On a recent trip over Thanksgiving week to SeaWorld San Antonio we experienced the Shark Tour. If you’re a platinum pass holder this is one of the tours you can select for your “free animal tour” benefit and regular guests can get this tour for as little as $10 (potentially discounted further with a season pass). It’s a chance to go “behind the scenes” of SeaWorld and see how the park creates an immersive animal experience and actually touch a shark!

Tickets for the Shark Encounter can be purchased online or at the Animal Encounters window inside the entrance plaza. The tour is offered several times a day, so you can pick the time that aligns with your schedule. The shark area is actually in the Discovery Cove area of SeaWorld, honestly an area that many visitors might miss and not realize is available to them. The design of SeaWorld San Antonio is really 3 parks in one location with Aquatica and Discovery Cove located in the same complex with the theme park. In order to get to the Shark Encounter you’ll actually have to exit the theme park and make a short few minutes walk to Discovery Cove. This process is extremely easy and you’ll get a hand stamp to get back into the park or the tour guides will escort you back in should it wash off. The shark area is in the very back of Discovery Cover and you’ll walk past the huge dolphin encounter area to get there. Once arriving you’ll meet outside the shark building with a sign marking your meeting place. Groups seem small, ours was 7 in total, and it made things feel very exclusive and personal.

The Shark Encounter takes place inside the Explorer’s Reef Aquarium, a 450,000 gallon cylindrical salt water aquarium with living coral containing sharks and other species. You start by walking behind the building and going into an employee entrance. Upon entering you will immediately notice the relative cool and an “ocean” smell. The first place you’ll stop is a kitchen area where you’ll see where the food for the different animals is prepared. The guides will describe in good detail how they manage the diets of all of the tank’s different residents.

From there you’ll ascend some stairs and you’ll be at the top of the very large shark tank! The area is somewhat “industrial” feeling with lighting, railings, pumps and other equipment nearby. As you look over to the water surface from up against the railings you’ll also see what first appear to be shadows that you eventually realize are the tank’s largest residents, the sharks! The guides provide a fair amount of time for you to just look around and take it all while asking questions.

Next, the guides will open a couple of small tanks adjacent to the railing which hold small white-spotted bamboo sharks that you have the opportunity to touch and pet. These sharks are basically completely still and totally non-threatening. This makes for a great picture opportunity as well as the only thing better than a story about petting a shark is a picture of you doing it. While others in the group are petting the shark, you can ask questions, gaze into the tank or look at several of the displays and posters they have in the area.

After you’re done with looking at the top of the tank, the tour is basically over, lasting about 30 minutes in total. You’ll be guided back out to the front entrance where your tour originally met up and given directions on how to return to the park if you need them. It’s also highly encouraged that you go back in the public side of the exhibit and look at the large tank again as you’ll notice new things and have a different perspective having been on top of it. You can also head over and ride the park’s shark themed roller coaster, Great White!

I could not reccommend the shark tour more and if you have a chance to do this or any other animal encounter at a SeaWorld park please jump at the opportunity. From the “Penguin Encounter” to the “Dining with Orcas” lunch, I’ve found them all very much worth it. The Shark Encounter is incredibly cheap and you can save an additional 10-20% if you have a season pass. The Shark Encounter will add a memorable and exclusive feeling event to your day while probably also learning new things about these amazing creatures and how SeaWorld cares for them. This would also be a great tour for children as they’ll be the envy of all their friends getting to touch a shark!