Dive with whale sharks in Riviera Maya?

[212eric]

Hello, I was asked an interesting question that I had no answer for, perhaps someone knows for sure. Is it possible to dive with whale sharks in Mexico? To the best of my knowledge, there are snorkel tours available but are there organized dive trips as well?

Thanks in advance,
212eric

 

[deborahdelamar]

The Mexican gov't protects the sharks from us divers! The sharks are at or close to the surface & snorkeling allows a great experience. Mantas are also around sometimes. Highly recommended if you can arrange to do go.

 

[driftwood]

Most of the whale shark trips are around the island of Holbox, northwest of Cancun. It can be a long day from either Playa or Cozumel. If you have the money, Airplane Workshop Mechanics Airplane Tours from Playa del Carmen to Chichen Itza Mayan Ruins, Holbox will fly you to Holbox and back.

 

[212eric]

I recently sent people on a swim with whale sharks tour via, as fate may have it, with a company with a website by the same name:

Swim With Whale Sharks and they loved it.

I felt comfortable doing this because they had their license number displayed on their website and safety is an important factor when doing any kind of tour in the open water. The report came back to me and the tour not only had them swim with whale sharks but they saw dolphins in the wild and mantarays when they snorkeled at a coral reef as well.

212eric

 

[highdesert]

Active thread going on right now in Cozumel forum about snorkeling with whale sharks ...

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cozumel/235623-sharks-have-arrived-force.html

 

[Doc]

I recently sent people on a swim with whale sharks tour via, as fate may have it, with a company with a website by the same name:

Swim With Whale Sharks and they loved it.

I felt comfortable doing this because they had their license number displayed on their website and safety is an important factor when doing any kind of tour in the open water. The report came back to me and the tour not only had them swim with whale sharks but they saw dolphins in the wild and mantarays when they snorkeled at a coral reef as well.

212eric

212eric from New York....

And as fate would have it, the website takes reservations from a company named "Turbulence Music" out of area code 212, maybe you know them- they're in New York, too!

This whole operation is featured rather prominently in your signature line's website.

For More Information Contact:
Jack Reade
Turbulence Music Corp. (Publishers)
Website: People's Choice Guide - Cancun Travel Survey Guide Book

People's Choice Guide .com: Cancun Travel Survey Guide Book
by Eric Rabinowitz
Publisher: Turbulence Music Corp
Pub. Date: June 2006
ISBN-13: 9780978513900

:spam:

 

[twashowich]

$290 get you 4 whales sharks guaranteed in Atlanta....In crystal clear water.... Cheaper than Mexico

 

[212eric]

Friends of mine run these tours, I make no bones about it that I help them when I can, and why not? They run fully licensed trips, which cannot be said for many of the companies that are operating now in the Cancun area. This is because the Mexican government only issued a limited supply of licenses to conduct the tours. Safety is a major concern, for both the animals and the tourists alike. Just to add to that, too many boats are taking out more than the limit of passengers and this can lead to pilot error. In fact, recently a tourist boat sank just off the coast of Isla Mujeres, which resulted in the death of one of her passengers.

To answer you more directly, I receive many email questions about diving with whale sharks, for which I have no real good answers. If I had, I wouldn't have posted the question here. Rather than not ask, I did so in case anyone who has more expertise in the area can answer. I then directed those people to look here, so everyone can learn more about other whale shark options from those who might be in the know.

Thanks you,
212eric