One Ocean Diving — Attraction in Oʻahu

I am a lifelong shark diver. I dive guided and self-guided tours at least once per year. I don't think I have ever experienced a dive and crew quite like this.

First, this review reflects the experience of a DEDICATED TIGER SHARK DIVE and not the standard tour. To learn more reach out to One Ocean.

The crew are consummate professionals. Upon entering the boat the briefing was short and sweet, as every shark dive should be. When I get on a boat and the dive guide says, "this is the open ocean. These sharks won't hurt you, but here are the rules..." I know I'm in good hands. Matt, Drew, Brian, and Tyler had their operation down to a science. They know how to get you in and out of the water safely and monitor shark behavior without excessive vigilance. If you are aware of your surroundings and a reasonably competent swimmer, they give you a lot of latitude to swim and dive on your own. The whole experience was incredibly smooth start to finish. They also made the day fun and opened up in conversation, which is not easy to do when you're responsible for keeping people you don't know safe in the open ocean.

It bares to to mention, I took my 9-year old daughter out with us. I have taken her free diving and diving with sharks. I always treat her like a baby bird. After 20 minutes in the water with this crew I felt completely comfortable letting her swim independently with the guides. They helped her comfortably dive within 1-2 feet of the tiger sharks. She loved it, and I was over the moon.

Now down to the mechanics... for the tiger shark dive Ocean and Juan (owners) take a spotting boat out. They scout the sites to find the sharks. They let you know how many sharks are in the water, so when you get in with the guides you are in an appropriate ratio. If there is a single shark in the water they may allow 3 divers to 2 guides. If more than 1 shark is in the area then the ratio is 1:1. You are allowed to swim freely, but they do keep you within 50 - 100 feet of the boat to ensure you do not get pulled into boat traffic lanes.

When diving, they have two methods by which you can dive. If sharks are numerous, they will dive next to you to ensure a body is between you and the shark at all times during your ascent. If there is a single and very docile shark, then you can dive on your own as long as your skills allow you to remain controlled in your ascent. As an experienced diver, I appreciated the fact that the guides were comfortable enough by mid-day to give us some flexibility. Less experienced guides commonly need control at all times, but this crew clearly feels comfortable gauging customers and keeping people safe in all situations.

An important fact to share, I have dove with One Ocean now 3 times. The newest member of their crew has over 24 months with the company. This is a testament to good management and fulfilling mission. The experience and consistency show.

We were able to dive with 5-6 different tiger sharks over 4 hours. The sharks were 12 - 16 feet long and gorgeous. The body language of the sharks was relaxed. These sharks are clearly accustom to people and very calm when you dive at them. As a photographer, getting sharks to allow you to get close is tricky. These sharks swam straight for us and turned away within 3-6 feet in a gentle arch. Yet another testament to a well run dive site and dive team.

At the end of our day Ocean swam over to say hello. She held hands with my daughter who was star struck for a bit. It was a sweet moment and showed how much they care about their operation, sharks, and the experience. Ocean dove down and dropped lilikoi (I think) flowers in the water at 5 foot intervals down to 40 feet. It was a cool touch. We almost had a shark (last pic) swim through the flowers, but it turned at the last second. We are no celebrities. To have the owner of a company put this much personal attention into our experience speaks volumes.

Even if you have scuba'ed with tigers, DO NOT...

This was a once in a lifetime experience and it blew away all my hopes and dreams. I went to the 7am dive and from the start everyone was super friendly and cool. The boat ride out to the spot doesn’t take long so they teach you how to behave with the sharks and boom you’re there. They split the group in half so six people on either side of the boat each side has a safety diver and then the photographer.

As soon as we got to the spot we had four tiger sharks circling the boat and the safety divers got in the water and they got us in one at a time. It was a little unnerving to already have sharks ready to greet us but I just went for it.

It’s one of those life changing moments being in the open water with these massive tiger sharks circling you and going beneath you. I never felt scared but you definitely feel their power. Looking into their eyes and feeling the connection when they look back at you.

Drew was the safety diver on my side of the boat and he’d motion to each of us one at a time you swim away from the boat and he holds your wrist and helps guide you towards the sharks and help dive you down to the shark and then it’s just the you and the shark swimming side by side. After you swim with them for as long as you can hold your breath or don’t get too far from Drew and the boat you swim back to the boat and keep your face in the water watching them as the other people take their turns. I honestly don’t remember exactly how many times I swam with the sharks away from the boat I want to say four times.

It is such a different experience time stops being while you’re in the water. The sharks were constantly moving all over fading into the blue and reappearing in new places from all around us. At one point a Galapagos shark came up from the depths below us but once it saw the four tiger sharks it turned and went back down.

I paid for the photo package that included the GoPro video footage and the professional photographer. The GoPro video is hit or miss the safety divers main job is to keep everyone safe so the position of the camera is secondary so you get both divers footage that they edit into 6-30 sec clips of the dive and so not every person gets equal dive coverage as it depends on a bunch of different things during the dive but out of the 45 minute dive we got almost six minutes of video. It’s awesome footage but it’s not going to be just you unless you buy the whole boat. You can buy the footage before or after the dive.

The photographer takes photos of everyone that pays ahead of time. So my dive it was me and a couple. So he was only on our side of the boat and whenever we went for our solo swims he’d take shots of us. A couple days after the dive I got 120 photos. The quality of the photos are outstanding. I honestly would have loved more shots of the sharks without me in the shot but you do get a few pictures of just the sharks.

I’m glad I paid for the photo package. I was left free to take in my surroundings without having to worry about taking photos or video on my own. It’s one of those experiences you really want to be in the moment not messing with your gadgets. If video is important to you I’d recommend bringing your own GoPro as the safety divers first job is keeping everyone alive and not get awesome footage of your death.

All and all I’m glad I did the cage free dive and I went with this team. It’s truly a life changing event. The photographer was Bret...

I am posting this under my partner’s Google account because she is the only one with a Google account. This is Cynthia Wagner’s review…

🌟🦈📸: @beach_ty

I can’t wait to come back!!!

Advanced Tiger Shark Program- One Ocean Diving

One Ocean Diving is professional, educational, invested in your experience, easy to communicate with, and knows how to keep you and the sharks safe. It’s not your average ecotourism company. These are expert shark behavior and safety guides truly invested in education, research, and conservation.

Now, if you’ve ever seen a shark swim around your boat and thought, “I cannot WAIT to get in the water and observe it?!” THIS is where you need to be and THESE are the people you need to go with!

I think I was their first person to participate in their Advanced Tiger Shark Program!! I had already signed up for their regular shark trip, but while I was reading online about what I needed for the upcoming trip, I read about the Advanced Tiger Shark Program. I called them immediately!!! It was THE BEST decision I’ve made in a long time!! Of course, now that news of the One Ocean Advanced Tiger Program is out, I’m sure they are going to fill up!

Okay, where do I even start a review aside from, “WHEN CAN I COME BACK?!?!?” No lie… I think about this experience... Every. Single. Day.

Okay, for those who don’t have time to read a long review, here’s all you need to know: If you’re going to go swim with sharks, go with the best, and go all out! 1–Book the Advanced Tiger Shark Program with One Ocean Diving. VIP baby! (I think it’s only offered during certain times of the year though) 2–Add on their photography package. 3–Go on the 6 am trip. 4–And if possible, go in August or September so you have a better chance of seeing Tiger Sharks.

See… I just saved you reading reviews. You’re welcome. 🤣👍🏻🤓. I love doing research prior to a vacation. Go with One Ocean Diving… They are THE best in the business, plus they support marine conservation and collect data on their dives.

I honestly had one of THE BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE that day. 🥹🥰❤️. As I sit here typing this in the landlocked state of Tennessee, I am going to be dreaming of the picturesque, sharky dive spot in Hawaii… Being out in the water… Ocean circling around waaaay down in the water below me… While sharks are cruising by…. And Mariah holds my hand and guides me around… With the talented Tyler capturing it all so I can just continue to be in the moment. God. I STILL can’t believe this was real life and not a dream!! I cannot wait to come back!! I still need to meet...