Experience the excitement: Swim with the sharks

While it’s a well-known fact that a trip to Hawaii is one of the best — and easiest — family vacations, scheduling your time while on the island may be a little trickier. You’ll want to find activities everyone can enjoy, from those who want to see the sights to those who want to get their blood pumping.

This family vacation, skip the shopping or tanning. Instead, look for adventurous things to do on vacation. One of the best — and most memorable — is swimming with the sharks.

Swim with the sharks: Surf N’ Sea, the oldest and most iconic surf shop on the North Shore, offers shark cage tours. These tours are something you won’t want to miss. It’s the experience of a lifetime, watching Galapagoes, sandbar and even tiger sharks swim in their natural habitat.

How it works: Tours are completely safe, and so much fun. The first tours of the day leave first thing in the morning from Haleiwa Harbor, boating about 3 miles offshore to the company’s moored cage. There’s no chum involved — the sharks hear the boat coming, and, with hopes that it’s a crabbing vessel and potential food source, come to investigate. Adventurers can either ride on the boat and sightsee, or go down in the cage to swim with the sharks.

By the numbers: Visibility is often more than 150 feet, so swimmers can watch the sharks emerge from the water. The cage can hold up to eight people, so small families can go down together. Sharks can measure up to 15 feet in length, and get just inches from the cage — they’re just as curious as you are! Imagine having such an incredible and jaw-dropping experience with your kids! This will be one family vacation they won’t stop talking about. Bring a disposable underwater camera, or purchase cameras or video options from the shop so you can keep reliving the trip.

Are you ready to schedule the tour of a lifetime? Learn more about the trip and your tour here.