Swim with Whale Sharks in La Paz!
AS OF MARCH 17 THERE ARE NO WHALE SHARKS PRESENT IN THE PROTECTED AREA NEAR LA PAZ AND HAVE NOT BEEN FOR A FEW WEEKS. THUS WE ARE NOT CURRENTLY ACCEPTING RESERVATIONS FOR THIS ACTIVITY. Feel welcome to check back with us or visit this page at any point. Thank you.
Join us for a La Paz based swim with whale sharks tour!
We highly recommend that you include a day during your Baja vacation to swim with whale sharks in Mexico’s Bay of La Paz. Set off in a motor-skiff to observe and swim alongside the local whale sharks, the largest fish in the world!
Sign Up Early! It's critical that you sign up well in advance so that we can confirm our departure with Baja Park authorities. The permits to swim with whale sharks are highly restricted and limited. If you are planning a sea kayak or whale watching trip with us, please ask our Adventure Consultants about these tours at the time you sign up. Our tours adhere to and support all regulations regarding swimming with whale sharks and we conduct these tours with the utmost respect for these magnificent fish, following all protocols designed to protect them. *Please note that whale shark tours are open to anyone regardless if this is an extension to another tour with Sea Kayak Adventures.
We depart from a La Paz marina and travel about 45 minutes to the whale shark swimming zone, a designated area where the whale sharks are feeding and swimming. On our way you prepare by putting on a wetsuit, fins, mask and snorkel. Once a whale shark is spotted, you slide off of our skiff under the direction of your guide. This is your chance to swim alongside the ocean’s gentle giants. Watch their gaping mouths engulf mass amounts of plankton as they slowly glide along. The juvenile whale sharks in La Paz are a whopping 4-8 meters (12-24 feet) long with mouths that yawn open over 4-5 feet, yet they’re no Moby Dick with their mild disposition. It’s rare to experience something as awe-inspiring as swimming alongside these mammoth, polka-dotted creatures that course the Gulf of California.
A talented local, National Park-certified whale shark guide accompanies you on your swim. Their knowledge and passion for whale sharks is obvious as they work to make your time swimming in La Paz educative, meaningful, and memorable.
Our whale shark tours run 7 days a week when the sharks are in the area and Park authorities allow us to operate. These trips are open to everyone whether or not you are also joining one of our Baja sea kayaking tours. They are an excellent addition to our Espiritu Santo or Isla San Jose kayak trips, as well as amazing stand-alone adventures.
Images & Videos
Itinerary
Day 1
LaPaz Whale Shark Tour
What to Expect:
Many people describe snorkeling with whale sharks as exhilarating and humbling, but most of all memorable. There are few places in the world where you can observe whale sharks in the wild, even less where you can actually get in the water and experience them up close and personal. Our whale shark tours are based out of LaPaz where these gentle giants flock to the plankton rich waters of the Bay of LaPaz. We depart from a designated marina in LaPaz at a specified time, which is determined when we get our Park permit. Usually this is early in the morning, but we will inform you the day before of the exact time. The trip takes about 4-5 hours, depending on a variety of factors. Snacks are included in your outing as well as the full services of our talented interpretive guides. (If you want to see what it's really like, check out this video of snorkeling with whale sharks)
Your Guides:
To share and guide you in this exhilarating experience you will be accompanied by our National Park-certified bilingual, professional, educated, fun, and experienced guides. Our guides are the best in the business and are committed to ensuring you have the time of your life on this incredible adventure. In addition they are trained in interpretive guiding and share educational information about whale sharks, LaPaz and other marine life in the Gulf of California, also known as the Vermillion Sea.
What to Bring:
- Swimsuit (It's efficient and convenient if you dress with your swimsuit on or under your clothes)
- Clothing with sun protection. Rashguards work great to wear under your PFD if wet suits are not needed.
- Towel
- Hat
- Sunglasses
- Waterbottle
- Rash guard
- Sunscreen
Conservation Partnership:
Please note that $5 of your trip fee is donated to Whale Shark Mexico, a leading conservation and research organization focused on education and sustainable management of whale sharks.
We Adhere to Mexico National Park Regulations:
This activity is very well managed by the Park and marine authorities of Mexico. There has to be a minimum number of whale sharks in the area before it is opened for swimming with them. There is a strict limit to the number of boats that can enter the whale shark-protected zone. These regulations have changed every year in the past few years and are generally getting more and more restrictive. Therefore it's of paramount importance that you sign up as well in advance as possible.
All vessels must be equipped with a GPS tracking system and communicate with a monitoring authority via radio before entering the whale shark grounds. Once entering the whale shark grounds, vessels have between 1.5 and 2 hours to remain in the area before they must leave.
Weather - If the area is too windy and/or there are waves that are too large, we cannot operate these trips. Be prepared for the possibility of last-minute cancellations. See our Cancellation and Refunds policy for these trips below.
Know Before You Go - Read up on the Majestic Whale Shark.
Dates & Rates
| Dates | Adult (USD) | Child (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 15, 2024 to May 01, 2025 Currently Suspended | $165£0€0$0$0 | $165£0€0$0$0 |
Supplementary Information
AS OF MARCH 17, THERE ARE NO WHALE SHARKS PRESENT IN THE PROTECTED AREA NEAR LA PAZ AND HAVE NOT BEEN FOR A FEW WEEKS. THUS WE ARE NOT CURRENTLY ACCEPTING RESERVATIONS FOR THIS ACTIVITY. Feel welcome to check back with us or visit this page at any point. Thank you.
*Please note: $165 per person price is for groups of 4+. For groups of 2-3 a $100 per person surcharge applies IF we operate the tour on our boat. If we place you on another boat that you share with 4 or more guests, we will refund you this surcharge.
- $5 of your trip fee is donated to Whale Shark Mexico, a leading conservation and research organization focused on education and sustainable management of whale sharks.
*Our one day whale shark tours make an excellent addition to our LaPaz based kayaking adventures and pair perfectly before or after our Espiritu Santo or Isla San Jose tours. Just tell your Adventure Consultant you would like to snorkel with Whale Sharks as part of your tour and we'll get everything set up for you!
Time Allowance: Please allocate a full day for this activity. The Park assigns our entry time and it could be early morning, or it could be later in the day. Once we leave the harbor, the tour is usually 4-5 hours, but can sometimes be longer depending on conditions. The time allowed in the actual reserve where we swim with whale sharks is 2 hours.
Includes:
- Professional bilingual guides that provide a high-quality educational experience
- An up-close, personal encounter with peaceful whale sharks
- Coaching and instruction in snorkeling from our guides
- Certified Captain
- All snorkeling equipment (Wetsuits, snorkel, mask and fins)
- Snacks
- Clean drinking water
CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS: Park Regulations control whether or not we can swim with whale sharks. If there is a lack of whale sharks in the area and the Park closes the activity, so that we are not able to perform the tour, we provide a 100% refund. Be aware also that weather sometimes prevents us from being able to operate whale shark trips as planned. We will try and find a substitute time in this case. If we cannot leave the harbor on the day of your trip, a full refund will be granted. If we depart from the harbor and then discover that the waves are too big and/or the wind too strong for a positive trip experience, we will return to the harbor and provide a 60% refund of the trip fee.
*Please note: All whale shark swimming tours are operated under permit from Mexican Park authorities and take place in a designated refuge zone. There is a strict and rather complicated system of permits designed to protect the whale sharks and ensure this is a sustainable activity. Each day, when 6 or more whale sharks are present, only 56 boats are permitted to enter the zone and these are divided into four time slots with just 14 boats allowed per slot. We try to operate these tours with our own boats and guides. However, if we are not able to obtain a permit for the day of your tour, we will do our best to place you with another boat and company. If you sign up for a tour less than 60 days in advance, there is less chance that we will be able to obtain a permit to operate the trip with our boat. This is especially true during holiday periods such as Dec. 20- January 5 and the Holy Week (Easter) as many Mexican nationals are also on vacation.
Reviews
FAQ & More
Do I need to sign up well in advance for swimming with whale sharks?
YES! Due to the limited number of boats allowed into the whale shark protected zone each day, it's critical you sign up as far in advance as possible
Do I have to go sea kayaking with you to sign up for this trip?
No. We welcome sign ups from anyone, whether you are participating in one of our sea kayaking or whale watching trips or not.
How long is the boat ride from the marina to the designated swimming area?
The boat ride is between 45 minutes and 1.5 hours long depending on where we enter the whale shark swimming area which is a protected zone.
Can I touch the whale sharks?
To adhere to local regulations, touching the whale sharks is prohibited. A whale shark may swim close to you and possible brush your skin, but in the chance that happens, we ask that you do not lend out a hand to add additional impact or disturbance to these creatures.
When is the season to swim with whale sharks?
The best season to swim with whale sharks is Fall through Spring. November through April being the best months.
If I have never snorkeled before, is this tour a good choice for me?
If you have never been snorkeling before we would strongly recommend you find a place to practice before this tour. You want to be comfortable with a mask and snorkel and be able to swim while breathing through a snorkel.
Are whale sharks dangerous?
Whale sharks are generally considered to be gentle and non-threatening to humans. They are filter feeders, mainly consuming plankton and small fish, and their feeding behavior poses little risk to people. They do not show any interest in preying on humans. It's always essential to approach any interaction with wildlife, including whale sharks, with caution and respect.
What are your Terms and Conditions?
Please see our full Terms & Conditions HERE.
I'm not a strong swimmer. Can I still go on this tour?
Swimming with the whale sharks can be physically demanding if they are moving along at a moderate pace. Sometimes the whale sharks are not swimming much themselves, in which case you can get relatively close (never closer than 6.5' or 2 meters), without as much effort. But if the whale sharks are feeding and swimming at the same time, they move at a pace that requires active use of your legs and fins.
Reviews
Everything was perfect!
I’m at the airport in Loreto. I don’t want to go home. I had such a good time here and the whole trip. Tico and Reuben were simply the best. Is there a way to email them to let them know how much I appreciated all they did for us, now that I’ve processed for a couple days? They were so kind and funny and relaxed and knowledgeable. Experts for sure. I get emotional thinking about the kindness they showed. They must answer the same questions 100s of times per season but their answers make it feel like I’m the first person to bring it up. The food was amazing, and fresh caught snapper, OMG. So sweet. They worked so hard for us and made it look easy. Sea lions were so funny. I laughed through my snorkel. And swimming with a school of sardines was pretty thrilling too. It’s going to be hard going back to -8°F. We are already thinking of friends to ask for next year. Everything turned out perfect!
GREAT GUIDE! ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE
For a family of 6, this was an amazing experience. Sea Kayak Adventures offers the best service of all the companies out there. Our guide was a Marine Biologist. Our boat captain was so knowledgable and also acted as a guide. He knew where to go and a lot about the whale sharks. We had an amazing day!
Most Amazing Experience!!
My husband and I added this trip on to a kayaking trip with Row Adventures and we were so glad we did not miss this amazing experience. We were the only guests on the boat with two guides so they were completely attentive to our experience. The boat was large and they had all of the necessary snorkeling equipment and ensure that we were fitted properly. It is truly amazing to jump into the water knowing that this EXTREMELY large creature is there, but our guide made us completely comfortable. We were able to locate several whale sharks and got to swim alongside of them for quite a while. We got some great video and close up pictures of the large mouth! One of the best days ever!!
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