San Diego Sharks
Our waters are full of sharks, but not in the way most people think. Most of San Diego shark diving is done with small, bottom-dwelling, and much less intimidating local species than your average Shark Week stereotype.
Common Species
Horn Sharks
Leopard Sharks
Sevengill Sharks
Rare Species
Swell Sharks
Tope Sharks
Smooth-Hound Sharks
Very Rare Species
Great White Sharks
Blue Sharks
Mako Sharks
Thresher Sharks
When to Encounter
Year-round, season-specific
(see below for more)
How To Encounter
Great White Cage Diving
San Diego doesn't have great white shark cage diving, nor liveaboard expeditions departing from here. Shark diving at Isla Guadalupe in Mexico is permanently prohibited as of January 10, 2023.
Occasional sightings year-round
Greater chance Mar-Jun (shark safari special trips)
Horn sharks
Average size: 3.3 ft (1 m)
Encounters: Point Loma & La Jolla kelp and reefs, year-round
These teeny sharks are a year-round sighting in San Diego shark diving. They inhabit most of our local kelp forests and rocky reefs, usually hiding in crevices or under ledges during the day.â Horn sharks prefer the comforts of the sea bottom, so scuba diving is the best way to get a close glimpse at them.
Photo by Charles Hobson
Photo by Jonathan Lavan
Leopard sharks
Average size: 3.3 ft (1 m)
Encounters: La Jolla Shores, June - October
Every year, thousands of Leopard Sharks come to the shallow waters of La Jolla Shores for mating season. They are usually around from June through October, but August and September are the best months to spot them. Grab your snorkel gear and swim from the shore towards La Jolla Sea Caves â it wonât be long until your first encounter!
Photo by Charles Hobson
Photo by Jonathan Lavan
Sevengill sharks
Average size: 3.3 ft (1 m)
Encounters: Point Loma & La Jolla kelp and reefs, most frequent March - June
These prehistoric sharks spend most of their time in borderline abyssal depths: around 1,500-2,000ft.â During the spring months, however, they come up to the kelp beds of La Jolla and Point Loma to mate. Sevengills are our most common San Diego shark diving encounter, and while we've seen them year-round, most sightings usually happen between late March and June, when boat charters target highly populated sevengill grounds.
Photo by Charles Hobson
Photo by Save Our Seas Foundation
Swell sharks
Average size: 35 - 43 ft (90 - 110 cm)
Encounters: Point Loma & La Jolla kelp and reefs, year-round
These curious sharks not only have the ability to âglow in the darkâ, but they are also able to swallow water to double their size when threatened. Despite inhabiting San Diegoâs kelp forests year-round, swell sharks are skittish and trickier to spot while scuba or freediving.
Photo by Monterrey Bay Aquarium
Photo by Mote Marine Laboratorium
Tope sharks
Average size: 4.9 ft - 7.2 ft (1.5 - 2.2 m)
Encounters: Point Loma & La Jolla kelp and reefs, summer months
This migrating species travels all over the West Coast and Baja Mexico. In the summer, pregnant females make a stop at the kelp beds of La Jolla and Point Loma, allegedly to incubate their embryos and minimize their gestation period. â Encounters are infrequent so consider yourself lucky if you spot one of these while scuba or freediving.
Photo by NBC 7 San Diego
Photo by Scuba Diver Girls
Smooth-hound sharks
Average size: 51 in (1.3 m)
Encounters: Muddy estuaries and bays, sandy beaches, year-round
These small sharks are abundant in the central California sport fishery and often fished off San Diegoâs piers. Local encounters can happen year-round, but they are rare. Divers can spot them on the seafloor and snorkelers can sometimes find them schooling with leopard sharks.
Friends of La Jolla Shores
Photo by Andy Murch for ScubaDiving.com
Great white sharks
Average size: 11 ft - 20 ft (3.4 - 6.1 m)
Encounters: coastal waters from Del Mar to La Jolla, summer months
Every year, San Diego hosts a small number of great white sharks. These are usually juveniles enjoying the warm SoCal waters during the summer months. Relative to other shark species, great white shark sightings are sparse, but the news channels are quick to acknowledge them. To willingly see these big fishes, your best bet is to join a great white shark cage diving trip (which is now prohibited at the Guadalupe Islands in Mexico).
⨠LOCAL TIP: If you're worried about encountering a great white shark while diving in San Diego, hereâs our personal reassurance: in over 10 years of San Diego diving and operating a charter business, we've never seen one.
Photo by Oleksandr Sushko
Photo by Gerald SchĂśmbs
Pelagic sharks
These sharks dwell in deeper waters, miles away from shore. They are constantly on the move, which explains the inconsistency of sighthings. The most common pelagic shark encounters in San Diego are with Blue Sharks, Mako Sharks, and Thresher Sharks. Other species, such as Hammerhead Sharks, are harder to find. The best way to get in the water with these elusive species is to join a guided offshore expedition.
Photo by Australian Museum
Photo by Elaine Brewer
Weekly trips in two dive boats
Closest commercial dock to the ocean
Main San Diego Diving Areas
Scuba Diving
For certified scuba divers, boat charters are a convenient way to fulfill shark diving endeavors. Our most common encounters are with horn sharks and sevengill sharks. Tope sharks and swell sharks are a treat. Shore diving is the physically-demanding alternative to a boat charter.
Waterhorse Charters (us!) and Marissa Charters are the only two scuba charter operations in San Diego.
Snorkeling
The most accessible way to see sharks in San Diego is to snorkel at La Jolla Shores with Leopard Sharks during the summer months. This unforgettable experience is suitable for children and can be highly affordable if you decide to do it on your own.
Other snorkeling options involve joining a snorkeling tour by shore or a snorkeling boat charter.
Great White Shark Cage Diving
There is no Great White Shark cage diving in San Diego, as there arenât enough sharks here. San Diego companies used to organize multi-day trips to Guadalupe Island in Mexico for cage diving, but these trips are no longer permitted due to Mexican government restrictions (as of January 10, 2023).
You can still cage dive with great white sharks at places like the Farallon Islands (California), Neptune Islands (Australia), Gansbaai (South Africa), and Stewart Island (New Zealand).
Ocean Safari
To try your luck with rarer pelagic sharks, youâd need a full day at sea and plenty of patience.
Ocean Safaris may reward you with a rare shark sighting, but be cautious of any company that guarantees shark sightings of a specific species, as these are rare and unpredictable.
Friendly crew and creature comforts
Scuba diving, snorkeling, wildlife expeditions
