14 Places Where You Can Safely Swim With Sharks

2018 marks the 30th anniversary of Discovery Channel's Shark Week television event, which gets bigger every summer. Even Southwest Airlines is getting in on the fun this time around. For those travelers who can't get enough of sharks, these destinations offer the world's best opportunities to get up close.

Visitors to serene Fiji can experience up to eight different species of shark in a single dive at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve on the fringes of Beqa Lagoon.

Whether climbing into a cage or swimming freely alongside nurse sharks with Experiencias Xcaret's immersive shark adventure, travelers exploring Cancun have plenty of options when it comes to an adrenaline-pumping shark dive.

Looking to swim alongside the massive whale shark in paradise? Travel to the Maldives, specifically the South Ari Atoll and find the tour that works for you. Some hotels will even offer their own shark diving excursions.

Hawaii Shark Encounters maintains a flawless safety record so shark enthusiasts can rest assured that they're in good hands on their eco-tour, which aims to not only wow guests but educated them about the importance of conservation.

Like the Maldives, the Philippines is well-known for its whale shark population. Visitors to Donsol Bay are almost guaranteed to encounter the impressive species during the season, which peaks at the start of the year.

Guests at Atlantis Paradise Island don't even need swimming experience to swim with the sharks thanks to state-of-the-art clear-glass helmets that allow them to walk alongside the creatures in the resort's shark exhibit. However, that's just one of many adventures available in the Bahamas.

Costa Rica's Cocos Island is a great place for experienced divers to swim with hammerhead sharks in the wild while Cano Island offers plenty of opportunities to see whitetip reef sharks.

The many shipwrecks off of the North Carolina coast make it a popular spot for sand tiger sharks that frequent the underwater wreckage. Scuba divers can see both the sharks and shipwrecks from the Morehead City region.

It doesn't get much better than South Africa when it comes to great white shark cage diving. Gansbaai is known as the great white capital of the world and is also a fantastic destination for whale watching. Overall, the country is home to a variety of shark species.

Venture Down Under for a chance to see two of the most coveted species of shark in the world. Travelers to Australia can cage dive with great whites and swim with the far less terrifying whale shark. Down Under Answers can help plan the perfect trip.

Turks and Caicos' location in the Caribbean-the island chain sits above an ocean cliff-makes it a premier destination for shark diving. Visitors are likely to encounter reef sharks and perhaps a hammerhead or two if they're lucky.

The Roatan Shark Dive takes divers to a depth of 75 feet where they'll have 30 minutes to observe the elusive Caribbean reef shark, which can reach up to 10 feet in length.

Belize's beautiful reefs make it a premier destination for swimmers looking to get up close with a variety of species of shark in the wild. It's also a tremendous spot for encountering whale sharks from March through June.

Bora Bora, Tahiti and the relaxing islands of French Polynesia provide the ideal setting for swimming alongside reef sharks as the crystal-clear waters allow you to take in all of your surroundings and make them some of the best for a snorkeling adventure.