Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Isla Guadalupe - August 2009 - Trip Report

August 17-21, 2009 was one of our best expeditions this season. Great divers, great weather and of course lots of white sharks on site:

Since I have worked at a dive shop since the ripe age of sixteen, I have been lucky enough to travel to many exotic places all over the globe.But nothing could prepare me for what I would see at Isla Guadalupe.

The trip exceeded every expectation that I had, (and I was VERY excited to go) because I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Would I actually get to see the white shark?

Would the service be any good?

Was SharkDiver.com the right operation to use?

All of my questions would be answered in three short days. The most important thing to me was actually getting to see as many sharks as I could; and the crew of Shark Diver delivered.The first time in the water we were lucky enough to see a “small” eleven foot shark swimming though the water with grace and ease.I was amazed to realize that I wasn’t actually scared.

The shark was swimming around as if the cages weren’t even in the water.In fact, he couldn’t have cared less about our presence.I got out of the water shaking with excitement; little did I know that it was all uphill from there.We saw as many as five different sharks in the water at the same time and I got more pictures than I knew what to do with.By the end of the trip, I found myself disappointed if I only saw one or two sharks per dive.

That part of the trip could not have been more of a success.The sharks were amazing, but the crew at Shark Diver made my trip for me. EVERY staff member on the boat was nice, knowledgeable, and would drop what they were doing to help me in any way. They knew about the sharks and they knew how to attract sharks to the boat without disrupting any of the shark’s normal routines.

The food was fantastic and would be prepared any way I desired. But I also noticed that they were making dishes that were suitable for all the customers. We had people onboard with food allergies, vegetarians, and just plain picky eaters. Not a problem for the cook; he pleased everyone. Once dinner was served, all conversations ended because people couldn’t stop complementing the cook. I actually felt bad because I didn’t feel my 20% tip was enough, but unfortunately it was all the money I brought…

As I said in the beginning, I work at a dive shop in Austin, TX called Tom’s Dive and Swim. We do international travel through the shop and because of the rave reviews we came back with, the owner and I have already started planning a trip for 2010 to take our customers on. I have nominated myself as the trip leader because I cannot wait to return to Isla Guadalupe!

If anyone is even thinking about this trip, you have to strongly consider Shark Diver as the charter to use because they will make your trip. And if anyone had doubts about the trip, please call me the dive shop at 512-451-3425 and I will answer any questions you have about the trip.

You only love once and this is certainly something that you must do at some point in your life. So what are you waiting for?

Sam Holan

W: 512-451-3425



Editors Note: Thanks Sam, you and your crew are welcome aboard anytime mate.

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