Great Hammerhead Diving in Bimini
If you’ve found this blog post, chances are you already understand just how amazing the great hammerhead shark is. Towering at 13 feet long with its signature hammer-shaped head sweeping gracefully through the water, the great hammerhead is both mesmerizing and humbling, and Bimini is THE place for top-notch great hammerhead diving.
How do you get to Bimini?
There are three ways on and off the island – ferry (the Balearia), commercial flight (Silver Airways), and sea plane. Although Bimini is very close to Florida, the ferry doesn’t run every day and the commercial flight doesn’t fly every day, and the sea plane is pricey and has some pretty strict baggage weight requirements. So… check the schedules and book in advance. If you can spring for the VIP ticket on the ferry, you will get to disembark first, and it will save you time at the Bahamian immigration and customs.
Where do you stay?
There are two main hotels, the Hilton and Bimini Big Game, and there are airbnbs. Accommodation on the island is frustratingly expensive. The Hilton is 2 ish miles from the dive shop, which is at Bimini Big Game, but Big Game is overpriced and run down. There are also no rental cars, just rental golf-carts, that will set you back at least $100/day. I generally stay in an Airbnb near the dive shop. It still feels expensive, but I do get a little kitchen area, I can walk back and forth to the dive shop, and it’s a bit nicer than Big Game.
How to Prepare for the Dive
There’s only one dive shop on Bimini – Neal’s. Great hammerhead diving requires some preparation to make the most of your experience:
1. Get Certified: You’ll need an open water scuba certification. This is a great first dive with big sharks, so no experience with sharks is necessary. I’ve never seen a great hammerhead come close to biting a diver, but the possibility of seeing tiger shark exists, so stay in your toes.
3. Listen to the Briefing and Pay Attention to the DMs in the Water: The crew at Neal’s will do a detailed briefing that covers all the possible sharks you may see, how the dive is set up, and what to do in a variety of circumstances. Pay attention to the briefing and ask any questions that you have. You will probably be a bit nervous, and that’s okay!
SOAK IN THE AMAZINGNESS
Great hammerhead diving in Bimini isn’t just about the adrenaline—it’s about connection. It’s about shedding the misconceptions of sharks as mindless predators and seeing them as vital, majestic creatures that play a crucial role in marine ecosystems. Each great hammerhead in Bimini is named and tagged. The passion from crew and divers alike in tracking the individuals that return to Bimini each year is truly special.
I did this dive once and I was hooked. I’ve been going back year after year to see these amazing sharks in that Bimini blue water. Neal’s shop gets a lot of return visitors, and I’ve run into great photographers and other shark divers, so this definitely should be at the top of your bucket list!
