If Jaws didn't permanently scare you out of the water, pack your gear and go deep-sea diving with the sharks off the coast of Cape Point, South Africa. Apex Shark Expeditions (www.apexpredators.com) runs day trips into False Bay (some 30 minutes from Cape Town) between November and June, inviting you to swim for over an hour with Mako and blue sharks without anything but your wet suit between you and their fins.

Low-Adrenaline Alternative: Check out the world's largest predatory shark – the great white – in the Pacific waters around Mexico's Isla Guadalupe. Granted, this is still plenty adrenaline inducing, but Shark Diver's (www.sharkdiver.com) slightly less-extreme travel option puts you underwater – and safely behind bars – in a secure steel cage.

See our South Africa Travel Guide for more trip-planning information, then use our Travel Search price comparison tool to find flight, hotel, cruise, and more travel deals to South Africa.