Location: Mexico, Maldives, Belize, Honduras, Mozambique, Philippines

Published: Scuba Diving Magazine

Whale shark run-ins rank near the top of any diving bucket list. With a head like the hood of a Ford, dizzying dots and tiny eyes incongruous with its sheer mass, this gentle animal is the largest fish in the oceans. And the irony for divers, of course, is that you’re most likely to encounter whale sharks near the water’s surface with a snorkel clenched between your molars rather than a regulator.