Where and when to see hammerhead sharks

Scalloped hammerheads school in large numbers around offshore seamounts and pinnacles, usually in cooler water and stronger current. Great hammerheads are solitary and seen at a handful of seasonal hotspots.

This guide documents sightings in 12 Good Dives regions. The most regions are in peak season in January–March.

Colored-pencil illustration: one anatomically accurate adult scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini). Critical diagnostic feature: the cephalofoil is a broad transverse wing across the front of the head.

Hammerhead sharks sighting calendar

Calendar months, every year

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Cocos IslandCosta Rica●●●●●PeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeak●
GalápagosEcuador●●●●●PeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeak●
Deep South MaldivesMaldivesPeakPeakPeak●●●Peak
Sudan Red SeaSudanPeakPeakPeakPeak●●●
Ari AtollMaldives●●●●●●●●●●●●
MalpeloColombia●●●●●●●●●●●●
Bahamas (Tiger Beach & Bimini)BahamasPeakPeakPeak●●
French Polynesia (Tuamotus)French PolynesiaPeakPeakPeak●●
Southern Red SeaEgypt●PeakPeakPeak●
YonaguniJapanPeakPeakPeak●●
HalmaheraIndonesia●●●●●●●●●
Banda SeaIndonesiaPeakPeak●

Peak = best odds · ● = regularly seen · blank = unlikely.

Calendars describe animal presence, not weather or site access; check each region’s dive season. For grouped animals, a marked month may apply to only one member of the group. Sightings vary by site and dive.

Explore all 12 documented regions