Small-Group Eco-Friendly Whale Sharks Tour: Encounter Majestic Ocean Giants in Cancun & Riviera Maya
4.5
789 Ratings
Cancún
Embark on an eco-friendly small-group tour in Cancun & Riviera Maya to encounter majestic whale sharks. Snorkel with these gentle giants and spot dolphins, manta rays, and turtles.
Duration:
7 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
-
Carretera a Punta Sam - 07:30 am
Informative talk at Marina Xtabay. Our certified guides will provide you with interesting information about whale sharks and the ecosystems of the area.
08:00 am
Departure from Marina Xtabay in Puerto Juarez to the whale shark reserve in the waters around Isla Mujeres. Once we find them you will have the unique opportunity to see the largest fish in the world.
12:30 pm
Lunch on the boat off the coast of Isla Mujeres, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world (Condé Nast 2013) where you can swim in the turquoise waters.
01:30 pm
Arrival at the marina.
What's Included
- Lunch
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Water and soft drinks
- Use of snorkeling equipment (life jacket, visor, fins, snorkel)
- Bilingual biologist/naturalist guide
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Alcoholic Beverages
- Personal expenses
- ENVIRONMENTAL TAX AND DOCK USE $20.00 USD IN CASH PER PERSON PAYABLE THE DAY OF YOUR TOUR
Additional Information
Join us on this exciting journey where Mexico’s friendly whale sharks await your presence! With our professional guidance, you will sail in the Gulf of Mexico to meet the largest of fishes and possibly encounter dolphins, manta rays, and turtles during this intimate snorkeling escapade off the Yucatan coast.
*PLEASE NOTE: OUR PRIVATE WHALE SHARK TOUR IS AVAILABLE EVERY DAY (EXCLUDING THE 30TH OF EACH MONTH).
- Minimum age is 8 years
- This tour requires a minimum number of passengers to operate. There is a possibility that the tour may be canceled after confirmation if there is not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be provided the option to take the tour on an alternative date or be refunded in full.
- It is not recommended for pregnant women and people with heart and back problems.
- We only permit biodegradable sunscreen and we invite you to use it when you are in your Hotel before your trip because we care about your health and marine life.
- We recommended to ask your doctor if you can take seasickness pills before your tour.
- Environmental tax and dock use excludes ($15 usd in cash per person payable the day of your tour)
- You can bring your own bottle of water (glass or recyclable)
- We use mouth covers all the time
- We use gel antibacterial
- We wash our hands every 30 minutes
- We do not touch our face, noise and mount
- We say “Hello” with 1.5 mts of distance
- We take the temperature to our employees every day
Location
Carretera a Punta Sam
Carretera Puerto Juárez, Carr. a Punta Sam Supermanzana 84, 77500 Cancún, Q.R. "Marina Xtabay"
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.5
(789 Ratings)
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818eddiea
Dec 31, 2023
Great experience - Excellent service. Angel the driver is very polite… Analía our tour guide is amazing… recommended 💯….we will definitely do others tours with this company in our next visit.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Chenyu_l
Dec 17, 2023
Great experience, highly recommend - Awesome trip, great guide, caption and crew. We saw 4 whale sharks and everyone gets their turn to go into water when the whale shark comes near. We also had freshly made cheviche and guacamole for lunch, liked it a lot! Lastly, I want to thank the caption for his quick reaction to fetch my gopro that was about to sink into the deep ocean!
Review provided by Viator
A9163sufredh
Oct 11, 2023
Honeymoon catamaran - The day was so amazing. Awesome crew. Scarlett in particular was a huge help and great presence. She helped make our honeymoon very special.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Achraf_k
Sep 20, 2023
100% recommend - The snorkel underwater was surreal. The crew and the guide Diego were amazing, he explained everything clearly and they guiding us to follow the whale sharks. The crew was also well prepared with all equipment. I'd highly recommend and do it again. Only thing is I'd wish to have more time snorkeling with the whale sharks.
Review provided by Viator
V4357rfsebastiang
Sep 19, 2023
Great Private Tour Experience - What a great experience we loved the private tour Alex our guide was amazing he went above and beyond to make it a great experience for my fiance and me professional service it exceeded our expectations would highly recommend doing a private tour especially if you have a guide like Alex
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Patrickcc9681gc
Sep 19, 2023
Once in a lifetime experience! - Absolutely amazing experience! Our guides Tito and Omar were extremely professional and knowledgeable, bringing us to multiple locations to dive with the sharks. After diving we stopped by some fishing boats the captain owned to pick up a freshly caught fish that they cooked into ceviche for us within half an hour of it being caught while we swam off the coast of Isla Mujeres. You can’t miss this if you’re in the area!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Namessanti
Sep 18, 2023
Excellent. - Awesome experience. Guides went above and beyond to make sure we got quality whale shark time, and the fresh ceviche onboard was the best I’ve had on our trip. Highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tracio71
Oct 10, 2023
Traveler be advised ... - Unfortunately we were one of the very few groups who did not get to see a whale shark. While I very much understand they can't guarantee anything when it comes to wildlife, it would have been nice if the tour company offered a coupon for a free trip in the future or at least a reduced rate.
I did want to explain to people that you will be traveling about an hour or hour and a half OUT TO SEA - this is not an excursion that is close to any shore. You do go out with a group of boats. Expect rough seas - you're in a pretty small boat.
On our trip I think the crew might have been the only people who were not experiencing some degree of sea sickness. I was very sick despite taking dramamine. I asked if we could stop so I could get in the water and cool off and help the seasickness but they did not want to stop trolling and looking for the whale sharks. After several hours of looking for them someone asked for a potty break (the ocean being the bathroom) and for that we stopped. So... apparently needing to pee trumps having to throw up (sorry for the bluntness). My husband did better but also "fed the fish".
My husband would go again. I highly doubt I would go.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jared_b
Sep 23, 2023
$170 for a bad lunch and long boat ride - This was a complete waste of money for me. The description of the trip sounded great and I had high expectations but it was just a long boat ride and we only got like 5-10 minutes of swimming with whale sharks. It took us about 2.5 hours to find whale sharks and by this point some of us were having extreme motion sickness from being on the boat so long. I was feeling so sick that I couldn't even make anything of the experience. I tried to swim with the whale sharks anyway but it was just awful. We then went to the island and literally only stayed there for about 15 minutes to swim around which was way less than what I was expecting. They then gave us lunch which was a huge letdown, all they gave us was some tortilla chips from a bag that I could buy for a dollar or two, some "homemade" guacamole, and some premade sandwiches that were just bleh. This was a total wasted day on my trip and I really wish I would have done something else.
If you do decide to do this, be ready to wait up to 2 and a half hours to find some whale sharks, getting possible motion sickness, and a low effort lunch. I would advise that you do anything other than this because it came out to be just an overblown boat ride.
Review provided by Viator
Nico
Sep 22, 2023
Overpriced boat ride. - This was basically an overpriced boat ride that you can see a whale shark for literally a few seconds as you compete with other people. When getting to the meeting spot it took about almost an hour to get on the boat. I took a motion pill before getting on the boat but didn’t expect to take about 2 and half hours to find the shark so by the time we find the shark I’m already sick and nauseous so be warned if you’re not used to being on a boat. The entire event is rushed as there was 10 other boats filled with people going after the same shark. The equipment provided is heavily used and they don’t bring enough different sizes for everyone so chances are you might have to settle for something that is either too tight or too loose. After everyone gets rushed into the water twice, it’s another long ride to a beach that you’re there for about 30 mins. I thought I could at least look towards the food but even that wasn’t what I expected it’s literally one sandwich and some chips with guac that came from a bag that was being shared amongst everyone and multiple hands in it. Do not recommend doing this event, talking to other people that participated in this they mentioned how they got to see other animals at a fraction of the price at other places and how it was a lot more fun compared to this.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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