Playa del Carmen

[mmmbelows]

Where did you see them exactly, in case I go back to Mexico one of these days?

Seeing whale sharks is a tourist industry in the Isla Mujeres/Holbox aggregation area during the summer. It's huge with dozens and dozens of boats going out every day taking hundreds snorkelers out to them. It's advertised extremely heavily in the Cancun/Isla Mujeres area with resellers hawking the trips on every corner and ads in every tourist magazine and all over the internet. Use google you'll get a ton of information.

 

[Russoft]

Any good recommendations for shore diving? I'm thinking a couple of shallow dives to dial in my gear/buoyancy again would be a good idea before I get seasick on a boat trip.

Easiest dive I did down there was Manatee Lagoon (or Casa Cenote) near Tulum. Open water dive in still, clear water. You step off a rock in the middle of the jungle right into a 3 meter / 10 foot deep pool of water. From there you head inland, turn, and come back to the entry point. Max depth not exceeding about 30ft/10m. Very slight current as water moves towards sea.

 

[fjpatrum]

Those are some pretty sweet shots! Although I have visited a few places where whale sharks are seen, they have this far eluded me. Where did you see them exactly, in case I go back to Mexico one of these days?

Primarily the whale shark tours seem to focus around Isla Mujeres, near Cancun. If you stay near(ish) to Cancun you'll probably only have about a 45 minute boat ride to be where the sharks are at. The "season" is between April (I think) and September with July and August apparently being "peak" time to see the sharks before they head further south. If you want a much more likely opportunity to see the sharks, especially while diving rather than snorkeling, I'm told Utilla is the way to go.

 

[high/baric]

Thanks for the answers! I spent some time in Tulum, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel last year and never saw whale sharks even mentioned, so I was a little confused. But if they arrange the trips from Cancun that should make it easy to see them after the flight in or on the way back.

 

[Diverspoint]

The season for the whalesharks from Cancun is officially from May 15 till September 15.

But May and September chances are a lot slimmer to see them.

Be careful who you go with though, not all vendors are trustworthy, and not all operators follow the rules.