Best places to dive with Whitetip reef shark

Resident year-round, commonly resting under overhangs and on reef ledges across Baa.

Abundant year-round. Manuelita's south side is known for large numbers hunting together on night dives, one of the signature experiences at Cocos.

Resident on the reef and in the passes year-round, often seen resting under ledges by day. Present alongside the grey reef sharks but in smaller numbers.

Resident, commonly resting on sand and ledges at the central sites.

The most commonly seen shark in the park and present year-round. Reported daily on the northern pinnacles (Castle Rock, Crystal Rock, The Cauldron), resting on ledges at Batu Bolong, and through the central sites. No seasonality documented in the sources reviewed.

Resident, resting under the ledges of Gato Island year-round.

Resident in the channels and caves.

Resident on the Ribbon Reefs, commonly seen resting under ledges by day; regular at drift and wall sites. Not seasonal.

Resident on the reef and wall (Sipadan closed in November).

Common and reliable, resting on sand plateaus and ledges; Shark Airport is named for its predictable whitetip aggregations.

Frequently seen at Gili Mimpang and other Padang Bai pinnacles, resting on ledges and in overhangs.

Regularly resting on ledges and in crevices along the deeper wall sections; the most commonly seen shark in the park.

The most commonly seen shark at Apo Island, resting on ledges and patrolling the current-swept points; blacktips also occur, and threshers are a rare deep report.

Seen on the reef sections around Manta Bowl and Ticao's fringing reefs.

Seen resting on the sand at Shark Point and occasionally on deeper drifts; present year-round but not on every dive.

Whitetip reef sharks are seen on and around the pinnacle walls.

Rests on the deeper sections and ledges of the Pescador wall; not seen every dive.

Present year-round on the northern reefs, resting under ledges by day. More reliably seen than the seasonal pelagics, but not on every dive.

Whitetip reef sharks are seen from time to time at the deeper reefs and pinnacles, less reliably than the leopard and blacktip sharks.

Common on the reefs and boulder sites, including Christmas Point; juveniles seen fairly often. Resident on Andaman reefs through the open season.

Seen on reef and pinnacle sites including Koh Torinla; resting on ledges and patrolling the reef.

Seen resting under and around some wrecks. Truk is not a shark destination; encounters are incidental.

Reported at structure sites such as Split Rock and Fingers. Present year-round but in low numbers — Vava'u is not a shark destination.

The most common shark here, seen resting on ledges and along walls; shark numbers overall are modest compared with big-animal destinations.

Occasionally seen at the higher-current Verde Island sites (Washing Machine, Fishbowl). Puerto Galera is not a shark destination, so encounters are uncommon.