How and Where to Swim with Hammerhead Sharks

• Galápagos Islands — Darwin and Wolf islands deliver the densest hammerhead aggregations on Earth, with schools of 100+ scalloped hammerheads circling the seamounts from June to November.
• Cocos Island — A 36-hour crossing from Costa Rica, Cocos rewards divers with hammerhead schools at Bajo Alcyone and Manuelita, especially May through November.
• Socorro (Revillagigedo) — The Roca Partida pinnacle hosts hammerheads alongside silky sharks and giant mantas — November to May is prime.
• Bahamas (Bimini) — December through March, great hammerheads — the largest of the family, up to 6 m — patrol the shallow Bimini flats for stingrays.
• Egypt (Daedalus, Elphinstone) — Daedalus Reef in the southern Red Sea attracts schooling scalloped hammerheads from June to August — a bucket-list summer trip.

June–November for Galápagos & Cocos schools; December–March for great hammerheads in Bimini; June–August for Red Sea schools.

Booking 6–9 months ahead is essential for peak season — top liveaboards on these routes sell out a year in advance.

• Their wide head (cephalofoil) is packed with electroreceptors — hammerheads can detect a stingray's heartbeat buried in sand.
• Scalloped hammerheads school by day for protection and hunt alone at night.
• Great hammerheads prey almost exclusively on stingrays — the barbs lodge in their jaws and don't seem to bother them.
• All nine hammerhead species are listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered by the IUCN.

Descend quickly along the reef wall to ~25 m, settle behind a coral block, breathe slowly, and DO NOT chase. Schools approach curious divers who stay still. Avoid bright torches midday.

Safety: Extremely shy. No verified unprovoked attacks on divers from scalloped hammerheads. Maintain stillness — they spook at bubbles.