Diving with sharks is without a doubt one of the most beautiful experiences of my life so far — even more moving than the first time I learned to breathe underwater.
Let me take you back to late 2016, just before the end of my working holiday in Australia, when I took a trip to Fiji. That island-hopping and diving adventure cemented my decision to become a dive instructor.
Fiji is said to be the only place in the world where you can encounter 8 species of sharks at the same time — no cage required. So the moment I confirmed I had enough savings to make the trip, shark diving was the very first thing I added to my itinerary.
I did a lot of research beforehand and quickly discovered that shark diving is hugely popular, so for my October trip I booked everything back in May. Here's my (totally unofficial) rundown:
Dive Shop Options in Fiji
The shark diving takes place near an island called Beqa. There are only two dive shops legally licensed to operate shark diving tours there:
1. The one we went with — Beqa Adventure — charges 350 FJD for a two-tank dive without gear, or 400 FJD with gear (2016 pricing). I honestly can't remember whether the marine park entry fee was included or charged separately (Fiji established a marine protected area (MPA) in this stretch of water, so a national park entry fee applies).
Current pricing has been updated here: http://fijisharkdive.com/rates/daily-diving-rates/
2. The reportedly larger operation, Aqua Trek, charges 165 USD for a two-tank dive without gear, plus 30 FJD for equipment rental and a separate 20 FJD entry fee.
Reference: http://www.aquatrek.com/rates.cfm
I ultimately chose Beqa. After reading through the limited number of trip reports available and getting quotes from both shops, I found that Aqua Trek was slightly cheaper — but a diver who had been with both said Beqa's dive sites were better, and that they operate in small groups.
Aqua Trek is better known internationally and is the larger operation (Beqa is locally owned and run), with group sizes that can reach 20 people. Booking with Beqa via email was a true exercise in "Fiji Time" (see note below) — it took over a month of back-and-forth before I finally gave up and made an international phone call to confirm my reservation. But honestly? Completely worth it. Beqa's dive guides and the lovely lady at the front desk were warm, professional, and wonderful throughout.
Note: "Fiji Time" refers to the local philosophy of slowing down — everything moves at a gentle pace, and that relaxed rhythm is the heartbeat of daily life. If you're used to the fast pace of city living, it might catch you off guard at first, but it's also the perfect nudge to slow down and actually enjoy your journey.
Requirements for Shark Diving
The minimum certification required to join the shark dive is an Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) scuba diving certification. That said, the dive shop recommends having at least 10 logged dives, and ideally an Advanced Open Water Diver (PADI cert) certification — because the shark viewing takes place at depths of 25 m and 30 m, which exceed the recommended depth limit for Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert). If you only hold an Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) certification, an assistant instructor will be assigned to keep a close eye on you throughout the dive.
Are Sharks Dangerous?
According to the dive shop, there have been zero attack incidents since shark diving tourism began here. That said, they do brief you on a few rules: don't bring a GoPro with a long selfie stick, as sharks may mistake you for a feeder. Beqa thoughtfully provides short buoyancy wrist mounts for GoPros. You should also avoid white fins and accessories, as the reflective shimmer can resemble fish scales and potentially trigger a mistaken bite.
Accommodation in Fiji
The boat departs from Pacific Harbour. I had originally booked Uprising Beach Resort because it looked cheaper than The Pearl Resort on booking.com — but they said they had no dorm rooms, so I ended up booking a double room for around 160 AUD.
What followed was a string of disasters: overcharging, a refund request where they tried to make me cover the exchange rate difference, and customer service staff with an absolutely terrible attitude. The general manager eventually stepped in to apologize and arrange a refund — which then took another month to process because they refunded the wrong person, and the amount was about 20-something Australian dollars short. It was only the day before my flight to Fiji that I finally booked The Pearl Resort through Agoda — and a special deal on a double room came to just 140 AUD!!
My then-boyfriend and I gave The Pearl Resort a unanimous 10/10. From the welcome, to the rooms, to the food, to the staff — everything made us feel completely at home.
Back to the Shark Dive
Since we had a local SIM card, we'd confirmed with the dive shop which hotel we were staying at. They sent someone to pick us up at 7
a.m. for an 8 a.m. muster at the shop. Beqa also runs its own accommodation called Lagoon Resort, though from the outside it looked like a haunted house to me.Beqa provides 5 mm wetsuits, which are more than warm enough — I wore my own 3.2 mm suit and nearly froze to death. After boarding the boat, it's about another 15 minutes to reach the marine protected area (MPA). The dive guide gave a full briefing on the topography and the shark species we might encounter, explained the procedure for our safety stops, and mentioned that a portion of the revenue from these shark diving tours goes toward marine conservation and is shared with communities living near the protected waters.
This model raises many of the same debates as the Whale Shark diving in Cebu — because the protected dive sites were originally fishing grounds, and the establishment of the MPA directly affects local fishers' livelihoods. It's a question worth serious reflection in Taiwan too: how do we strike a balance between tourism, community welfare, and conservation? Taiwanese fishers have shouldered a great deal of public criticism, but without government marine policy or any meaningful support framework, the short-sighted decisions always end up being blamed on the little guy.
"Diving" is actually a bit of a misnomer for most of this experience — we barely moved. The plan is to descend directly to 30 m and kneel on the reef to watch the feeding show. Precise neutral buoyancy isn't really needed, so the dive guides add extra weights to help you stay firmly planted on the bottom. (And honestly, when you're surrounded by sharks and you're screaming internally, snapping photos like mad, and losing your mind with excitement, neutral buoyancy is the last thing on your mind — extra weights are absolutely the right call!)
The stars of the first dive were Tiger Sharks, Blacktip Reef Sharks, and Greytip Reef Sharks. Several instructors posted up around the group like sentinels — we were told to kneel (which, on land, would probably make us look like prisoners, especially with the instructors standing there holding long poles for protection). One instructor held a large bucket, letting blood and fish scraps drift out to attract the sharks. Almost immediately, a swarm of damselfish showed up to crash the party and help themselves to the scraps. At first I thought they were adorable. By the end, they were absolutely infuriating.
Once the big ones arrived (cue internal screaming), the feeder would pull out chunks of fish and toss them over to the sharks.
Then, after about 20 minutes or so (I honestly lost track), we began a two-stage safety stop — probably the coolest safety stop I've ever done!!!
It's a shame my camera wasn't up to the task back then — as a total diving newbie, I had no idea how to use a strobe or adjust white balance, so everything came out a flat shade of blue.
The second safety stop — and you can tell from my photos exactly why those little fish drove me crazy, because every time I tried to shoot a shark's face, they were in the way...
Back on the boat, we took our surface interval and motored over to the next dive site (not far at all), while the dive guide gave a briefing on the new topography.
The highlight of the second dive: Bull Sharks!
The person on the far right in the photo is the one pulling fish chunks out of the bucket to feed the sharks. It was here that I realized sharks have almost no interest in live fish — they only go for chunks with blood. Which makes you wonder: why would they ever bother with a human? Please, stop misunderstanding these animals.
One of the younger feeding instructors tried to play around with a shark at one point and promptly got smacked by the more senior instructor next to him. Every shark here is tracked and named. The rule is that all sharks must swim past from left to right before they get fed — this way the feeder's hand is never at risk of being accidentally bitten. The only exception is an old girl named Scar: they've known her for years, and because she's been injured on the right side of her face and has a scar there, she's the one shark they'll feed even when she swims right to left.
This close — close enough that if I'd stretched my arm out, I could have touched her.
The safety stop on the second dive was much quieter in terms of sharks, but we were right next to the most stunning coral reef garden! We even spotted some adorable Clownfish. Seeing such healthy coral here was genuinely heartwarming — because on the islands we'd hopped through in the Yasawa Islands, the coral reefs were either severely limited in variety or almost entirely bleached...
When we surfaced, the instructors actually apologized to us, saying there "hadn't been very many sharks." We were completely baffled — we'd seen around 15 or 16 large Tiger Sharks and Bull Sharks, plus countless reef sharks. And they were saying that wasn't a lot? Apparently, during peak season it's not unusual for 70 or 80 sharks to congregate at once. That must be an absolutely incredible sight.
Now that I have more experience under my belt — and my underwater photography, while still a work in progress, has improved — I know that one day I'll make it back to Fiji to recapture that sense of awe and wonder I felt that very first time.
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