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Best places to dive with Galapagos shark
Carcharhinus galapagensis
A large, robust reef shark found around oceanic islands, documented at Socorro in tight formations of up to 20 individuals at cleaning stations like The Canyon.
Destinations ranked by how reliably galapagos shark is seen. The bars show the likelihood by month — never a guarantee. See the full species page for more.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | commonly seen |
| February | commonly seen |
| March | commonly seen |
| April | commonly seen |
| May | commonly seen |
| June | commonly seen |
| July | commonly seen |
| August | commonly seen |
| September | commonly seen |
| October | commonly seen |
| November | commonly seen |
| December | commonly seen |
Seen year-round at cleaning stations and seamounts such as Dirty Rock and Punta Maria, with large individuals reported around 3 to 3.5m.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | commonly seen |
| February | commonly seen |
| March | commonly seen |
| April | commonly seen |
| May | commonly seen |
| June | commonly seen |
| July | commonly seen |
| August | commonly seen |
| September | commonly seen |
| October | commonly seen |
| November | commonly seen |
| December | commonly seen |
Seen year-round at the northern and central rocky sites.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | occasional |
| February | occasional |
| March | occasional |
| April | occasional |
| May | occasional |
| June | occasional |
| July | occasional |
| August | occasional |
| September | occasional |
| October | occasional |
| November | occasional |
| December | occasional |
Galapagos sharks may patrol Niʻihau and Lehua sites. Presence varies by day and is not assigned a synthetic peak.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | occasional |
| February | occasional |
| March | occasional |
| April | occasional |
| May | occasional |
| June | occasional |
| July | occasional |
| August | occasional |
| September | occasional |
| October | occasional |
| November | occasional |
| December | occasional |
Possible in the region; no unsupported monthly peak is applied.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | occasional |
| February | occasional |
| March | occasional |
| April | occasional |
| May | occasional |
| June | not seen |
| July | not seen |
| August | not seen |
| September | not seen |
| October | not seen |
| November | occasional |
| December | occasional |
Seen at cleaning stations and current-swept points, sometimes in tight formations of a dozen or more.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | rare |
| February | rare |
| March | rare |
| April | rare |
| May | rare |
| June | rare |
| July | rare |
| August | rare |
| September | rare |
| October | rare |
| November | rare |
| December | rare |
Galapagos sharks occur offshore; routine south-shore scuba sightings are uncommon.