Oahu is one of the most beautiful places in the world with a great balance of tropical landscapes with city life, making it the most visited island in all of Hawaii. Not only do you have tons of stunning beaches and lush tropical forests to choose from, but plenty of adventure, as well.

If you want to go on an adventure few are brave enough to take on, I recommend going on a shark diving tour! Safety and experience are primary here, so I’ve gone ahead and shared the 5 top Oahu shark diving tours out there that are well worth your time and money. Let’s jump right in!

Be sure to see our reviews of Oahu Sunset Dinner Cruises, Waikiki Beach Surfing Lessons and Whale Watching Tours.

Best Shark Diving in Oahu

	Oahu Shark Dive	Swim with Sharks (cage-free) in Oahu	Shark Cage Diving In Oahu
Location:	66-101 Haleiwa Rd, Haleiwa	Small Boat Harbor, 66-105 Haleiwa Rd, Haleiwa	66-105 Haleiwa Rd. Haleiwa, HI
Start:	Between 7:30 AM & 11:30 AM	8:00, 10:00 AM, 12:00, 2:00 PM	Between 5:30 AM & 12:30 PM
Duration:	1.5 hours	2 hours	2 hours
Includes:	Expert crew, Use of Snorkeling equipment, Local taxes	Free Photos and Videos, Snorkel gear, Safety diver, Live Commentary	Expert crew, Use of Snorkeling equipment, Local taxes
	Tour Information & Booking	Tour Information & Booking	Tour Information & Booking

Quick Answer: The 5 Best Rated Oahu Shark Dives For 2024

1. Oahu Shark Dive
2. Swim with Sharks (cage-free) in Oahu
3. Shark Cage Diving In Oahu
4. Open Water Shark Dive
5. Safe and Educational Shark Dive from Haleiwa: Sharks Guaranteed

Oahu Shark Diving Reviews

1. Oahu Shark Dive

As the shortest tour on this guide, I found this to be packed full of fun, education, and adrenaline! The Oahu Shark Dive tour is perfect for absolute newbies as well as seasoned divers who have already encountered these amazing creatures before.

It’s ideal for those who love thrills just as much as nature lovers who have never had the chance to encounter a real-life shark before! Clocking in at 1.5 hours and with plenty of start times available, it’s a great activity to add to your already-packed schedule and one that’s well worth the money.

Start out by heading to the Haleiwa Harbor located on Oahu’s North Shore (sometimes they offer van transfers, so it’s worth asking), where you’ll meet your expert crew and head out into the open ocean.

Along the way, they gave us a safety briefing, answered all of our questions, and pointed out plenty of beautiful marine animals! If you’re lucky in the wintertime, you may even catch sight of the incredible Humpback whales, in addition to dolphins, sea turtles, and more.

We learned how we should behave and things to avoid when in the cage, with our guides explaining the reasoning behind such behaviors. When we finally arrived to the best diving spot, they helped us don all of our snorkeling gear and got into the cage!

The first time was a bit scary and very thrilling, though with visibility at times up to 200 feet, we got to see plenty of amazing sharks without them getting too close!

One of them did calmly swim right up to us, which did cause a surge of adrenaline, but we soon realized that we were safe and they were just as curious about us as we were about them! Each cage can hold around 2-4 adult divers comfortably, so you can go with a buddy to make the experience that much better!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

2. Swim with Sharks (cage-free) in Oahu

Next up is a slightly longer tour than the first, and one of my all-time favorite shark diving experiences! The Swim with Sharks (Cage-Free) in Oahu is certainly a bit more of a rush as you literally are just there in the ocean with the sharks – no barriers between you.

While at first that may sound a bit worrisome, you’re in expert hands with local guides and safety divers there with you the entire time. So, what’s the appeal of going down with sharks, cage-free?

Well, it’s simply a more intimate and exclusive encounter with these amazing sea creatures in a way that just feels more “authentic”?

You’ll soon notice that they’re just hanging out in their natural environment, and spend most of their time casually swimming around – some of them even seemed to have fun swimming around us, kind of like sea dogs!

This 2-hour experience comes with plenty of different start times, making it super easy to work into your schedule. I also found it to be one of the easiest meet-up points to find, right on the waterfront in Haleiwa.

Make sure to bring your swimsuit and sunscreen, but all snorkeling equipment they do provide for you. We headed right out to the snorkeling spot, as our friendly crew chatted with us, offering safety briefings and answering all of the questions we had so we felt at ease.

If for any reason you’d like to watch the sharks from the boat, you can do that as well – this tour is for everyone! Otherwise, don your snorkeling gear with your crew and spend around half an hour as they point out sharks while you swim around!

I thought I’d be more nervous than I was being in open water with sharks like this, but our crew was so knowledgeable and confident that it ended up just being a blast! They even took photos and videos of us throughout, which were invaluable mementos to take back home with us!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

3. Shark Cage Diving In Oahu

Have you ever thought about heading out with local Hawaiians onto the crystal-clear blue waters of Oahu for a thrilling cage-diving adventure? If not, I highly suggest you reconsider if you’re at all interested in seeing these amazing animals up close!

The Shark Cage Diving in Oahu experience is a secure, stress-free experience where you have a professional crew there to lead the way and answer any questions you may have!

If it’s your first time ever doing something like this – or simply snorkeling in general – I would greatly suggest this tour. It’s great for seasoned snorkelers and swimmers, though if you’re an absolute beginner, try this one out for size.

The tour lasts around 2 hours in total and with plenty of different start times available, making it super easy to fit into any schedule. I’d actually done a Great White diving tour in South Africa not long before I did this one, and the sharks you’ll see on this tour are much less intimidating.

We took a short ride out to an area where Tiger sharks, Sandbar sharks, and Galapagos sharks tend to hang out, for a raw and unedited wildlife encounter few get to experience. Once you arrive, put on your snorkel and mask, and head into the floating cage either by yourself or a buddy to watch the sharks in their natural habitat.

If for whatever reason you don’t feel like going into the water, you can appreciate the views from the polyglass windows, which are perfect for those who don’t have much swim experience.

Throughout the tour, the crew offered plenty of educational commentary about these sharks’ biology, behavior, what sets them apart from the rest, and other cool facts that further enriched our time together.

All in all, I’d say it’s the perfect tour for families with kids or those who feel particularly hesitant but are still interested in seeing sharks!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

4. Open Water Shark Dive

If you’re looking for something a bit more thrill-inducing than your average snorkeling tour, you’re in the right place. The Open Water Shark Dive is perhaps the most adventurous of all the tours on this guide, where you’ll swim freely with some of the ocean’s most iconic predators.

Unlike traditional cage diving like some of the other tours we’ve covered, this opportunity takes away the barrier of a cage separating you from these amazing animals.

The authenticity of this experience isn’t to be underestimated – you’re out there in the open crystal-clear waters in the center of Hawaii’s rich marine ecosystem.

You’ll not only get to swim with an array of different sharks, but potentially rays, turtles, dolphins, whales, and schools of tropical fish! Led by professional, highly-trained guides, the tour focuses largely on safety, education, and conservation, highlighting the importance of these apex predators.

This tour is one of the most exclusive, with a max of just 6 participants allowed for full freedom, more water time, and more attention for each participant to ensure everyone feels safe and comfortable.

After meeting up at the Hale’iwa Boat Harbor in the morning with our crew, we hopped on board and learned that all of them come from unique backgrounds – from marine biologists to professional dive instructors to pro videographers!

We had literally everything we wanted right there, sharing all kinds of interesting facts and stories about the ocean and critters who live below its surface.

Once they spotted a good dive spot, the safety diver went into the water to do a full assessment of the water’s conditions and the wildlife hanging out before giving us the green light.

Once in the water, we had plenty of time to swim around, take photos, and learn about the sharks and other animals around us. I’d recommend this tour to anyone who wants to take things a bit further than a cage dive!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

5. Safe and Educational Shark Dive from Haleiwa: Sharks Guaranteed

If you or anyone else in your party is really captivated by sharks and would like to learn all about them, this tour should be at the top of your list! The Safe and Educational Shark Dive from Haleiwa: Sharks Guaranteed experience is perfect for all ages and backgrounds!

You’re sure to learn much more here than you would in any biology class or show on National Geographic, as you get to see everything in person! One thing that we had focused on was taking tours that we knew wouldn’t disturb the environment or its inhabitants in any negative way, focusing on respect and conservation.

This tour perfectly aligned with those values, and we soon discovered that we’d have expert marine biologists onboard to help teach and keep everyone safe. This 2-hour tour is great if you don’t want to commit to a longer snorkeling tour and with many different tour times available, I’m sure you’ll be able to find one that works with your schedule.

We arrived at the loading dock in Haleiwa where we boarded our boat, learning all about the different species of sharks that live in the area and what we can expect to see on our swim.

It truly was a rich educational experience, learning all about their behavior, biology, different markings and features, research, and how we can safely interact with them. We learned that they’re not natural predators to humans, and are genuinely curious about us more than anything.

Once we arrived to the best spot, we headed into the water with the crew, where we saw not only an array of different sharks, but pelagic fish, and even a whale!

This tour gave me a whole new appreciation and love of sharks, and if you’re hesitant to try, this tour will change your mind. If you at any point don’t feel like going in the water, you can also appreciate amazing views of the animals from the deck!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience