Utila whale sharks

[Hintermann]

Is Utila still the best place in the world to see whale sharks if I go in early April? I read somewhere that they were no longer seen in several places around the world where they used to be common eg Seychelles in October. I seem to be singularly unlucky with whale sharks - I have dived around Ari Atoll of Maldives on 2 liveaboard trips in March and did not see any.

 

[Doc]

Coming all the way from England,
after having searched Maldives and :flag:
it would seem that Utila would be grasping at straws.

For the amount of travel effort that would take from the UK, I think you could pick 1/2 dozen better bets.

If you want to come over this way, how about this? Whale Shark Tours by Holbox Tours & Travel or Whaleshark Discovery | Swim with the Whale Shark in Holbox Mexico?

 

[chillyinCanada]

Or better yet, since you apparently want to dive with them, plan your trip around the April or May full moon and instead go to Placencia Belize, dive with Splash Divers who will take you out for the special whale shark dives! This past May, Splash Divers showed me a wonderful time and I was able to dive amongst many of the oh so beautiful graceful calm creatures.

 

[Doc]

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[chillyinCanada]

Doc, shall we assume those are the dates for the full moon in spring 2015? I believe that the best time for whale sharks at Gladden Spit Belize would be the months of April May and June in 2015, though Ralph Capeling of Splash Divers may be along soon to confirm one way or another.

 

[Mike]

Holbox is not the whale shark trip, its been usurped by Isla Mujeres. Holbox is where it started, Isla is where everyone goes now, the main difference being Holbox is almost always in green soupy plankton filled water and the Isla trips take you to blue water.

However, Mexican laws mean you will snorkel with them and not dive on scuba with them. But for basically almost a guaranteed encounter this is definitely the place. Most outfits offer a money back guarantee.

And one more nail in the coffin, April is not in the whale shark season for Mexico, the Mexican government regulates the season you can go see them. It's roughly June - Sept.

 

[Hintermann]

Thanks people. Actually, it is April 2016 that I was talking about, that being my last dive trip before retiring from the sport. I therefore decided to "go with a splash" so to speak.

Based on the information given here, I decided to increase my chances of seeing whale sharks by extending my trip. The first part of the trip is a week of liveaboard diving on the Caribbean Explorer II to Saba & St Kitts (that is not for whale sharks). I then fly to Utila for 6 days of diving and then onto Roatan for 4 more days of diving. depending on Tropic Air flight connections, I can take the early morning flight from Roatan to Belize on Thursday 21st April 2016 and get transport (I know a relaible transfer company in Belize City) to Placencia, arriving the same afternoon. The following day, Friday 22nd April 2016 is a Full Moon Day. After a couple of days of diving in Placencia, I could return to Belize city and take the flight to Miami and then back to England to hang-up my fins for good.

 

[RTBDiver]

. depending on Tropic Air flight connections, .

LOL, Or in Central American , JaJaJa.. Depending on Anything in the region to be in 2016 what it may be like today is , how shall I say without offending, Stu.... Du... Idio.... Just not smart

 

[chillyinCanada]

Stick with your plan Hintermann! ! Sounds great. If Tropic Air has changed its flight schedule by then, worst case scenario is you fly from Roatan to Houston, for an overnight at an airport hotel and then continue on to Belize.

By the way, Tropic has regular flights to Placencia everyday from Belize city. Your reliable transport might be less expensive but potentially a good flight connection would get you there sooner and more comfortably.

 

[laurenceh]

isla mujeres in mexico, ningaloo reef in western aussie and darwins arch in the galapagos are the most reliable places to see whale sharks during season. belize, utila, maldives etc. etc. are all hit or miss and seeing them at gladden spit in belize (if you're lucky enough) is like seeing them in a bowl of milk, the viz is awful because of the snapper spawn. i have been to all of these places and am talking from experience. go to isla mujeres in late july/ august and snorkel with the dozens of them that you'll undoubtedly see.