Scuba Diving Earth

Scuba Diving Blog & Forum

Are There Great White Sharks In Hawaii? (White Shark Diving)

Great White Shark - Are there great white sharks in Hawaii

Hawaii is known for having sharks, like tiger sharks, hammerhead sharks, sandbar sharks and reef sharks, but are there great white sharks in Hawaii?

Hawaii has great white sharks visit during the months of January through to April, which is when the waters around Hawaii cool down to below 24°C (75°F). In the summer months great white sharks leave the Pacific waters of Hawaii, as they generally prefer water temperatures below 12-24°C (54-75°F).

The best way to do more diving in Hawaii is to book yourself on a scuba diving liveaboard. You can check the latest and best deals on Hawaii liveaboards using the following window:

If you want convincing of the fact that Hawaii has great white sharks, please watch this video of Ocean Ramsey swimming with a record breaking 2-ton female great white shark. It is thought that this white shark is Deep Blue, which is a 6 metre (20 feet) long 2.4 metres (8 feet) wide great white shark that’s also been spotted of Guadalupe Island (see below).

This huge female great white shark was spotted when Ocean Ramsey and a team of divers where studying tigers sharks off the waters off of Oahu Hawaii.

Hawaii Diver Swims With Record Breaking Largest Great White Shark | TODAY

The largest known great white shark to visit the Pacific waters off Hawaii is though to be the same Deep Blue white shark spotted at Guadalupe Island, also in the Pacific. Ocean Ramsey thinks it might be Deep Blue due to the pigmentation patterns across her gills.

Hawaii man greeted by great white shark during ‘insane’ experience
Underwater photographer Deron Verbeck said he went diving on Friday off the Big Island’s Keahole Point when he thought he saw a school of ulua. But something was off because the size and shape made him think of a tiger shark…at first.

Why are Great Whites rare in Hawaii?

Great white sharks are rarely seen in Hawaii as the water is too warm from May to December each year. The average sea temperature for May in Hawaii is 24.6°C (76.3°F), which increases to 26.3°C (79.3°F) in September and October. These are above the white shark’s preferred maximum of 24°C (75°F).

The average sea temperature in December is 24.8°C (76.6°F), which is still slightly above their preferred maximum temperature level. Even in January, when the average sea temperature is 24.1°C (75.4°F) this is also still slightly above the white shark’s preferred maximum water temperature.

Are there great white sharks in Maui?

Maui, Hawaii has great white sharks visit during the months of January through to April, which is when the seas have cooled down to below 24°C (75°F). In the summer months great white sharks leave the Pacific waters of Maui, as they generally prefer water temperatures between 12-24°C (54-75°F).

Liveaboard.com search Hawaii scroll

Are there great white sharks in Oahu?

Oahu, Hawaii has great white sharks visit during from January through to April, and possibly even in December. These are the cold months when the seas have cooled down to below 24°C (75°F). In the summer months great white sharks leave Oahu, as they prefer sea temperatures between 12-24°C (54-75°F).

Is it safe to swim with great white sharks in Hawaii?

It is generally accepted that it is not safe to swim with great white sharks without a cage in Hawaii. Some scuba divers and free divers, like Ocean Ramsey, are able to swim with great white sharks, as they are familiar with their behaviours and body language.

As you are interested in great white sharks, you may also be interested to know if there are great white sharks in the Gulf of Mexico too. This article also looks at great white sharks in the Caribbean too.

But what might surprise you the most, is this article about great white sharks in the Great Barrier Reef. Included in this article is a video you may like to watch of a snorkeler who meets a great white shark for the first time.

Can you cage dive with great white sharks in Hawaii?

The shark cage diving in Hawaii is generally not for diving with great white sharks, as white sharks are rarely spotted off Hawaii. But you can shark cage dive in Hawaii with sharks and you are likely to see Galapagos sharks, sandbar sharks, hammerheads, tiger sharks and oceanic whitetip sharks.

But if you would like to cage dive with great white sharks from America, why not find out more about great white shark diving from San Diego. Alternatively, why not take a read about the top 6 places you can cage dive with great white sharks around the world.

How much does it cost to go shark cage diving in Hawaii?

The cost to go shark cage diving in Hawaii starts at about $115 per person from Oahu, Hawaii. But you can also free dive with sharks from Oahu too, and the cost of this starts at around $160 per person.

Dive with sharks from a Hawaiian dive liveaboard safari

If you want the best chance to see sharks (and possibly even great white sharks) when you’re scuba diving in Hawaii, you should consider booking on a Hawaiian dive liveaboard safari. Having said that, you would have to be extremely lucky to see a great white shark when scuba diving in Hawaii.

But to increase your chances to spot a white shark in Hawaii, you are best to dive from January through April when the waters are cooler. But then if the waters are this cold, you may like to take a read about this wetsuit temperature guide, so you make sure you wear the right thickness of wetsuit for these lower sea temperatures in Hawaii.

To find out more about Hawaii dive liveaboards, please search in the table below. Or to find out more about liveaboard diving Hawaii, please find out more here: Liveaboard Diving in Hawaii.

I hope you enjoyed this article about are there great white sharks in Hawaii

I’d love to hear from you. Tell us about your adventures of diving and snorkeling, in the comments below. Please also share your photos. Either from your underwater cameras or videos from your waterproof Gopro’s!

If this article hasn’t answered all of your questions. If you have more questions either about snorkeling or scuba diving (or specifically about are there great white sharks in Hawaii), please comment below with your questions.

There will also be many more articles about scuba diving (and snorkeling) for you to read and learn about these fabulous sports.

Have fun and be safe!

Are There Great White Sharks In Hawaii? (White Shark Diving)

Article written by Russell Bowyer who has been a scuba diver since diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in 1989. After his first dive he trained as a BSAC diver in the UK. He attained his Diver Leader certification with BSAC. He then went on to become a scuba diving instructor, teaching others how to dive and was voted as Diving Officer and Treasurer for the Saffron Walden BSAC club too. Russell has dived all over the world, including the UK, on liveaboards in the Red Sea, the Caribbean, South Africa and the USA. Russell is experienced in all dive types, including drift diving, deep dives that involved decompression stops and recreational dives too.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to top