Western Atlantic & Caribbean

Diving in Bahamas

The Bahamas built its diving reputation on sharks: great hammerheads at Bimini, tigers at Tiger Beach, oceanic whitetips at Cat Island, and reef sharks almost everywhere, protected since 2011 by a national shark sanctuary covering all Bahamian waters. Inland and offshore the limestone is riddled with blue holes — Dean’s Blue Hole on Long Island is among the deepest in the world, and Andros sits on a fracture system of flooded caves running from the sea through the island. The walls are the other draw, most dramatically where the Tongue of the Ocean drops away between Andros and Nassau, alongside the 190-mile Andros Barrier Reef. Visibility is the through-line: 30 metres and beyond is ordinary, because these are sand banks rather than river mouths.

What you can see

Know before you go

Best season

Two seasons for two different trips. December to March is the shark season: great hammerheads at Bimini, tiger sharks at Tiger Beach, and calm clear water, at the cost of the coolest temperatures and the risk of a front shutting down the boats. May to September is the general diving season — warm water, light exposure suits and the best conditions for walls, blue holes and wrecks — though it overlaps the June to November hurricane season.

Conditions

Water runs roughly 22–24°C at its coolest and 28–30°C in late summer. Winter — precisely the hammerhead season — is the coolest stretch, with February the low point. Because the shark dives are long and stationary in shallow water, operators recommend a full 5 mm suit with hood and gloves, and a 7 mm is reasonable if you feel the cold. Summer diving is comfortable in a 3 mm shorty. Visibility is excellent year-round and often best in winter and spring, though winter cold fronts can blow out days at a time.

Getting there

For the hammerhead dive, head to Bimini. South Bimini Airport takes short hops from Fort Lauderdale and Nassau, with seaplane and charter services also serving Bimini North, and a short ferry across to Alice Town. A fast ferry also runs from Fort Lauderdale to Bimini in about two hours — check the operator for current sailings. Nassau is the main international gateway and the hub for inter-island flights, while Grand Bahama International at Freeport serves the west end of Grand Bahama, from where Tiger Beach is reached by boat from West End or by liveaboard.