By Tracie
Can anyone share recommendations for the best places and times to snorkel with whale sharks? We would like to book a trip to do that. We want to find the best location for the most reliable sightings and use a provider that is environmentally conscious.
Thank you.
Have you looked at Ben’s trips, promoted on this site? They have at least two group snorkel trips for whale sharks, Cenderawasih Bay by Liveaboard and Triton Bay and Raja Ampat by Resort. We are going on a group trip to Misool, October 2025, though it’s not known for Whale Sharks.
There are boat tours that leave from Exmouth, Western Australia. You can have amazing experiences with whale sharks there. The tours take place April – August.
Believe it or not, the Atlanta Aquarium offers a 30 minute snorkeling experience with whale sharks at the aquarium. There are also other creatures in the huge tank enclosure. They will video tape, and you are guaranteed an encounter. It costs around $350. It’s not quite as glamorous as an ocean encounter but easy.
Best place is between Cancun and Holbox (either works as a base) in the Yucatán, Mexico. The cost is about $100 per trip. Between about May and September up to supposedly 5000 whale sharks migrate there. I didn’t count but there were a lot. I think June-August is the peak.
It’s Mexico so the environmentally conscious part can be somewhat lame. You are in one of many boats. You jump off the boat to a place where the whale shark is heading and attempt to get close enough that the draft pulls you along and you can keep up. They don’t seem to be bothered in any way by snorkelers.
We snorkeled with whale sharks from La Paz, Mexico (Baja). It’s really close to shore. They are protective of them. We were there late November early December. The water was warm enough. It was $80-100 each and there were six people on the boat. If you go there be sure to visit Cabo Pulmo to snorkel there too.
We had an excellent time snorkeling with Whale Sharks in La Paz, Mexico as well.
While the water was not as warm as in the Cancun area, there were far less people in the water with them as well. We found the snorkeling in Southern Baja to be wonderful, so in a busy week we snorkeled: Pelican Rock in Cabo San Lucas, Playa Chileno and Playa Santa Maria on the way to San Jose Del Cabo, the reefs in Cabo Pulmo, the beach at Los Frailes, the sea lion colony at Arrecife San Francisco, the sea lions and reefs out at Isla Espiritu Santo, Playa Balandra in La Paz, the Whale Sharks at El Mogote in La Paz, and snorkeling at the rocks at Playa Las Palmas in Todos Santos (very rough, possibly too dangerous to bother).
Plus we went fishing at Buenavista, hiking into waterfalls in the hills outside Santiago, and checking out the old mining towns along Highway 1 in the Sierra de La Laguna. We just rented a car and did a big loop of Southern Baja on Highway 1 and Highway 19.
But the Whale Sharks in La Paz were the highlight of it all! Very highly recommend! We did this on Christmas Break.
Hi, did you go snorkeling with whale sharks on your own or did you use a tour company? We are unfamiliar with Mexico and how far La Paz is from Cancun and if it’s a resort area also. We’ve been to Cozumel but stayed at the resort and didn’t venture out. Thank you for any info your can provide.
I second Jill’s recommendation of La Paz. Relatively easy to get to (about an hour’s drive from major airport in Cabo) and a lovely city. Also, snorkel with the sea lions on Espíritu Santo island, an easy day trip. If you have time, it’s a day’s drive to either Magdalena Bay to see grey whales or Loreto for blue whales, depending on the season. Great snorkeling in the national park waters near Loreto — lots of species of starfish.