Grand Bahama, Bahamas
Tiger Beach
Shallow sandbank off the west end of Grand Bahama where sharks are baited to divers kneeling on white sand in around 6 metres of water, producing the most reliable large-shark encounters anywhere.
- Tiger shark
- Great hammerhead
- Sharks
- Liveaboard
Best season
Best Oct–Mar
Minimum cert
Open Water
Water
24–31°C
Current
moderate
Season
When this place works
Runs year-round. Jun-Sep is Atlantic hurricane season and individual trips get cancelled or rerouted, hence 'limited'. Note the two peaks pull in different directions: Oct-Jan for tiger numbers, Dec-Mar for great hammerheads, with Dec-Jan…
Why dive here
What this place is known for
- 01shark
Baited tiger shark encounter
BAITED. Divers kneel on the sandbank in a V formation facing into the current with a professional feeder at the point, and tigers are fed to bring them in. Typically four or five animals in the water, up to fifteen at the best of it. This is the fact that…
Seasonality — shouldershouldershouldershouldershouldershouldershouldershouldershoulderpeakpeakpeak
- 02shark
Lemon and Caribbean reef shark density
Under-advertised relative to the tigers, and what most of the dive actually consists of. Twenty to thirty lemon sharks and dozens of Caribbean reef sharks on a typical dive, at close range in 6m of clear water. Several divers report this as the more…
03sharkGreat hammerheads
Dec-Mar. Also baited. Great hammerheads are shy and rarely seen elsewhere at close range, which makes this window the reason a lot of photographers book the trip rather than the tigers.
Seasonality — peakpeakpeakoffoffoffoffoffoffoffoffpeak
Marine life
Twelve-month species timelines
Resident population, present all year, with more animals reported Oct-Jan. Typically 4-5 in the water, up to 15. Encounters depend on bait; this is not an animal that would otherwise approach a group…
Dec-Mar. Critically endangered globally; the Bahamas has a national shark sanctuary, which is part of why the aggregation persists here.
Conditions
What the water is like
Water temp
24–31°C
15°C — 32°C
Visibility
30–100 m
0 m — 40 m
Current
moderate
mild — strong
Thermoclines
Not typical
unlikely
Minimum certification — Open Water
Low confidenceTechnically among the easiest diving in this dataset: around 6m on a flat white sandbank, exceptional visibility, no depth or gas pressure. Sources describe it as suitable for all levels including snorkellers. The demand is entirely…
Entries — boat
Logistics
How people dive it
5-8 days
scuba
The dominant format. Departs Freeport, Grand Bahama. Multiple long shallow dives per day on the same site, which is unusual and is what…
1 day
scuba
Some land-based operators run day trips from West End, Grand Bahama. Fewer hours in the water on a site where time is the whole variable.
5-8 days
snorkel
Snorkelling is offered and the site is shallow enough to make it viable, but the encounter is designed around a seated formation on the…
Operators
Who to book with
Loading operators…
Sources & verification
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