Swimming with Sharks

In a recent survey, Swimming with sharks came up in the top 5 of the things people would most love to do on a dream holiday and for good reason. Sharks and dolphins are among the most beautiful and mysterious creatures in the anial kingdom.

The time of year you plan on taking your holiday will dictate where you go to swim with sharks. As will the kind of shark you want to see.

Great White
The great while is the species of shark which offers the most fascination for humans and swimming with them can be the experience of a lifetime. By far the best place to see these beautiful creatures is South Africa. Whilst it's not safe for a diver to get into the water with nothing between him and the Great White, so many companies offer a cage dive for these sharks. People have the opportunity to watch and photograph the sharks feeding at the surface alongside the boat, and the very brave can then take turns inside the cage, which is let down about three feet (1m) below the surface of the water.
The best time to find a great white is between May and October and a four day tour would cost around £600 per person.

Basking sharks
If a holiday with the worlds most feared killing machine doesn't appeal to you, how about a dive with a gentle giant? The Basking shark is the worlds largest shark, at anything up to 12 metres long, and feeding on aminal plankton - so no danger to humans. Lurking around the waters of the UK, there are basing shark holidays where you'll get to see shipwrecks, seals and, if you're lucky, a few Basking sharks.
They are, of course, endangered species, so it's sometimes possible to see them as part of a wildlife trust project for around £500. If you've missed all the surveys, it's quite possible to see them in Cornwall, Ireland, Scotaln and the Isle of Man for around £200 for a two day tour.

Nurse Sharks
If you're looking for something a little less dangerous, then the slow and docile Nurse shark may be the one you want to see. The best place to see this shark may be the Great barrier reef. They are known to be nocturnal animals, so seeing them awake may be reserved for the experienced (and slightly crazy) diver, but it's possible to see them sleeping on a trip to the great barrier reef.

Manta ray
These graceful swimmers are close relatives of the shark, they have been likened to the angels of the sea, swimming be moving their pectoral fins up and down. They are harmless to humans and indifferent to divers and can be found in tropical waters, so if you want to combine your shark dive with a hot, sunseeker break, these are the sharks for you.
Very few aquariums have the enormous tanks and filtering capacity needed to display a full-grown Manta. Although there have been many valiant attempts to display Mantas in aquaria, most specimens refuse to feed and die within a few hours or days of being deposited in a tank. The Expo Aquarium, in Okinawa, Japan, has successfully maintained Mantas for as long as 36 days. Despite the failures of the past, several large aquaria continue to refine and test capture and transport methods toward the goal of maintaining a healthy Manta in captivity indefinitely.
Hawaii is a great place to see Manta rays, and a manta ray dive will cost about £50-60, depending on wether you'd prefer to snorkel or scuba dive.