Oahu’s Best Shark Dive Tours, My Personal Experience

Most people would never willingly swim face-to-face with the ocean’s apex predator — but you’re not just anyone! You’re an adventure-seeker, maybe perhaps a nature-love, or both (if you’re like me).

But before you can go shark diving in Oahu you’ll need to figure out which Oahu shark tour is right for you. Of course you’ll want to compare local tour operators to see which offer the best experience (and value). Even more importantly, you need to decide between shark cage diving and freediving with sharks. Ultimately, I decided to go freediving with sharks without any sort of barrier (spoiler alert: I loved it!) But if you’re uncertain, I’ll share some more information so you can decide.

I’m also sharing my recommendations for the best Oahu shark tour, drawing on my personal experience shark diving on Oahu’s North Shore, plus research and reviews from other travelers. I’ll tell you the top choices for Oahu shark cage tours and Oahu’s best shark freediving tours.

The Best Oahu Shark Dive Tours

There are two types of shark encounters that you can experience in Oahu, Hawaii.

🦈 Shark cage diving: The most popular option. Your tour guide will jet you out into the open ocean to observe sharks from the ‘safety’ of a submerged metal cage.

🤿 Shark freediving (cage-less): Snorkel amongst sharks in the open ocean, without a cage or other form of protection. If you’re curious about what it’s like, check out my article on what to know before freediving with sharks in Ohau.

In my opinion, shark cage diving is more about seeing a shark. Yes, you’re in the water, but the cage makes it impossible to actually interact with the animal the way you would in the wild.

Meanwhile, freediving with a shark requires you to learn how to safely interact with the animal. And the memory of your encounter will be burned into your brain so you know exactly how to act if you ever see a shark in the wild.

Why I chose freediving with sharks instead of cage diving on Oahu

My Oahu North Shore shark tour was the first time I’d ever seen a shark in the ocean. Since then, I’ve encountered dozens of sharks while snorkeling around the world. I’m so glad my first experience shark diving was with an expert local guide because now I feel so much more confident around sharks.

Don’t feel ready to jump in the open ocean with sharks? That’s okay! Shark cage diving is still a fun thing to do on Oahu! Here are my recommendations for the best Oahu shark tours:

PS: You might also be interested in swimming with dolphins in Oahu

1. Best Shark Freediving with a Local Company

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 180+ 5 star reviews. Read reviews.

The Pelagic Shark Dive Tour by IslandView Hawaii is my top recommendation amongst all the Ohau shark dive tours. This is the tour I did—and I loved it!

It’s hosted a local Hawaiian-owned tourism company that pioneering shark diving on Oahu’s north coast. The local crew is the perfect mix of low key yet professional, and made sure every single person on our tour felt safe and comfortable in the water.

As a bonus, photos and videos of the experience are included free of charges (along with fins and snorkel equipment).

2. Best Oahu Shark Diving Tour

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 2,000+ 5 star reviews. Read reviews.

If a shark cage diving is more your style, this tour with over two thousand positive reviews should be at the top of your Oahu itinerary!

It’s also a budget-friendly option with the lowest price point compared to all the shark dive tours on Oahu’s North Shore. Photos are offered at an additional fee, but you can also bring your own GoPro or waterproof camera.

More Oahu Shark Diving Tours

If the two shark tours above aren’t available, here are some other options to consider:

• Haleiwa Shark Dive Tour with One Ocean Diving (Led by shark experts Ocean Ramsay and Juan Oliphant with the chance to participate in shark data collection)
• Ocean Outfitters Hawaii North Shore Shark Tour
• Shark Cage Diving with Hawaii Shark Encounters Inc

What to Pack for a Cageless Shark Dive in Hawaii

• 👙 Bathing suit: This one seems obvious, but it has to be on the list!
• 🩴 Waterproof sandals: My husband and I both love our Arizona EVA Birkenstocks, which are waterproof (unlike normal Birks) and make the perfect flip flop alternative for beach vacations
• 🧖🏽‍♀️ Towel: If you’re looking for a great travel towel, check out Nomadix (I bring mine everywhere!)
• 💨 Light sweatshirt: Depending on the day, it can be a little chilly on the boat ride back to shore. I recommend packing a light sweatshirt or shirt for the ride.
• 💧 Dry bag: A dry bag keeps your electronics, wallet, and other important items from getting wet on the boat. I have this dry bag and I bring it on all my beach vacations to protect my camera, phone, wallet, and journal

Optional packing list (dependent on tour)

• 🤿 Snorkel gear: Most tours should include snorkel gear, but if you want to bring your own, you can.
• 📷 GoPro or waterproof phone case: GoPros and waterproof phone cases are not allowed on some tours. The tour I took included a free photo package, so it wasn’t a problem for me!

What to leave at home (or in your rental car/hotel)

• 💎 Jewelry: You don’t want to lose it, but you also should avoid wearing anything that might shimmer in the light and attract a curious shark
• ☀️ Face sunscreen: My tour guide advised us to avoid putting sunscreen on our faces because it can fog up your snorkel mask

Also See: Complete Hawaii Packing List

Oahu Shark Diving FAQs

Is it safe to dive with sharks in Oahu?

Shark cage diving is the safest way you can encounter sharks directly in the water. Metal shark cages are designed to keep humans in, and sharks out!

Freediving with sharks is also not as risky as you might think, but you can browse historical shark attack data on Hawaii.gov. My guide told us that sharks are actually quite poor hunters. They prefer to go for easy prey—like scraps dropped from fishing boats or injured marine mammals. Humans are not apart of their diet and they don’t have any reason to act aggressively towards us unless they mistake us for prey.

Shark attacks tend to happen in murky water or rough waves when sharks confuse humans for fish or other marine life. One thing that can add to the confusion is if a swimmer is thrashing in the water, which makes it even more difficult for the shark to understand that what they see is not prey.

Freediving with sharks of course has its risks, but if you go on a tour like I did, you’ll have trained safety divers who swim with sharks several times a day, every day. They are intimately aware of shark behavior and can tell if any sharks are exhibiting aggressive behavior before it becomes an issue.

If you are curious to learn more about the safety measures taken by the professional guides on Oahu shark dives, read my Oahu shark freediving guide!

Also, I recommend checking out Maui’s Shark Safety Tips guide.

Are there any other risks to be aware of when diving with sharks in Hawaii?

If you are prone to seasickness, you may experience it on your boat ride out into the ocean.

In addition, you could get stung by a jellyfish. I got stung by a few during our shark dive, but thankfully, the stings weren’t bad at all. Rather than stinging, they itched a little and were less bothersome than a mosquito bite.

Of course, you should be a competent swimmer if you intend to dive in the open ocean with sharks.

Where can you swim with sharks in Hawaii?

You can go shark diving on Maui and Oahu, but the most popular destination for shark diving in Hawaii is Oahu’s North Shore.

What type of sharks can you see off the coast of Oahu?

According to my local guide, the most common types of sharks to encounter on a dive here include Galapagos sharks and sandbar sharks. In addition, you may see tiger sharks, hammerhead sharks, white-tipped reef sharks, and gray reef sharks.

Oahu cage free shark dive tours leave from Haleiwa Small Boat Harbor on Oahu’s North Shore, which is on the opposite side of Oahu.

Also See: How to Spend a Perfect Day on Oahu’s North Shore