wakeywakeyshakey
Jul 2019
We chose this tour because it had great reviews and seemed like a great way to encounter dolphins in their natural habitat as opposed to being in captivity. We enjoyed it overall, but a few things to keep in mind that I don't think many reviewers have noted:
1. Seasickness - the boat is pretty big (can fit up to 60 people I think), but it still rocks a LOT in the waves out in the open water. We asked the crew if it was an unusually rough day, and they said it was not unusual at all. We had taken medication prior to boarding (the 30 minutes before recommended dose) and yet we both felt nauseous after the first hour or so, and it being a 3.5 hour tour, we missed out because we were so sick, on the activities after swimming with the dolphins. We just wanted to go back to shore but were stuck out there rocking around and being sick.
2. The "swimming with dolphins" part is EXTREMELY brief. Since they swim so fast, the boat is basically trying to spot them as fast as possible, and then they have you (meaning all the people in the tour...up to 60) jump into the water AS FAST AS POSSIBLE with all of your snorkel gear on and you basically hover above them for about 3 minutes before they swim too far away for you to see them anymore. On our tour, we did that whole process twice, because the first time some people didn't even get a chance to see them before they had swam off. Just know when you're booking this (pricy) trip that you're not getting anywhere actually close to them and definitely not within the distance to touch them even if you were allowed (which you're not because it can damage their skin).
3. The process of getting into the water to see the dolphins was crazy. The crew basically yells nonstop for 10 minutes for you to put on your mask and snorkel and jump in as fast as you can "GO, GO, GO!", then once you're in the water you're supposed to follow the person holding a bright red buoy marker because they're the "spotter" and will find where the are dolphins for you. The waves are ROUGH while trying to follow them, also you're in a clump of up to 60 people who are mostly beginner/first time snorkelers, with fins kicking in your face, all the while the crew is YELLING nonstop to "LOOK DOWN! LOOK DOWN!" because you're about to miss the dolphins swimming underneath you for the two seconds that they're there. My husband and I were particularly put-off by the amount of yelling that was going on, he commented that it felt like we were on a rescue mission or something because they were yelling orders at us nonstop. I get that they probably have to do that so that everyone can hear, but they repeated themselves so many times to excess, when we just wanted to enjoy a calm moment with the dolphins and their energy, which unfortunately we felt that we couldn't due to all the yelling. It felt extremely frantic, and for that reason, I wouldn't recommend this trip in particular to my friends/family.
If you're looking for a half day out at sea on a cool boat with a water slide, some water kayaks, and seeing some dolphins/turtles super briefly, I would book this. Otherwise, in retrospect, I think we would've been better off booking a shorter dolphin watching tour and enjoying the ocean by ourselves from the beach.
Also, last note. We purchased the photo package (extra $55 if paid ahead of time, $60 if paid afterwards), the photos themselves were great, but just know that there is little to no chance you will actually get a photo of yourselves WITH the dolphins in the ocean, because you just aren't that close to them. We got photos of us snorkelling, and then different photos of the dolphins. No one else on the camera roll got photos WITH the dolphins except for the crew who was swimming with us who actually dove down with the dolphins (which we could not have done since they make you wear life vests the entire time)...