Explore Guadalupe Island
Diving Guadalupe Island is an experience unlike anything you’ve ever had. People travel from all over the world to come face-to-face with the Great White shark. This isn’t just any Great White shark encounter. Sure, other dive destinations like South Africa or Australia also offer cage-diving with Great Whites, but Guadalupe’s Great White encounters check all of the boxes. Not only is the visibility at Guadalupe Island a cut above the rest at 40-50m, you also have the chance to consistently see a handful of sharks at any given time, instead of one or two curious sharks every hour. It is for this reason that scuba divers, particularly those who specialize in underwater photography, flock to Guadalupe Island.
Guadalupe Island, Mexico is a volcanic island located about 250km off the west coast of the Baja California peninsula (Mexico). Due to the remote nature of this island, it is accessible strictly via liveaboard. These liveaboards can accommodate 10-25 people and are equipped with the shark cages (surface, submersible, or both). Most of them depart from Ensenada, Mexico or San Diego, California, which is a boat trip that takes about 18-20 hours. Once the liveaboard arrives at Guadalupe Island, most operators offer unlimited dives for 3 or 4 days.
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Diving in Guadalupe Island
Divers travel to Guadalupe Island with one objective in mind: to go cage-diving with Great White sharks. Even within cage-diving, there are two different types of cages that are used by liveaboards. The first is the surface cage, which floats on the surface and is tied off to the boat. The max depth of the surface cage is up to 3m, and the people in the cage breathe via hookah. The second type of cage is the submersible cage. The max depth for this type of cage is about 10-15m, and scuba equipment is used to breathe. Some argue that the sharks are more interested in the submersible cages. In most cases, liveaboards will have both types of cages to accommodate those who may not be comfortable going deeper.
Your choice of cage may also be dictated by how strong your stomach is. The choppiness of the surface waters can feel worse when you are in a surface cage. Since you are within 3m of the surface in this type of cage, you can feel every wave that rolls through. If you are prone to seasickness, you might be better off in the submersible cage. At a deeper depth, the energy of the choppy surface conditions has dissipated, which makes for a calmer, more stationary experience.
The best Months to dive in Guadalupe Island
The optimal time for Guadalupe Island’s shark encounters is from August through October. Since Guadalupe is in the open ocean, this time of year is when the ocean is at its calmest. Surface temperatures are also cool during this time, ranging from 19-22°C (66-72°F). Wearing at least a two-piece 7mm wetsuit or even a drysuit is recommended for most. Keep in mind that you will get cold more quickly than you normally would on a dive because you are more-or-less stationary while in the shark cage. This is also the period during which sightings of Great White sharks, fur seals, and tuna are the most frequent!
Despite being the calmest time of year, surface conditions can still be choppy, as can the initial boat trip out to Guadalupe Island. For this reason, it is recommended to bring a means of combating seasickness.
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