"natural" Shark diving in Caribbean?

[mcohen1021]

If big animals and sharks is the goal is there any doubt, Socorro is the place to go?

 

[scubadada]

Thank you, everyone. You're very kind and have offered some excellent insights.
Alas, a liveaboard is not an option as this will be a family holiday and only some of us dive. I was hoping to find a resort with a reputable dive shop on an island near dive sites where we might get to see some sharks in the wild. We're also constrained to Xmas and New Year, I'm afraid, due to school holidays...

If big animals and sharks is the goal is there any doubt, Socorro is the place to go?

The OP has stated that a liveaboard is not in the cards. It must be land-based, with non-divers taken into account. Providenciales, Turks and Caicos could fit the bill. The Bahamas has also been mentioned.

 

[Cornellxc]

I'm always surprised by a diver ever picking provo over GT. Provo is a great pick if you're looking for a high luxury experience (not my thing). Diving wise though it's no contest. Not saying there aren't equivalent sites near provo but the boat rides are like an hour. Anyways, if the focus is diving in TCI, Grand Turk has always been a no brainer for me.

 

[Hoag]

I'm always surprised by a diver ever picking provo over GT. Provo is a great pick if you're looking for a high luxury experience (not my thing). Diving wise though it's no contest. Not saying there aren't equivalent sites near provo but the boat rides are like an hour. Anyways, if the focus is diving in TCI, Grand Turk has always been a no brainer for me.

There is a cool little hotel on GT called Bohio that is run by a couple of Canadian expats that is amazing for diving.
A typical day goes something like this:
Breakfast
Get ready for 1st dive (put your wetsuit on now)
5-10 minute boat ride to 1st dive site
Dive #1
5-10 minute ride back to Bohio for surface Interval
Once at Bohio place your lunch order
Another 5-10 minute boat ride
Dive #2
Back to Bohio
Change into dry clothes
Lunch (Ready for you as soon as you sit down because they saw your dive boat arrive & you pre-ordered it during your surface interval)
Afternoon is yours to do with whatever you want.

 

[BrackaFish]

There is a cool little hotel on GT called Bohio that is run by a couple of Canadian expats that is amazing for diving.
A typical day goes something like this:
Breakfast
Get ready for 1st dive (put your wetsuit on now)
5-10 minute boat ride to 1st dive site
Dive #1
5-10 minute ride back to Bohio for surface Interval
Once at Bohio place your lunch order
Another 5-10 minute boat ride
Dive #2
Back to Bohio
Change into dry clothes
Lunch (Ready for you as soon as you sit down because they saw your dive boat arrive & you pre-ordered it during your surface interval)
Afternoon is yours to do with whatever you want.

Oh boy, that routine sounds rough and very, very harsh, but I might just have to tough it out there one day.

 

[k4kafka]

There is a cool little hotel on GT called Bohio that is run by a couple of Canadian expats that is amazing for diving.
A typical day goes something like this:
Breakfast
Get ready for 1st dive (put your wetsuit on now)
5-10 minute boat ride to 1st dive site
Dive #1
5-10 minute ride back to Bohio for surface Interval
Once at Bohio place your lunch order
Another 5-10 minute boat ride
Dive #2
Back to Bohio
Change into dry clothes
Lunch (Ready for you as soon as you sit down because they saw your dive boat arrive & you pre-ordered it during your surface interval)
Afternoon is yours to do with whatever you want.

And when the dive day is done, walk past the wild burros into “town” and saddle-up at the Sand Bar for that evening buzz...

 

[Hoag]

Oh boy, that routine sounds rough and very, very harsh, but I might just have to tough it out there one day.

Yeah, it was pretty rough. So rough that I found myself spending most afternoons napping in a hammock.

 

[Damselfish]

One thing we discovered on a 2 week liveaboard in the Bahamas was that even if the sharks weren’t being fed on the dive, there could still be plenty of unnatural behavior because others fed there, or it had been a feeding site in the past. There were places with lots of sharks that were obviously hoping for something.