BIMINI: Snorkeling with Sharks Excursion Review

Bimini, a tropical paradise in the Bahamas that's only about 50 miles east of Miami. You can get here from Florida by taking a quick ferry ride or you can visit by cruise ship and that's exactly what we did when we spent a day here as a port of call on a Virgin Voyages cruise to do an absolutely unforgettable snorkeling adventure here that took us to two incredible spots. Bimini's famous Sapona shipwreck and a breathtaking Caribbean reef shark encounter. This excursion that we booked through Virgin Voyages was called the Sapona shipwreck and shark snorkeling excursion and the price was $150 per person. The entire experience from the moment we left the dock to the time we returned was about four hours long. Our excursion started with a boat ride out to the Sapona, a shipwreck that's become something of an iconic Bimini landmark with a history that's as interesting as the marine life that now calls it home. The ship was originally built during World War I and the Sapona's hull was made of concrete due to a steel shortage at the time and if you're wondering how a concrete ship can float, well so was I. After the war it was repurposed as a cargo vessel and later used for rum running during prohibition. Eventually it was grounded off Bimini during a hurricane where it's since become a pretty iconic site. Its concrete hull has mostly been eroded away by time so it's just a rusty metal skeleton now and that kind of gives it a really interesting and almost eerie look as it sits in the shallow blue water of the Bahamas. Underwater the Sapona is a haven for marine life and it's a really interesting wreck to explore. You are allowed to swim inside and through the wreck but there are a few rusty edges in here so it's a really good idea to be careful and the water is so clear it feels like you're swimming in a giant aquarium down here. I've had a chance to snorkel and scuba dive in a few different wrecks over the years but I think this might be my favorite. It's just really cool looking the way it sits halfway exposed out of the water and being able to go into the wreck was really cool and a lot of fun. You don't really get to do that at most shipwrecks and if this was all we got to see on this trip it would have been a great snorkeling excursion and probably the highlight of any snorkeling trip. But the real fun came next. Next we headed out to a site known as a gathering spot for Caribbean reef sharks and as soon as we arrived the sharks came right up to the boat to let us know they were ready to see us. But before we jumped in the crew gave us a full safety briefing on how to behave in the water. No erratic splashing at the top. Don't go shoving your camera in their face and definitely no trying to touch them. I mean come on that should have gone without saying but they told us to think of this as a strip club for sharks. Look but don't touch. So yes swimming with sharks might sound scary and intimidating but it was just an absolutely amazing experience. This was just unforgettable. I wasn't really scared or nervous about doing this but I will admit that jumping off a perfectly good boat into shark-filled waters was a little bit intense and kind of freaky at first but it didn't take long at all to realize these sharks didn't see us as either a threat or food. They were a bit curious gliding right past us swimming right under us and occasionally getting a little closer than I would have expected but never in a threatening or scary way. But after spending about 30 minutes in the water with these sharks it was time to head back but before we did the crew said it was time to tip our shark strippers and threw fish into the water to feed and reward them and that was really cool to see. See these sharks go almost into a feeding frenzy at the surface. Really really cool. All right give me a stripper boat. But this is how the sharks learn to hang out in this spot. They've come to expect free and easy meals here every day and this was just incredible an incredible experience. Doing something like this getting a swim with sharks like this is something I have always wanted to do ever since I was a kid who was really into sharks. Sharks have always been like one of my favorite things and this was one of the coolest things I've ever done and easily the best cruise excursion I've ever been on. I could not recommend this higher. Even hours later we were both just buzzing from this and not just from the free rum punch they handed out on the boat ride back home. I had a bit of a bad experience from some rum punch on another snorkel excursion we did in Aruba earlier this year and I did not want a repeat of that so I laid off this time but I cannot wait to do this again. I loved this experience and I couldn't recommend this experience any higher. It really was one of those once in a lifetime type things that I'll never forget. Our guides were really professional. They made us feel completely safe and they made sure we respected the sharks and the sharks respected us but I absolutely love this experience. I cannot wait to do this again. I would love to go back to Bimini again just to do this. That is how much I absolutely love this excursion and I cannot wait to go back out here and take the rest of my family to do this thing. My kids would love this. Anyway thanks for watching. If you love this kind of thing you want to learn more about fun things to do in or around Florida and on cruises don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more stuff like this. This is Andy. I'll talk to you guys next time. Bye-bye.