Scuba diving is an adventurous and exciting hobby for many. Even more so, when encountering big marine life, like turtles, rays, or even sharks. Many divers travel thousands of kilometers to have a chance to see some of these unique species during their dives.
Shark dives are some of the most sought-after activities for divers worldwide. The yearly bull shark season is a special highlight for many visiting Playa del Carmen.
In this blog, we’ll give you all the information you need to dive with bull sharks in Playa del Carmen.
Diving With Bull Sharks in Playa del Carmen
Every year we can witness the natural migration of bull sharks near the Playa del Carmen coast. The mostly female pregnant bull sharks arrive to spend their gestation period in the waters close by. After this time, they’re heading out to give birth in other regions of the Caribbean.
Bull Shark Season in Playa del Carmen
Divers who want to dive with bull sharks should plan their visit to Playa del Carmen carefully. This is because the sharks aren’t around all year long. This natural phenomenon takes place only between mid-November and the end of February approximately, while the waters are a bit cooler around the Caribbean coast of Mexico.
During some years, the bull sharks stay around a little longer, until the middle of March. The best time though, to nearly have guaranteed sightings is between December and February. During these months, the bull sharks linger around the Bull Shark Point at Playa del Carmen.
Requirements to Dive With Bull Sharks
The usual depth for bull shark encounters is around 25 meters below the surface. The dive takes place at the so-called Bull Shark Point in Playa del Carmen. Due to the depth and occasionally strong current at this dive site, divers are required to count with an advanced open water diver certification at least. You’ll also be allowed to participate by having your deep diving specialty combined with an open water diver certification.
Having dived recently is another requirement. Divers also must be at least 15 years of age to participate in the shark diving activity.
Local regulations prohibit divers from carrying any light or neon-colored equipment. All diving equipment should be black or dark blue. For example, diving in the bull shark area with red, neon green, pink, or yellow fins isn’t allowed. The same applies to wetsuits or other items during shark season.
All divers are required to wear long wetsuits for protection. So even if you feel the water temperature is warm, there’s no way around this rule. You have to dive with a long neoprene suit for this dive.
For long hair, it’s recommended to wear a hood too. If you’re planning to bring your camera or GoPro, please refrain from taking an extendible stick for it. Rather carry your GoPro clipped to your equipment without any sticks or extensions. Underwater flashlights are also prohibited during the bull shark dives. Those can blind other divers and call the attention of the sharks. (You certainly won’t want to reduce your visibility further when swimming around bull sharks.)
Is it Safe To Dive With Bull Sharks?
Even though bull sharks are recognized as a more aggressive species of sharks, there’s nothing to fear about diving with bull sharks in Playa del Carmen. In fact, sharks do not perceive divers as potential food. And we don’t represent anything interesting to the bull sharks. Quite the contrary is true. Sharks will rather avoid big groups of divers blowing bubbles around. They will take their distance from such encounters with humans if there are many divers.
Therefore it’s considered safe to dive with bull sharks in Playa del Carmen, and there haven’t been any incidents in the past years conducting bull shark dives in the area. As long as you follow the rules stated in the dive briefing and follow the guidelines, you’ll be absolutely safe during your dive with the bull sharks.
Bull Shark Diving: 2 Different Approaches
Diving to encounter bull sharks in Playa del Carmen is conducted in two different ways. Boats have fixed time slots, and a limited number of participants per outing, to ensure everyone gets a good view and a chance to encounter the bull sharks underwater.
You can participate in an observation dive, where you dive in a small group with a guide off a boat at the bull shark point to admire the bull sharks swimming around in the area. There’s a very high chance to see various bull sharks during this dive in the season, and groups are limited to a certain number of divers per time slot.
Each dive lasts around 30 minutes before the group has to slowly leave the area and follow the current while ascending to be picked up by the boat. This trip usually includes a second dive close to the bull shark point in a shallower reef of Playa del Carmen.
Another option is to participate in an attraction dive, conducted by a shark specialist and his safety diver. During this experience, there’s only one group of divers with a guide descending to the bull shark point. This is a stationary dive. You’ll stay at the bottom of the bull shark dive site where you can hold onto fixed ropes during moderate to strong currents. The shark specialist will be attracting the bull sharks and they’ll swim right in front and over the group of divers.
This is a unique experience, getting face to face with the sharks. During this dive, there’s almost always a photographer on board, you can buy some pictures from him to take memories of this dive back home.
Encounter Bull Sharks With BlueLife Diving
All in all, the experience of encountering bull sharks during a dive is a unique and exciting adventure. There’s nothing to worry about, as long as you’re aware of the rules and stick to the guidelines mentioned in the dive briefing. You can be sure to make life-lasting memories underwater when participating in a bull shark observation or attraction dive.
Apart from daily scuba diving trips to Cozumel, Cenotes, and Playa del Carmen reefs, we operate bull shark dives during the official season. With BlueLife you’ll always dive in small groups, and with an experienced and professional guide. Our dive guides are instructors with several years of experience diving with sharks and ensuring your safety throughout this unique adventure.
You can also book a multi-day package including a day of bull shark diving in Playa del Carmen, or upgrade your Playa dive to experience the sharks underwater. Get in touch for further information or check out our dive experiences on our website.
We’re looking forward to taking you diving!
We hope you enjoyed reading this blog about “Diving with Bull Sharks Playa del Carmen”. Make sure to read our other interesting blog topics! Follow us on Facebook & Instagram, or contact us to book your dives!