Billed as "swimming" with the whale sharks....don't kid yourself. It's more like sprinting with the whale sharks. The Mrs. and I had no big problems keeping up, but for those who weren't in the best of condition, or didn't have decent equipment (snorkeling only), they got one pass and were exhausted. The boat would try to drop you off in the path the whale shark was traveling in the hope that the shark would swim to you. The problem was the viz was so poor that by the time the shark got to you and saw you, you jumped and it would turn away. They are big suckers and it all happens quickly! The general deal is you get three swims, and the swims last as long as you make them. Exhaustion usually limits the swim to a couple of minutes, but we had one swim go as long as 10. As some point trying to out swim the shark became more effort than it's worth.
We got into the water 7 times over two days. Some whale sharks swam faster than others, but regardless, if they changed direction on you, you needed to sprint to catch up. I'd say nearly 1/4 of the swimmers didn't enter the water after their first try. Few went in for their third try.
We saw a couple of pods of bottle nose dolphins and also got to see two manta rays. One was pretty far out and the other was right next to the boat while feeding alongside a whale shark. Way to fast to snorkel with, it was still pretty cool to see.
Staying on Holbox was interesting. Cute little downtown with good pizza, no cars, just oversized golf carts and a couple of scooters. Not all "resorts" have air conditioning, so if you plan on staying overnight it pays to not assume, as I did, all resorts have air. Skeeters in the early morning will eat you alive, and the sand fleas will finish you off. Bring a couple of gallons of OFF.
It was a good experience, but nothing like swimming with manatees. As my wife puts it, the whale sharks "don't give back", while manatees enjoy the interactions.
We got into the water 7 times over two days. Some whale sharks swam faster than others, but regardless, if they changed direction on you, you needed to sprint to catch up. I'd say nearly 1/4 of the swimmers didn't enter the water after their first try. Few went in for their third try.
We saw a couple of pods of bottle nose dolphins and also got to see two manta rays. One was pretty far out and the other was right next to the boat while feeding alongside a whale shark. Way to fast to snorkel with, it was still pretty cool to see.
Staying on Holbox was interesting. Cute little downtown with good pizza, no cars, just oversized golf carts and a couple of scooters. Not all "resorts" have air conditioning, so if you plan on staying overnight it pays to not assume, as I did, all resorts have air. Skeeters in the early morning will eat you alive, and the sand fleas will finish you off. Bring a couple of gallons of OFF.
It was a good experience, but nothing like swimming with manatees. As my wife puts it, the whale sharks "don't give back", while manatees enjoy the interactions.
