HOW MUCH ARE yOUR BLUE SHARK SNORKEL TRIPS?

Our regular blue shark snorkel trips for 2026 are £155.00 per person, plus booking fees. We take a deposit of £55 per person and the remaining amount is due on the day. The ticket price does not include kit hire, but you can either bring your own kit to wear in line with our guidelines or add on any kit hire you may need at checkout. Kit hire is pay on the day. Scroll down below to see our kit hire prices and cancellation policy. If you are booking the whole boat in 2026 for a group of 10, we charge £1400 for a full boat booking.

FOR THE 2027 SEASON:

Our regular blue shark snorkel trips for 2027 are £180 per person, plus booking fees. We take a deposit of £80 per person and the remaining amount is due on the day. The ticket price does not include kit hire, but you can either bring your own kit to wear on the day in line with our guidelines or add on any kit hire you may need at checkout. Kit hire is pay on the day. Scroll down below to see our kit hire prices and cancellation policy. If you are booking the whole boat in 2027 for a group of 10, we charge £1600 for a full boat booking.

CAN I PRIVATE CHARTER YOUR BOAT FOR JUST MY GROUP?

Yes, you can and we can take anywhere from 1 person to a maximum of 11 for your own private charter booking. Private boat booking costs are above.

IF I WANT TO HIRE THE BOAT PRIVATELY FOR MY OWN GROUP , DO YOU TAKE FULL PAYMENT UP FRONT?

No. For private group bookings, we ask for 50% deposit for the total boat booking up front and the remaining 50% on the day. The same cancellation policy applies for a private booking as it does to individuals. If you are struggling to find a date on the website to charter the boat privately, please get in touch with us via email.

IS KIT INCLUDED IN THE TICKET PRICE?

No, kit hire is not included in the ticket price. Any kit hire is extra.

WHAT KIT DO I HAVE TO WEAR TO TAKE PART IN THIS TRIP?

All customers MUST either provide and bring their own kit to wear in the water OR you can hire it directly through us. All of the below equipment is mandatory to take part in the trip, and MUST consist of the following:

• A bathing suit, bikini or swim shorts WHICH SHOULD BE WORN UNDER YOUR CLOTHES before boarding the vessel. It makes changing into the following equipment easier for all.

• A FULL BODY thick wetsuit (Ideally 5mm+) in a dark colour - you MUST only wear a wetsuit that is dark in colour (i.e. blacks, greys, dark blues, dark greens etc), that DOES NOT have any bright colours or large bright coloured patches (although small logos are ok) that may spark attention from the sharks. Sharks are very sensitive to contrast and so we have these mandatory rules in place to minimise unwanted curiosity from the sharks. That means no large patches of yellows, oranges, pinks, reds etc or any other bright colours. We are extremely strict on this and if you turn up on the day with any item of kit that does not follow these guidelines, we reserve the right to refuse entry to the water WITHOUT refund. We recommend at the very least a 5mm + WINTER wetsuit, which MUST be full length with the arms and legs covered and if you do tend to get extra cold then we would suggest wearing a rashguard or thermal layer underneath or over the top. IF YOU ARE HIRING A WETSUIT WE RECOMMEND GETTING A SIZE UP FROM YOUR USUAL CLOTHING SIZE.

• Dark colour diving hood no bright patches or colours

• Dark colour diving boots OR dark colour diving socks with dark fins

• Dark colour diving gloves

• Dark colour snorkel mask, complete with a snorkel - (clear is ok, just no bright colours)

***PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL OF THE ABOVE EQUIPMENT IS MANDATORY AND MUST BE WORN TO PARTICIPATE. SHARKS ARE SENSITIVE TO CONTRASTING COLOURS AND SO WE HAVE THESE GUIDELINES IN PLACE TO MINIMISE THE RISK OF UNWANTED ATTRACTION***

If you do not own any of this equipment, you can add your kit hire on at checkout and pay for it on the day.

HOW MUCH IS KIT HIRE AND HOW FAR IN ADVANCE DO I NEED TO PRE-ORDER MY KIT HIRE?

For 2026, our kit hire prices are as follows:

Full equipment bundle = £30pp (for everything needed to take part in the trip including a wetsuit, hood, mask and snorkel, socks, fins and gloves. If you do not need all of the kit and just need some individual items, please see pricings below:

• Wetsuit £10

• Hood £5

• Gloves £5

• Socks £5

• Fins £5

• Mask and Snorkel Set £5

*NOTE, for 2026 we currently DO NOT hire weights or weight belts. A weight belt is not mandatory to take part but it makes it much easier because of how buoyant the wetsuits are. You must either bring your own weight belt or arrange hire from elsewhere if you are wanting a weight belt for a trip in 2026.

For 2027, our kit hire prices are as follows:

Full equipment bundle (no weight belt) = £35pp (for everything needed to take part in the trip including a wetsuit, hood, mask and snorkel, socks, fins and gloves.

Full equipment (with weight belt) = £45pp

If you do not need all of the kit and just need some individual items, please see pricings below:

• Wetsuit £15

• Weight Belt £15

• Hood £5

• Gloves £5

• Socks £5

• Fins £5

• Mask and Snorkel Set £5

You can add your kit hire onto checkout when you book your space, however if you are unsure at the time of booking as to whether or not you will need to hire kit, you can add this much closer to the time of your trip taking place. You should be able to update your kit hire in terms of adding kit hire and changing sizes at any time via your original booking email. Any issues please get in touch with us via email. We need to have your kit hire requests in 48 hours before your trip to ensure we have the right kit onboard for you on the day.

I AM UNSURE ON SIZINGS FOR KIT HIRE, HOW DO I KNOW I AM REQUESTING THE RIGHT SIZE?

If you are unsure on kit hire sizings, please give us your height, approx weight, usual clothes sizing and uk foot size and we should be able to match you up size wise.

IF I AM HIRING KIT FOR MY TRIP , DO I NEED TO COME AND TRY MY KIT ON IN ADVANCE?

No not at all! We will have it all ready for you on the day on the boat

WHAT TIME DO YOUR SHARK TRIPS RUN?

Most of our shark trips will depart at 8am, with the prior meeting time being at 7.45am. This is subject to change though, based on conditions on the day, and if there are any changes to your trip time we will get in touch with you before your trip takes place

IS THERE AN AGE RESTRICTION?

We ask all participants to be aged 14 and over. If your child is under 14 and you believe that they are a confident swimmer in deep open water and are competent for this trip, please get in touch so we can discuss further.

DO I NEED TO BE A GOOD SWIMMER?

You MUST have previous snorkelling experience in open water, be a confident swimmer and be able to tread water extremely well as we are going 20 miles or more offshore. The water you will be snorkelling in will be open sea, sometimes 80 metres deep or more. You must have a strong stomach and not suffer badly from sea sickness (or be able to manage it well with medication etc) as we find that most of our customers find this trip the most challenging out of all of the trips we run interms of sea sickness. You will not be able to see the bottom of the sea. We do have safety lines trailing from the boat that we recommend customers hold onto to prevent drifting.

CAN I BRING A CAMERA OR UNDERWATER CAMERA WITH ME?

Yes, you are more than welcome to bring any cameras, underwater cameras or go pros and capture footage that you choose. However you MUST make sure that any underwater recording equipment is not brightly coloured or in a brightly coloured case. All camera equipment must be in dark colours.

WHAT SHOULD I BRING WITH ME?

MANDATORY:

• All of the above equipment in the previous section ‘what kit do I have to wear’ , unless you are hiring it, in which case you should bring cash on the day to pay for your kit hire.

• Any food or drink or snacks that you will want throughout the dayDrinking water

• WARM CLOTHES, WATERPROOF AND PLENTY OF LAYERS – we cannot stress this enough! It can feel extremely cold, especially after you have been in the water and there is a breeze, you may also get splashed on the way back in depending on the wind direction

• A towel or dryrobe / changing robe

• Socks and closed shoes with grip to keep your feet warm and dry whilst onboard

• Any personal medication or sea sickness medication that you may need throughout the day, we cannot provide any medication on board

WE ADVISE:

• Thick coat/ woolly hat/gloves- even in summer, and you think you might not need it. It’s colder out at sea than on land!

• Windbreaker / waterproof jacket

• A separate bag for your wet snorkel gear

• Eco-friendly suncream

• Sunglasses/sun hat or baseball cap

• Extra drinking water!!

• Any camera or GoPro that you may want to use on the day

IS FOOD AND DRINK PROVIDED?

We only provide HOT drinks. Hot drinks consist of tea, coffee and hot chocolate. You will need to bring any food and snacks you want with you for the day. We have a microwave that customers can access at any time when the engine is running.

WHAT IF I GET SEA SICK?

Even if you never normally get sea sick, we would strongly ADVISE everyone coming onboard for the sharks to consider taking some sea sickness tablets in line with the instructions on the packet or from instruction from your pharmacy or doctor. These should usually be taken the night before your trip or a minimum of 2 hours before boarding (we advise). They will not work if taken later or if you take them on the boat once starting to feel nauseous. We had many customers last year that experienced sea sickness for the first time whilst out on a shark swim with us - if this happens there is no escaping it for hours! Normally, by the time you get on the boat it will be too late to take them if you start experiencing sea sicknesssymptoms so please be prepared in advance. Sea sickness can absolutely ruin your day out and we cannot cut the trip short as it isn’t fair on the other customers. We cannot provide any customers with sea sickness tablets. If you wish to bring them on board do make sure you have your own supply with you.

HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU TAKE PER TRIP?

We will only take a maximum of 10-11 customers on our trips.

HOW LONG IS THE TRIP?

Our blue shark snorkel trips leave promptly at 8am and return at approximately any time between 3-4.30pm. This is an average, but sometimes it may be earlier if the sharks appear earlier. We like to give as much wait time as possible to allow for them to show. It also depends on the sea state and if it will take us longer to get back to reach land if the sea is not the calmest, as well as how much time everyone spends in the water! We allow for around a 7/8 hour trip to give us plenty of time to get out offshore and also factor in waiting time for the sharks to show up but as for the arrival time back to shore we take each day as it comes.

AM I GUARANTEED TO SEE A SHARK / SHARKS? WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T?

Although we have had a 100% success rate in locating blue sharks on every trip in 2022, and a 90% success rate for 2023 - 2026 , you must be aware that these are wild animals and we are not in an aquarium! We do average around 3 days per year where for whatever reason, the sharks do not show. There is of course, a chance that for reasons out of our control, the sharks may not and sometimes do not show up. We cannot guarantee anything due to the way nature sometimes works. However, with our team’s extensive knowledge of the sharks’ migratory patterns and behaviours, this is what has enabled us to have many great seasons of shark snorkelling so far. If we are unlucky and do not see them, the trip is not discounted and the full fee still applies.

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR TO SNORKEL WITH BLUE SHARKS?

The blue sharks visit our waters throughout end of May - early November. We operate our trips from mid June to mid October. It’s very hard to say which month is best to come on your. trip, as we’ve had amazing encounters throughout all of these months. Nature is unpredictable and can change from one day to the next! Every day is different.

WILL THERE BE A GUIDE IN THE WATER WITH ME?

Yes! We will always have a guide in the water with our customers at all times

CAN I COME ON THE TRIP TO ACCOMPANY SOMEBODY BUT NOT GET IN THE WATER?

Yes, however, we do still have to charge the full price of a normal space per person as we base our trips on the number of spaces, regardless of if you are getting into the water or not. You are more than welcome to come onboard for the day and stay dry if snorkelling with the sharks doesn’t take your fancy, perhaps take photographs or videos of somebody, or just to join them on a day out at sea

WILL I ENCOUNTER ANY JELLYFISH IN THE WATER AND WILL THEY STING ME?

We will most likely encounter some jellyfish in the water at times however as you will be fully covered wearing appropriate equipment, then the chances of them stinging are quite low

CAN MY CHILD GET IN THE WATER TO SNORKEL WHILST I STAY ONBOARD THE BOAT?

As long as you are happy to sign the waiver on the day stating that you are happy for your child /minor to enter the water with the snorkel guide without you being present alongside them, then that is fine. Our age limit is usually 14 years and above, but please get in touch if your child is younger than this and you are confident that they will be fully competent for this trip. Child spaces are charged at the same rate as adults, as a space is a space are we are limited with how many we take on the boat.

DO I NEED A DIVE CERTIFICATION?

You do not need a dive or snorkel qualification to join our trips. There will not be any scuba diving allowed on our trips. Only snorkelling.

CAN I TOUCH THE SHARKS?

No, not under any circumstances! It’s extremely important that you are aware these are wild animals. They might be cool animals, but they are apex predators. We provide you with our knowledge and guidance during our pre water briefing but you are choosing to swim with them knowing there is still risk. Take only photographs, kill only time, leave only bubbles, keep only memories. If you do not follow your guide’s instructions in terms of how to behave around the sharks /any other animals you may encounter and any other instructions when in the water, we will remove you from the activity and ask you to remain on the boat.

IS THE SEA COLD?

In a short answer, YES. This is not the Caribbean! This is England. Even in the height of summer the water will still be cold as we are travelling far off shore. Therefore a thicker wetsuit and hood is definitely advised!

• JUNE average sea temp : 14 - 14.5 degrees centigrade

• JULY average sea temp : 16.3 degrees centigrade

• AUGUST average sea temp: 17 degrees centigrade

• SEPTEMBER average sea temp: 16.5 degrees centigrade

• OCTOBER average sea temp: 15 degrees centigrade

WHAT HAPPENS ON THE DAY?

A guide will meet you at the dedicated meeting point that will be sent to you via email at the dedicated meeting time. You will then follow the guide down to the boat and we then make our way around up to 20-30 miles or more off shore in search of the blue sharks. This could take anywhere from 1.5-2 hours. Along the way out to the sharks, we are constantly on the lookout for marine life such as dolphins, porpoises, whales, seals, seabirds, and more where we will stop the boat if we come across anything interesting in our path on route to allow for good viewing. When we reach our destination, the chum is then dropped into the water along the side of the boat and then it is just a waiting game! The sharks may appear after as little as 30 minutes or in some cases a few hours. It can be a very long wait. However, once the sharks appear it is common for them to stay with us for a while.

WHERE DO WE MEET ON THE DAY AND IS THERE PARKING?

WE MEET PROMPTLY AT 7.45AM (15 MINUTES PRIOR TO TRIP DEPARTURE, though timings are always subject to change and we will get in touch with you before your trip if timings need to be changed). PLEASE ENSURE YOU ALLOW YOURSELF PLENTY OF TIME TO PARK AND GET TO THE MEETING POINT for 7.45AM. THE BOAT MUST LEAVE ON TIME AND WE CANNOT WAIT FOR YOU.

If arriving by foot please use the following address on the SatNav -The BoatHouse Restaurant, 2-4 Commercial Wharf Madeira Road, Plymouth, PL1 2NX

If arriving by car please use the following address on the SatNav and use the directions below for the remaining part on foot - Elphinstone Car Park, Madeira Rd, Plymouth PL1 2NU

NOTE: this is the nearest car park to our meeting point just a 5 minute walk but this is a pay and display car park Elphinstone car park does charge roughly around £16 for the full day. You are welcome however to try and find somewhere cheaper around the area to park but pleasegive yourself plenty of time on the day!

Once you have parked up and paid and displayed, you will need to meet us outside of The BoatHouse Restaurant PL12NX. From the car park it’s just a short walk, so you walk left, along the water front past The Piermasters House Restaurant and walk towards ‘The Barbican Landing Stage’ . One of our tour guides will meet you at the entrance to the Barbican Landing Stage jetty, opposite the BoatHouse Restaurant. Do not walk down the jetty PLEASE just wait at the entrance, which is just outisde the BoatHouse Restaurant!

IS THERE A TOILET ONBOARD?

Yes. We have a flushing toilet onboard the boat.

DO YOU USE CHUM?

Yes, we use chum. You would be extremely lucky to ever see a blue shark here otherwise. The chum that we use is left over waste, which would otherwise be discarded. Sometimes this can smell extremely fishy, so prepare yourselves if you have a sensitive stomach! We know that chumming is sometimes a debatable topic and so if you have any further questions about chumming please do not hesitate to contact us as we are always open to discussing this.

IS CHUMMING BAD AND DOES IT AFFECT THE SHARKS BEHAVIOUR?

There are different types of chumming used around the world when it comes to sharks. However, our target species are blue sharks which are the most migratory species of all shark and they are transient. Therefore this means that there are thousands and thousands of blue sharks travelling through the English channel every single year. We simply lay a light scent trail in order to see if the blue sharks will come into viewing range, we do not heavily bait the area. We also visit different spots throughout the summer, with our drift being different every day and we are only laying a scent trail for a small part of the day, with the season only being for half of the year. To put into context, our team have tagged and released as much as 24 blue sharks in one day for research purposes, but in 5 years of running our shark snorkel trips we have never come across a tagged shark whilst we have been in the water. That’s just how many are travelling through, and shows that we are not altering their migration routes at all.

WILL I BE INSURED?

Our insurance that we have only covers you when you are in the boat, so therefore you will require in-water cover. You will need to arrange this for yourself with an insurance / travel company.

WILL I NEED TO SIGN A WAIVER?

Yes, we will ask you to electronically complete waiver and medical forms before we depart. These forms will be sent out in advance a few days before the trip.

WHAT IF I HAVE A MEDICAL CONDITION?

You must be in good health, relatively fit and more than able to climb on and off of the boat using a ladder. You will be asked to complete a medical form prior to the trip taking place. If you have a serious medical condition or had recent surgery, YOU MUST LET US KNOW IN ADVANCE WITH PLENTY OF NOTICE BEFORE THE DAY OF YOUR TRIP . If need be, you may need to bring a signed doctor’s letter stating you are fit for the trip.

DO YOU PROVIDE LIFE JACKETS?

We are an MCA coded vessel and have life jackets onboard. We do not ask our customers to wear the life jackets throughout the duration of our trips as they will automatically be released in case of emergency.

WHAT IF I AM PREGNANT?

Unfortunately, in line with our risk assessment, we regretfully cannot allow pregnant women to take part or come onboard with us for our shark snorkel trips.

CAN I BRING ALCOHOL ON THE TRIP?

You may bring some alcohol with you for the way back if you wish (such as a few beers or a bottle of wine) however no customer must be intoxicated before entering the water. Once the snorkelling part is over you are more than welcome to have a glass of wine or beer etc if you are no longer going to enter the water for the rest of the day. If you are intoxicated before snorkelling we reserve the right to refuse you entry into the water

WHAT IF THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH CUSTOMERS BOOKED ON FOR MY TRIP TO GO AHEAD?

PLEASE NOTE in order to be able to run our trips you must understand that we can only operate providing a minimum number of customers is met, making it feasible for us to go out. If we do not have enough customers to run a trip, we reserve the right to contact you and attempt to reschedule the date of your trip (subject to availability) or offer you a full refund.

DO I GET MY MONEY BACK OR GET TO GO ANOTHER DAY IF WE DON’T SEE SHARKS?

Unfortunately not. This is not the way our business works, as nothing in nature is ever guaranteed. But we promise you we will do our absolute best to locate the sharks to enable you to snorkel with them. If we do not succeed, unfortunately that is the way of nature sometimes

WHAT IF I NEED TO CANCEL MY TRIP OR CAN NO LONGER ATTEND, WHAT IS YOUR CANCELLATION POLICY?

Our cancellation policy (for when a customer needs to cancel their trip with us) is as follows :

• More than 4 weeks notice or exactly 4 weeks notice = a full refund (minus booking fees) OR the option to move to a different date subject to availability

• Less than 4 weeks notice but more than 14 days notice = a loss of your deposit (and booking fees)

• Less than 14 days notice = a loss of your deposit (and booking fees) AND the full amount for the trip will still be charged, UNLESS you can find someone to fill your space.

IF MY TRIP IS CANCELLED BY PLYMOUTH MARINE SAFARI (because of weather, boat issues, crew issues, unforeseen circumstances etc) DO I GET A REFUND?

If we have to cancel your trip for any reason you will receive a full refund minus booking fees or you can choose another date subject to availability. Please understand that we are in England and UK weather is EXTREMELY temperamental. If you are really desperate to get out and this is a bucket list trip for you and you are travelling from far away, we would highly recommend booking more than one day out with us on the sharks to give you the best chance of having the trip fulfilled in terms of weather, and also seeing sharks. On average we are forced to cancel around 35% of our work because of weather being unsafe to go out in. Although we have a business to operate, safety is always our number one priority and therefore if the weather conditions DO NOT ALLOW for us to operate your trip safely, we reserve the right to cancel the trip AT ANY TIME, even less than 24 hours before the trip departs if the offshore forecast suddenly changes at the last minute - which very frustratingly can happen.

Because of this, we would HIGHLY recommend taking holiday/ travel insurance to cover your trip to Plymouth. We would highly advise researching the correct travel insurance that will cover you for the following situations:

• Insurance that will allow you to claim for any money lost due to accommodation bookings if the trip is cancelled late notice by us because the offshore weather changes to unsafe conditions.

• You should also look for it to cover you if you have to cancel your space 14 days or less before the trip takes place, as we still have to charge the full amount due for the space, even if you notify us to say that you can no longer attend the trip.

• The same goes if you are suddenly ill the morning of the trip or unable to make the trip because of last-minute unforeseen circumstances like injury or illness. We also cannot stress enough that if you are coming to Plymouth specifically just to come out on a trip with us, to try and book accommodation that allows you free cancellation as last minute as possible, or the option to change days free of charge if you need to cancel 24 hours or less before your stay at the accommodation is due. Alternatively you could book accommodation that allows you to pay on the day of check in. That way, if unforeseen weather or safety circumstances force us to cancel your trip, you will not lose out on money spent on accommodation.

WE WILL NOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY LOST ACCOMMODATION BOOKINGS, TRAVEL FARES, OR FOR ANY MONEY IN GENERAL YOU MAY END UP LOSING BECAUSE OF CANCELLATIONS EITHER BY OURSELVES OR YOURSELF