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Lemon Shark Encounter: Explore Shark Bay
4.6
49 Ratings
Santa Maria
Living in the coastal subtropical waters around Sal, lemon sharks are one of the easiest sharks to spot in their natural habitat. You’ll venture out to Shark Bay with a marine biologist to interact and learn about these fascinating creatures on this half-day trip.
Living in the coastal subtropical waters around Sal, lemon sharks are one of the easiest sharks to spot in their natural habitat. You’ll venture out to Shark Bay with a marine biologist to interact and learn about these fascinating creatures on this half-day trip.
Duration:
4 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
-
Shark Bay - After pick-up from your hotel, you’ll drive to Shark Bay over on the east coast of Sal where your lemon shark experience will begin. You’ll wade out into the water with a marine biologist, who will guide you step by step and teach you all about this incredible species.
Spot their yellow-tinted skin – ideal for camouflage in the sandy…
- Shark Bay - After pick-up from your hotel, you’ll drive to Shark Bay over on the east coast of Sal where your lemon shark experience will begin. You’ll wade out into the water with a marine biologist, who will guide you step by step and teach you all about this incredible species.
Spot their yellow-tinted skin – ideal for camouflage in the sandy shores – and watch them as they go about their business, twisting and turning, and looking for fish just a few feet away. You’ll see their fins cutting through the surface of the water and get to know these sharks closer than you could imagine.
What's Included
- Transport
- Guide
- Transport
- Guide
Additional Information
- Tour includes walking on rocky ground
- Bring a towel
- Bring suitable footwear
- Our office opening hours are Monday - Friday from 9h - 17.15h, Saturday and Sundays closed.
- Not suitable for guests with reduced mobility
- Tour includes walking on rocky ground
- Bring a towel
- Bring suitable footwear
- Our office opening hours are Monday - Friday from 9h - 17.15h, Saturday and Sundays closed.
- Not suitable for guests with reduced mobility
Location
Shark Bay
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.6
(49 Ratings)
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Martabr9271ba
Nov 7, 2025
Best trip ever, 100%Awesome - Such a fantastic experience, our guides Anjelica and Chelsea were not only very knowledgeable about the sharks but also about the whole island. The commentary en-route to the sharks was informative and interesting. When we arrived, they made sure everyone was safe and comfortable. No question about it, this was the trip that made the holiday, and thanks again to the guides we now love rather than fear sharks. Great job girls
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hollie_t
Oct 24, 2025
Amazing shark experience with an eco focus - A must do if visiting the island! Prompt pick up from our hotel. The excursion is run by the company explore Cape Verde which is an eco friendly excursion company. They are marine biologists so very knowledgable about the sharks. If you’re eco conscious choose this excursions instead of other ones, they don’t feed the sharks because it’s bad for them as they only feed at night. Some other excursions while we were there were feeding them and if we hadn’t booked with explore Cape Verde we wouldn’t know this was wrong. We saw so many sharks of all different sizes it was amazing, some even brushed past our legs as they swam! Brilliant excursion. Was about 30 mins from Santa Maria once we picked everyone up. There is a toilet at shark bay though you have to pay €1.
Review provided by Viator
173aleynad
Sep 30, 2025
AWESOME - It was very special to see the baby sharks in their natural habitat, and very nice that we were allowed to visit them! The guide explained everything nice and clear. Here they also didn't feed the baby sharks so they learn how to hunt prey themselves. All in all a super nice experience 🦈🍋
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elaine
Sep 23, 2025
Wonderful experience . - Lizzie was very warm, engaging and knowledgeable . She made the experience very enjoyable. Thoroughly recommended. The driver was very personable and punctual
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Peter_d
Sep 18, 2025
Totally recommend to see the sharks in skilled hands - Pick up was punctual, we were in a decent sized group of 15. Tour guide knew his stuff, was attentive. Couple on the group needed extra help waning into the water and was there to provide support.
You need rock shoes, you can rent if you don't have. Recommend you take some dry shoes to travel back in, and you do get wet, so wear swimwear.
We got to see many types of fish and many baby sharks. We were lucky enough to photograph so of the larger sharks in the distance.
Review provided by Viator
44lilianee
Sep 10, 2025
The teeth of the sea in such 😂 - Amazing experience to be among these lemon sharks, which are just bb, and said the tallest measured 1.20 m (Pinocchio).
Unfortunately our guide was not the most talkative... too bad
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lesley1392
Aug 18, 2025
A must-see ecotourism experience. - We had an in incredible experience with the lemon sharks. Our guide was Elsa, a marine biologist from the Netherlands. She was knowledgeable and a hive of information on not only the lemon sharks, but also the importance of protecting this beautiful species, including how tagging the sharks from a young age will help with conservation. Elsa emphasised the importance of ecotourism within Cape Verde. We were able to see many juvenile sharks, from very young to those ready to join the older sharks in deeper water away from the bay. A must-see if anyone is visiting Sal. My whole family loved this experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Scenic41207475207
Aug 9, 2025
Baby sharks up close - We were picked up from the hotel on time in a small bus. Our tour guide Ilse has already given us a lot of interesting information about the island and about the sharks on the way. For example, it is important not to feed the sharks (if we other guides do) because this messes up the day-night rhythm of the baby sharks and they do not learn to hunt properly.
We already knew that the place is visited by many tourists but I can only recommend the tour to this organizer of the! For our children it was also a fascinating experience and Ilse was a great guide!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cathie
Aug 5, 2025
Well worth doing - a once in a life time experience - This was such a great experience up close and personal with the baby sharks and learning all about their habitat with a great guide Lizzie. Also knowing that a percentage of your trip cost was going back into helping with the protection of these magnificent beasts
Review provided by Tripadvisor
H8962jcrachela
Jul 9, 2025
It’s a Cape Verde must! - Great way to see the nurse sharks and our guide was really knowledgeable. We had such a fantastic time as a family. We enjoyed every minute of the trip
Review provided by Tripadvisor
