I did the latter at a place called Smallhope Bay Lodge in the Bahamas. It was pretty cool, and I didn't get et.

Did a bull shark feeding dive in Cuba a few times a number of years ago. No cages and the sharks were as gentle as golden retrievers when taking food from the dive masters. The sharks would swim within a foot or two from you but swim away once they realize you didn't have food. My heart was in my throat the first time, but the other times our nerves settled down and it was great for u/w photography. Its the only place in the world that feeds bull sharks AFAIK.

Here's a youtube of the same dive we did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtV97NStyLs

I went Great White cage diving near the Farallon Islands off San Francisco a few years back. The conditions weren't ideal - very cold water (56 degrees), visibility poor, and generally wavy. Each of us could only stand around 45 minutes per turn before we were shivering and in need of warmth. There were around 5 or 6 of us diving. We set up in a spot and had a decoy surfboard floating nearby. None of us saw anything until were finished diving, when the captain decided to troll the surfboard in another spot. It didn't take long and a good-sized Great White chomped the surfboard. Most of his/her body came out of the water so we could see it pretty well - around 14 feet long.

It was a good experience but I'd much rather go the Guadalupe, like you. Conditions there are much better regarding water temp and visibility and the trip's duration is much longer, with fishing along the way. Another good spot is near Cape Town, South Africa. One of these years I'd like to do one of these trips.

Make sure to take a good video camera. Should be a great trip if you do it, unforgettable and bonding for you and your sons.

I've never been but had a friend go to Guadalupe and one shark came at it so hard the cage broke and they had to swim up

Good times! :)

I've done a few shark feed dives and they're ok, they are much like puppies coming when they hear the can opener.

Best shark dive I ever did (about 5 times) was out at cocos island off CR. every night the white tips would come in as a pack (and we're talking up to a hundred or more) and hunt the reef, and you can swim right down among them. When they corner and catch a fish it gets pretty nuts but they couldn't care less if I was there

Shark diving?
Yes.

Cage?
No.

Guadalupe - Whites, no cage. Pucker pucker.

San Benito - One white, one blue, no cage. Pucker

Revillagegedos - Hundreds of Browns, black tips, white tips, hammer heads...and one tiger. Fuck me...

Go for it. Take photos. Make sure they didn't buy the cage from Don's....

---

Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb

yes, off Capetown. Water was effing freezing (and I do cold water), nasty sloppy thermal wetsuit.

The sharkies were not cooperating but a bunch of us went down in the cage anyway to get that experience. After a couple goes of that we came back up, I got the wetsuit off, and then, of course, a massive white shows up.

The crew toyed with him like a cat with a piece of chum on the end of a long rod. Surreally beautiful animal. So it wasn't the full experience but we got a couple hours on a boat, a captain who talked sharks for the entire time. And a sighting. Totally worth it, even if it wasn't face on.

Yes, with great whites down in South Africa. So not proper diving - there's a half-submerged cage attached to the side of the boat, you get in there in your wetsuit and then hold your breath and duck under the water when the shark comes past. They managed to attract a couple of medium-sized (~12 feet) sharks, I saw one swim past the cage pretty close a few times while I was in there, and then another one came barrelling out of the water, jaws wide open to take the bait, while I was on deck.

Mixed experience for me. On the one hand it was pretty cool to actually see a great white up close. They're so primeval looking they almost look fake (the Jaws model is more realistic than I gave it credit for), especially when the jaws are wide open. On the other hand it felt like a slightly tacky commercial experience, and not entirely comfortable with the ethics of getting those sharks to link people and boats with food on a hook. Definitely wouldn't go swimming in those parts.

some interesting stories from your responses. Thanks for the information. I looked at the Faralon Islands trip but not a fan of the cold water so figured Guadalupe would be better.

Can't imagine being in the water with Bullsharks and not thinking about how aggressive they are and trying to get out of there. Don't want any part of tigers or bull sharks without a cage. But I do see stories of people diving with them so I guess it happens. Have been diving for awhile and never seen a shark that I would consider a true risk ( bulls, Tigers, Hammerheads or Whites). Most of my diving is of the resort type where we check out the reefs and small fish in places like Cayman etc.

Looked at the South African trips a well but from the US Guadalupe probably cheaper overall and I think better visibility in Mexico.

Thanks for the feedback.

Cool video. That is nutz... No cage and I might be up for some reef sharks but not a bunch of bulls.

Never been, but noticed this article yesterday which reviews 3 outfits that run trips:

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/...ly-submerge-sharks/#

I went out of Emeryville to the Farallon Islands. Cool boat ride past Alcatraz and under the bridge! There were sharks all day long, but the water is very murky so it looks like big shadows slowly swimming past you. We saw a seal get swallowed whole, and had the seal decoy behind the boat get "tasted." Cool experience, but if I did it again I'd go to Guadalupe where the water is clear.

never been. But Discovery channel is having their shark week 2016 starting Sunday. I plan on watching some of it.

http://www.vox.com/...hark-week-2016-shows