land, the large buoy attracts a number of different types of fish, including the Silky Shark.

You may also wish to check out the Shark Rodeo at Walker's Kay. Here, hundreds of sharks are treated to a mass of frozen chum, and divers get to witness the spectacle of a shark feeding frenzy firsthand. While this is a completely controlled and safe environment, seeing that many feeding sharks is still enough to set most heartbeats into overdrive.

Of course, you can also find plenty of dives that don't involve sharks whatsoever if being in the water with the predators doesn't appeal to you. But, for the adventurous, there are few things more thrilling.

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