Oahu North Shore: Cage-Free Shark Swim & Free Photos

4.89

(1022 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I thought I’d be more scared, honestly. Three miles out from Haleiwa Harbor, the water turned this deep blue that almost swallowed up the boat — you could smell salt and something metallic in the air, like a hint of rain even though it was sunny. Our guide, Keoki (he grew up here), cracked a joke about how his grandma used to call this spot “the family backyard.” It felt weirdly comforting — not what I expected before a cage-free shark swim on Oahu’s North Shore.

The first time I dipped my face under, I heard my own breath echoing in the snorkel and saw shadows moving below. Sharks — real ones, not just shapes on TV. The safety diver floated nearby, calm as anything, pointing out which species were which (Galapagos and sandbar mostly). At one point he tapped my shoulder and whispered through his mask, “Look left!” — and there it was, a shark maybe ten feet away. My heart did this weird double-beat but then… it was just peaceful. No panic. Just us floating above them in 300 feet of water, all of us trying to act cool but probably grinning like idiots behind our masks.

I didn’t expect how much I’d laugh. Maybe it was nerves or maybe just relief after realizing the sharks weren’t interested in us at all. Someone tried to say “manō” (shark) in Hawaiian and got it totally wrong — Keoki snorted so hard he almost lost his mask. The whole thing lasted about half an hour but time got slippery out there; I still think about that view when I close my eyes at night.