My husband and I were in the North Shore for an anniversary trip.
First off, the location is a little tricky to get to. Upon entering the parking lot (behind Hale-iwa Joe's), bear to the right where you see the stop sign. Make a left at the stop sign and follow the road towards the end of the parking lot and park. Don't park where you see all the booths. Or follow your map navigation directions carefully.
Our captain and first mate were Jax and Miles. Nice guys with good info. Miles said he'd be surprised if we didn't see any whales or dolphins since they saw some on their earlier excursions that morning. But we didn't see any. All I saw were spouts in the distance, but couldn't see any whales.
The crew provided snorkel equipment and for a fee, you could rent a go-pro from them. I brought my own snorkel mask (a full-face snorkel mask) and so did two other ladies in our group.
Jax and Miles said that water conditions were great and that we'd have clear views of the sharks. There were 11 people in our group. Our group was divided into two. Each group had about 20 minutes in the cage. The first group went and they weren't in the cage very long at all. I'm almost certain no one in the first group stayed in the cage more than 10 minutes, if that. One guy in the first group came out after probably about 5 minutes and said the water was too cold. Yikes! I HATE cold water! But I didn't want to disappoint my husband. Besides, I had a wetsuit jacket on so it made the water tolerable. The sharks were cool to see. They were Galapagos sharks and this was my closest encounter with sharks. I think our group definitely stayed in the cage longer than the first group and my husband and I and another couple were definitely in the cage for at least 15 minutes.
Anyhow, I'm sure our excursion would have been better if the weather and water was warmer. Otherwise, I would probably rate this excursion as average. It was cool for my first experience but not anything super exciting.
Response from Host
Mar 2025
Aloha Shark Divers,
I happy to hear that you enjoyed your crew and the things we can control with the tour. Weāre so sorry the ocean didnāt adjust its temperature and wildlife schedule just for you! Sounds like you still got to see some amazing Galapagos sharks up close, something most people only dream about. Next time, weāll be sure to put in a special request for warmer water and a personal whale performance. Safe travels! -Hawaii Shark Encounters-