Borderdog 0 Posted February 12, 2011 I am looking for a good destination to dive with some whale sharks. Any suggestions for a good site, time to go, and operators for this? I have considered Holbox and Cabo but Holbox Manta divers seem only to offer snorkeling trips. Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gaz Cooper 0 Posted February 14, 2011 I am looking for a good destination to dive with some whale sharks. Any suggestions for a good site, time to go, and operators for this? I have considered Holbox and Cabo but Holbox Manta divers seem only to offer snorkeling trips. Thanks Well 2 of the best places to see Whale Sharks are the Galapagos Islands from late Aug onwards where the chances you will see lots of Whale Sharks at Wolf and Darwin are very good in my last 3 trips on each trip we hit double digits in sightings. The other location is in Southern Belize in Placencia on the May June July full moon cycle where the snappers come to spawn at Gladden spit and the Whale Sharks follow to feed on the eggs. you have to time it perfectly right on the full moon phaze for the best chances to see them. Both places offer great photo ops up close and personal Check out my websites for more information on both locations I have a trip to the Galapagos going in September 3-10 see the commercial forum for details and the Belize experience it might be too late this year as they fill up fast and its government controlled but I can still always check for you. see my Dive Belize site for that just do a search for my name you will get the site or you can get there by visiting the Galapagos site too. Gaz Cooepr Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stoo 43 Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) I'm just back from my sixth trip to Utila. I've seen whalesharks several days on each trip except one (and we were knocking dolphins out of the way on that trip.) I think you will find that most commercial operators will not allow SCUBA when interacting with these beasts. My understanding is that there are two reasons for this... One is that the bubbles spook the beasts, but no less importantly, the operators are concerned that divers will loose all common sense and try to chase these critters to stupid depths. As for photographing these things... well, they're big and slow-moving, so it should be a piece of cake. In my experience though, if you are on a commercial charter, the trick will be getting a clear shot, free of other humans thrashing about trying to get close. I'd love to charter a boat to have a little one-on-one time with these guys. Incidentally, on this last trip, I was in the water with dolphins, whalesharks and pilot whales... I had the pilots to myself for about 10 minutes! Edited February 23, 2011 by Stoo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rameus 0 Posted May 14, 2011 The two destinations I have seen whale sharks so far are the Galápagos at Darwin (you have to be on a liveaboard for that) but there we saw them 2 days on every dive. And if you want to be almost sure to see one you can also go to Utila, Honduras. The diveshop Utila Dive Center gets most of them when they're out there. Seasons in central Galápagos: Late August - September Seasons in Utila: March-Mai and September-November That would be it. You can find a few pictures of a whale shark I did in Utila 3 years ago. The most amazing thing I have ever seen. Certainly not topped by any other shark I have seen so far. ;-) I am looking for a good destination to dive with some whale sharks. Any suggestions for a good site, time to go, and operators for this? I have considered Holbox and Cabo but Holbox Manta divers seem only to offer snorkeling trips. Thanks Thomas Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MJvC 9 Posted May 18, 2011 How about Djibouti in North East Africa? Do a quick YouTube search and you will find videos with 2, 3 and 4 whale sharks in one frame. Time to go: October – January. May be a little far for those of you living in the U.S and also a bit out of the way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Christian K 0 Posted May 25, 2011 (edited) Don't know where you're traveling from, but Tofo, Moçambique is a good place. Whale sharks year round as well as mantas. Mostly snorkeling with the whale sharks because you see the them in the surface off 'Tofinjo' on your way to and from dive sites and plop in for a little snorkeling, but they're seen on regular dives near dive sites as well (not by me though). Was a few years since my last visit, so others might have more updated info on lodging and operators. Good luck. Edited May 25, 2011 by Christian K Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrFiscus 1 Posted May 25, 2011 (edited) Don't know where you're traveling from, but Tofo, Moçambique is a good place. Whale sharks year round as well as mantas. Mostly snorkeling with the whale sharks because you see the them in the surface off 'Tofinjo' on your way to and from dive sites and plop in for a little snorkeling, but they're seen on regular dives near dive sites as well (not by me though). Was a few years since my last visit, so others might have more updated info on lodging and operators. Good luck. The whale sharks of Isla Mujeres / Holbox / Cancun are there from about now until September - about twenty zillion operators have day trips to swim with them. It is all snorkeling but they are all at the surface just feeding anyway. When I was there last August they were so plentiful you could just about walk across their backs. You might try to contact my friend Eduardo Olalde to set up a trip - eolalde@deeplifedivers.com - www.deeplifedivers.com & www.mydeeplife.com - and check the photos on his website (mostly taken by me of course) - all taken without flash. I'll be back there this summer as well. Pricing is certainly more reasonable than a lot of the remote places and there are other things to do in Cancun as well. Good luck. Andy Edited May 25, 2011 by DrFiscus Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drew 0 Posted May 25, 2011 I am looking for a good destination to dive with some whale sharks. Any suggestions for a good site, time to go, and operators for this? I have considered Holbox and Cabo but Holbox Manta divers seem only to offer snorkeling trips. Thanks I assume you are in North America based on your choice of destinations? Are you willing to go further than the Caribbean Sea?Is there any reason why you must scuba? How about Djibouti in North East Africa? Do a quick YouTube search and you will find videos with 2, 3 and 4 whale sharks in one frame.Time to go: October – January. May be a little far for those of you living in the U.S and also a bit out of the way. I agree with Mark. The whalesharks off Goubet in Djibouti perform aggregation feeding, and they will stick around even if you are in scuba. Thing is the viz isn't always the best but if you want real behavior for whalesharks, that's the place to be. They even do night feeds. And the diving around the Brother Islands isn't bad at all. It's Red Sea style typical except it was very healthy when I went back in '98, '02 and '03. The boat I used isn't there anymore, but I know there are plenty of boats and even day boats from Arta. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matti 4 Posted November 10, 2011 Hi There, I have not been to the places noted above but I have recently returned from a trip from West Papua in Indonesia from a location called Cenderawasih Bay staying on Ahe Island. This is a new location for Whale Sharks where the Whale Sharks have learnt to get a free feed from the Bagans (Local Fishing Rafts/Boats). So there is no chasing after the sharks you stay near the Bagan and the Sharks come up to you to a distance of 0m. Below is a link to my gallery from the area and also a video I have done on diving with the Whale Sharks. Photo Gallery http://mattiovaska.com/gallery/7346 Video http://vimeo.com/31401651 regards Matti Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matt9122 0 Posted December 11, 2011 Isla Mujeres is probably the best. I think the hold the record for most whale sharks at one time. It is snorkeling only though. If you want to dive with them the Galapagos is a good bet, but no gurantees. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AlecD 0 Posted January 2, 2012 I can concur with Christian above about Tofo in Mozambique, whale sharks all year round but generally only snorkelling allowed unles your lucky enough to spot one on a dive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SOX404 0 Posted February 7, 2012 I just got back from Cendrawasih bay 12 days dive trip including trip to Nabire (Papua - Indonesia) last week. We spent 2 dive days in Nabire (total of 6 dives) playing and taking photos of whale sharks. At one time, there were 4 matures and 2 juvinile whalesharks. However, visibility is not the best. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jfilskov 2 Posted April 28, 2012 Just bought tickets to cancun in july hoping to meet up with the whalesharks. Can anyone recommend a good operator on Holbox or Mujeres? And which island is the nicest to visit (good beaches, not to crowded, marine life ect.)? I also read that you can dive with sailfish around dec-march. Any chance of spotting one in july? Cheers Jonathan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Katy Laveck Foster 9 Posted March 15, 2017 I've spent a fair bit of time in Cenderawasih Bay, in West Papua and my husband and I just finished a blog post with a comprehensive guide to swimming/diving with whale sharks in the Nabire area (we have always had a heck of a time finding any good info online about Nabire and the whale sharks and thought this might be useful to underwater photographers). We have always been on a strict budget so have included recommendations for other folks trying to do this as affordably as possible. Hope this helps! Katy https://nomads-expeditions.blog/2017/03/14/the-whale-sharks-of-cenderawasih-bay-nabire-papua/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
