Is swimming with nurse sharks on group excursions in the Maldives safe?
Based on 1 discussion with 2 participants · Last activity: 2 days ago
TL;DR
Group nurse shark excursions are often overcrowded — dozens of boats and hundreds of tourists in the water at once, creating risk mainly from chaotic human behavior rather than the sharks themselves.
What the community said
On these excursions the danger isn't the sharks — it's the crowd: hundreds of tourists bump into each other with fins trying to get close.
2 days ago
Even at spots with just 5-6 boats, people in the water often behave carelessly, kicking each other — with bigger crowds it becomes unsafe.
2 days ago 5-6 boats
For comparison, on shark dive excursions in Australia boats keep distance from each other and groups are split in two — much better organized, no crowding.
2 days ago Australia (comparison)
The worst case is when resort groups and local-island groups arrive at the same spot simultaneously, creating an uncontrolled crowd in the water.
2 days ago
Because of the crowding risk, some guides actively discourage tourists from joining such shark excursions when many boats gather at once.
2 days ago