Divers from all over the world come to Playa Del Carmen to dive with bull sharks. You wouldn’t get it if you hadn’t been diving with these predators. Your fears will turn into respect and admiration when you see their majestic power in action. There is no place better than Playa Del Carmen for any diver who has an adventurous streak to try bull shark dives.
Get Ready to Dive with Sharks in Playa Del Carmen
Hugo and Thibault, our dive masters met me and Jenn at the Blue Life store. Jenn, Junior Tati Andrea and I were the five divers who went on that boat. Blue Life’s policy is to keep a 4:1 diver ratio. Therefore, both Hugo and Thibault would be going with us. We wanted to choose a dive shop who takes safety seriously, even though there has never been a shark attack in Playa del Carmen. We were told by our dive masters that sharks can be found in 90′ of water. So we donned wetsuits made from 5 mil and filled up our tanks with enriched oxygen.
We were surprised to learn that the safety briefing for pre-dive focused less on sharks and more on depth and current. We were told to avoid using external flashes or lights on our cameras, stay low, remove any dangly items, and keep an eye on the sharks. The safety briefing was simple, which suggested that our fears of sharks did not match reality. The truck from the Blue Life shop carried all the equipment as we walked two blocks to the beach. We motored out to the dive site after the group had waded to the boat. The trip was the shortest I’ve ever done. It was only five minutes off the coast, right in front of main beach. I wonder if the swimmers know they’re so close to bull sharks.
Why do there exist bull sharks in Playa Del Carmen
We asked Hugo what the reason was for sharks in Playa Del Carmen. He explained that fishermen would come here to clean their catch before they came into shore. The sharks began to gather where the fish were after a time. It’s no wonder that the dive site is close to town.
Shark Diving – Our First Experience
As I swam towards the dive buoy, my spine was tingling with excitement and fear. I knew that under my fins, there was a swarming of bull sharks. I kept thinking of that scene from Jaws but couldn’t indulge in the fantasy. If I wanted to spend any time on the bottom, I needed to control my breathing. Each breath taken at 90′ below the surface uses four times more gas than breathing at the surface.
We gave one final okay and let out the air from our BCDs before we began to sink into the lair of the sharks. As I slowly dropped into the depths, the sandy bottom was visible beneath me. The first shark passed me before I was halfway down. I felt like a parachutist dropping onto Normandy’s beach during my slow descent. I concentrated on things I could control: my breathing, my buoyancy and equalizing my eardrums. I blew a small amount of air into my BCD to neutralize my buoyancy at the bottom. We then began our slow, steady swim in search of more sharks.
Shark Encounters Below 90 Feet
The sharks didn’t take long to find us. They were aware of our presence and came close to us to inspect us. They were so beautiful that I couldn’t look away. I expected to see the eyes a ruthless predator, but my mind drifted to the shark caricature in the dive shop. I could understand why the artist chose to draw smiling sharks. They seemed happy to see us.
After a little more than a quarter of an hour, we were forced to come up. During that time I was able to identify several distinct sharks. One shark had a nip in his dorsal ray and another had a tracker. Some were sleek and perfectly formed, but they came in various sizes. The new friends would come and visit us for a little while before disappearing into the distance.
The Second Dive with Bull Sharks
Jenn asked us to go back on the boat. Junior and I were eager to agree. Tati was not comfortable with the depth or the sharks, and Andrea wanted to explore the reef nearby for its diversity. The guides split up the group because we were within ratios. Tati chose to stay with Junior her dive buddy and do a second dive. Andrea, the diversity student, was given a private tour by Thibault of the reef, where she saw many eels and tropical species. Two deep dives back to back meant the group had nitrogen overload. We were lucky to be diving with a 34% mix of nitrox, but still had to pay attention to the deco time.
We followed the buoy down the entire way to meet our shark buddies at the bottom. Jenn and I sat down in the sand, and we grabbed a fixed rope to keep our position. The usual shark crew, along with rays and remoras (also known as sharksuckers), were back. The next group of divers from another local dive shop arrived and caused chaos.
Shark encounters: Manufactured or Natural?
First to arrive were chainmail-clad diving masters. The dive masters ripped off their fins and marched on the rocks at the bottom to set up their show. The divers piled into the sand and burrowed deep to see the show. They kicked up a large cloud of sediment.
The DMs chummed water and shook shakers in order to attract sharks. It was like an egocentric Sea World show. As much as I like to bow at the feet aggressive masculinity, I preferred the more natural interaction we were having before around twenty of our closest buddies crashed the party. Our group moved to a different spot in the line, and peace and calm returned.
Should you eat sharks?
Shark chumming is still a controversial topic. Shark tourism builds shark advocates and reduces fears. According to Oceanographic, “Around 100,000 sharks are killed every year by fishing for their fins, or as bycatch. Increased awareness could contribute towards conservation efforts.”
The chum was not as interesting to me as watching the sharks swim around us. Blue Life was a small group and I appreciated the attention that the dive masters gave to each diver. It was only logical to assume that dive masters in large groups would limit the dive time, so that even heavy breathers could surface. Hugo was busy with four of us doing two deep dives. We can’t say enough about the attention he showed us.
Shark Diving: Reflections
We spent some time talking to Hugo and Thibault back in the shop. These were people you could not help but be drawn to. We felt like we were friends after just a few minutes. Blue Life was our new diving home at Playa Del Carmen, and I trusted them. Most Cancun dive shops offer day trips to Playa Del Carmen, for shark diving. I’d ask if the shop operates its own boat, or partners with other local dive shops.
Playa Del Carmen, a vibrant city with a lot of life, is the perfect gateway to diving in the Yucatan. You can easily access Cozumel Drift Diving by taking the ferry to Cozumel. You can easily drive to Tulum and dive in the cenotes. Blue Life offers cenote excursions that go further north than other Tulum tour companies. Blue Life and I will be returning to Playa Del Carmen to dive, to explore more Riviera Cana, and to visit our friends.
Bull Shark Dive Wrap-up
Do you still consider shark diving in Playa Del Carmen? We researched a lot before hand to find a dive company that didn’t chum the sharks or feed them in any other way. We debated whether we should do a dive with sharks, considering safety and conservation ethics. We always consider the impact of an encounter with animals. We want to contribute to the solution, not the problem. We had a peaceful and enjoyable experience, and gained a new appreciation for this much maligned “monster of the sea”. In a film, I believe I saw that bull sharks get a bad reputation. These are not mindless eaters, but sharks. Sharks are not just food, but friends.