Shark Week Is Back, So We Found the Places Behind Your Favorite Shark Movies

Quick Facts: Shark Movie Filming Locations

• Jaws filmed on Martha’s Vineyard, with Edgartown transformed into the fictional town of Amity.

• The Shallows went to Australia, although its remote beach supposedly sits somewhere along Mexico’s coastline.

• The Meg filmed around Auckland, including the waters of the Hauraki Gulf.

• Under Paris used multiple countries, with filming completed in Paris, at Lites Studios in Vilvoorde near Brussels, and at Ciudad de la Luz Studios in Alicante.

• Open Water used real sharks, which is probably why the movie still feels so deeply unpleasant.

• 47 Meters Down filmed underwater inside a massive studio tank in the Dominican Republic.

1. 47 Meters Down: Dominican Republic Playing Mexico

In 47 Meters Down, one sister is still reeling from a breakup when her more adventurous sibling convinces her to prove she isn’t boring by climbing into a shark cage off the coast of Mexico. It’s supposed to be the bold, spontaneous adventure that turns their vacation around. Instead, the winch snaps, the cage plunges 47 meters to the ocean floor, their oxygen begins running out, and several great white sharks start circling overhead.

Thankfully, the actors weren’t actually stranded 47 meters beneath the ocean. The underwater scenes were filmed inside the 60,500-square-foot Horizon Water Tank at Pinewood Dominican Republic Studios near San Pedro de Macorís. Nearby locations in the Dominican Republic stood in for Mexico, and the sharks were added digitally, which was probably reassuring for everyone involved.

The Dominican Republic offers much calmer ways to enjoy the Caribbean. Punta Cana, La Romana, and Bayahibe are all known for beachfront resorts, while Bayahibe is one of the country’s main diving hubs. Boat trips head out to coral reefs, shipwrecks, and the waters around Saona Island, with considerably less risk of becoming trapped on the ocean floor.

The movie’s basic premise is real, though. Shark cage diving lets travelers watch sharks from inside a protective metal enclosure. Mexico’s most famous great white destination, Guadalupe Island, has been closed to tourism since 2023, so be cautious of any operator still advertising trips there.

There are still plenty of other shark experiences to seek out in Mexico. Travelers can snorkel alongside gentle whale sharks near Isla Mujeres or, for qualified and experienced divers, join seasonal bull shark dives off the coast of Playa del Carmen. Bull shark season generally runs from November through March, so summer visitors will need to save that particular underwater adventure for a future trip. Whale shark season, however, typically overlaps with the summer months, making Isla Mujeres an especially fitting alternative.

2. Open Water: Nassau, Bahamas

Open Water is less of a guilty pleasure and more of a carefully designed anxiety attack. A couple joins a group scuba excursion, gets left behind after the crew miscounts the returning divers, and discovers that the open ocean becomes much less romantic when your boat has disappeared.

The film was shot in the Bahamas using real sharks rather than mechanical or computer-generated ones. Director Chris Kentis and producer Laura Lau worked with Bahamian shark expert Stuart Cove, and the actors entered the water alongside live animals. Every shark shown in the finished movie was real, which explains why it has none of the comforting artificiality of most shark films.

Thankfully, Nassau’s real-life snorkeling industry is considerably more organized. Local excursions take travelers to shallow coral reefs, colorful tropical fish habitats, shipwrecks, and even underwater movie sets used in major films. Most trips are designed for beginners as well as experienced snorkelers, with guides, safety briefings, and equipment included. We also assume modern operators have become much more diligent about counting every passenger before returning to shore.

3. The Reef: Queensland, Australia

In The Reef, a sailing trip through Australia’s tropical waters goes spectacularly wrong when a group of friends capsizes far from shore. Their options are not great: stay with the overturned boat and hope help arrives, or swim toward a distant island while a great white shark follows close behind. It’s the kind of vacation decision that makes an unexpected resort fee feel almost comforting.

Filming took place around Hervey Bay, Bowen, and K’gari, which was still widely known as Fraser Island when the movie was made. Footage of real sharks filmed in South Australia was then blended into the water scenes with the actors, helping the movie feel far more convincing than anyone watching from behind a cushion would probably prefer.

The real Queensland islands are considerably more welcoming. Travelers will find white-sand beaches, rainforest, sailing trips, and easy access to the Great Barrier Reef. Snorkeling and diving excursions offer the chance to see coral, giant clams, sea turtles, and more than 1,600 species of fish, none of which have been instructed to stalk you all the way back to shore.

For a more environmentally responsible trip, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority recommends booking with recognized High Standard Tourism Operators.

4. Under Paris: Paris, France

Under Paris asks a simple question: What would happen if a giant shark entered the Seine just before a major international swimming competition? The answer involves marine biologists, flooded catacombs, government officials making questionable choices, and Paris experiencing a far worse tourism problem than overpriced coffee near the Eiffel Tower.

The movie really did film in Paris, including scenes around the Seine, but the production couldn’t stage its enormous aquatic sequences in the river. Most underwater work was completed at Lites Studios in Vilvoorde, just outside Brussels, while the climactic triathlon scenes used a roughly 100-by-80-meter tank at Ciudad de la Luz Studios in Alicante, Spain. Visual effects then restored the Paris riverbanks around the actors.

The good news is that you can book a Paris hotel, walk along the Seine, take a river cruise, and visit many of the movie’s recognizable city locations without encountering a giant mutant shark. Sadly.

5. The Meg: Auckland, New Zealand

No shark movie list would be complete without Jason Statham fighting an enormous prehistoric creature in circumstances that become less scientifically plausible with every passing minute. The Meg takes its characters deep into the Mariana Trench before allowing its title character to escape and begin treating the Pacific Ocean as an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Filming was based in Auckland, with water scenes shot in the Hauraki Gulf and studio work completed at Kumeu Film Studios. According to the New Zealand Film Commission, The Meg was the first major feature film to use the Hauraki Gulf as a filming location.

Auckland is built between two harbors, so you don’t have to fight a megalodon to appreciate the scenery. Harbor cruises pass landmarks including the Auckland Harbour Bridge, Devonport, Rangitoto Island, and the city skyline. Longer excursions explore wildlife sanctuaries, vineyards, and islands scattered across the Hauraki Gulf.

6. The Shallows: Lord Howe Island, Australia

The Shallows strands Blake Lively’s character on a rock within sight of the beach, with an injured leg, limited supplies, and a great white shark that appears to have cleared its entire schedule for her. It is beautifully shot, tightly paced, and personally responsible for making thousands of people suspicious of any rock located more than ten feet offshore.

Although the story takes place on a secluded Mexican beach, some of its most striking scenes were filmed on Lord Howe Island, about 700 kilometers, or 435 miles, northeast of Sydney. The production built the rocky outcrop and buoy in shallow water near the island, while additional ocean scenes were completed inside studio tanks at Village Roadshow Studios in Oxenford, Queensland.

Lord Howe Island is so beautiful that even the movie’s most ominous scenes cannot entirely disguise its appeal. The UNESCO World Heritage-listed island has a turquoise lagoon, volcanic peaks, pristine beaches, forest trails, and the world’s southernmost coral reef. Only 400 visitors may stay on the island at one time, so travelers should secure accommodation before booking flights.

Despite everything The Shallows taught us, this may still be the location we’d most like to swim in. Lord Howe Island’s lagoon offers snorkeling, kayaking, paddleboarding, and glass-bottom boat excursions, all surrounded by coral, tropical fish, and remarkably clear turquoise water. It looks far more like a postcard than a horror-movie setting, and the visibility is so good that, at the very least, you’d probably see the shark coming.

7. Jaws: Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts

There was never any real competition for number one. Jaws didn’t just create the modern shark movie. It made an entire generation nervous about swimming, transformed the summer blockbuster, and permanently connected two musical notes with the feeling that something terrible is approaching.

Steven Spielberg filmed the fictional Amity Island on Martha’s Vineyard, with Edgartown serving as the town center. Other recognizable locations include South Beach, Edgartown Harbor, Menemsha, the Chappy Ferry, and the American Legion Memorial Bridge, now almost universally known as Jaws Bridge.

Martha’s Vineyard remains the best complete shark movie trip because so much of Amity still exists. Visitors can walk through Edgartown’s white-clapboard streets, ride the tiny Chappy Ferry, visit the beaches, and stand beside the bridge featured in the film.

Some dedicated Jaws tours spend around four hours visiting major filming locations while sharing stories from the famously chaotic production. Shorter walking tours are also available. It’s a proper film pilgrimage rather than a single beach or studio tank, and that gives Martha’s Vineyard an easy victory.

Shark movies work because they take places associated with sunshine, freedom, and vacation and convince us that something enormous is waiting just beneath the surface. Thankfully, the real filming locations are far more inviting. Lord Howe Island has impossibly clear lagoons, Auckland pairs a city break with easy access to the water, and Nassau offers plenty of ways to turn a movie connection into an actual snorkeling or diving trip. Martha’s Vineyard still wins overall, though. Few places let fans step so completely into a movie world, and Amity’s fictional panic feels even funnier against the island’s real New England charm.

Many of these destinations also offer legitimate shark encounters, reef dives, wildlife cruises, and whale shark snorkeling, although travelers should always check an operator’s permits, safety standards, certification requirements, and environmental practices before booking. Shark attacks remain exceptionally rare, no matter what several decades of cinema have suggested. You are far more likely to suffer from sunburn, seasickness, or an overpriced drink at the marina. Still, Open Water has permanently changed one part of our travel routine: we will happily visit every destination on this list, but we will also be standing directly beside the crew member responsible for the final head count.

Frequently Asked Questions: Shark Movie Filming Locations

Where was Jaws filmed?

Jaws was filmed primarily on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. Edgartown became Amity’s town center, with additional filming around Menemsha, South Beach, Edgartown Harbor, and Jaws Bridge.

Can you take a Jaws tour on Martha’s Vineyard?

Yes. Guided Jaws tours visit major filming locations around the island, including Edgartown and several beaches featured in the movie. Some driving tours last approximately four hours, while shorter walking tours are also available.

Where was The Shallows filmed?

The movie’s fictional Mexican beach was filmed partly on Lord Howe Island in Australia, about 700 kilometers northeast of Sydney. Additional ocean and weather-dependent scenes were completed at Village Roadshow Studios in Oxenford, Queensland.

Was Open Water filmed with real sharks?

Yes. The filmmakers used live sharks in the Bahamas, with shark expert Stuart Cove helping coordinate the underwater production.

Was Under Paris filmed in the Seine?

Some location filming took place around Paris, but the major underwater and triathlon sequences were created in tanks at Lites Studios in Vilvoorde, Belgium, and Ciudad de la Luz Studios in Alicante, Spain.

Can you still go great white shark cage diving in Mexico?

Not at Guadalupe Island. The Mexican government closed the protected island to tourism and recreational diving in 2023. Other shark experiences remain available elsewhere in Mexico.

Where was The Meg filmed?

The Meg was based in Auckland, New Zealand. Filming locations included Kumeu Film Studios and the Hauraki Gulf, according to the New Zealand Film Commission.

Where was 47 Meters Down filmed?

The movie was filmed primarily at Pinewood Dominican Republic Studios, where production used a 60,500-square-foot horizon water tank. Nearby Dominican locations doubled for Mexico.