Join us for a LaPaz whale shark tour!

Extend your Baja stay with an exciting day snorkeling with whale sharks in Mexico’s Bay of La Paz. Set off in a skiff and observe the whale sharks, the largest fish in the sea, alongside dolphins and tropical fish on an incredible underwater excursion. 

Once a whale shark is spotted, hop into the water like a paratrooper and take off on your swim alongside the ocean’s gentle giants.  Watch their gaping mouths engulf mass amounts of plankton and anything else in their paths as they slowly glide along. The juvenile whale sharks in La Paz are a whopping 7-10 meters long with mouths that yawn open over 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 Sea of Cortez. 
 
A local 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 one-day whale shark tours are the perfect complement to our LaPaz based kayaking adventures and pair perfectly before or after our Espiritu Santo or Isla San Jose tours. 

Images & Videos

whale shark in LaPaz
man snorkeling in lapaz baja
whale shark eating plankton
whale shark in bay of LaPaz
Whale shark in sea of cortez
women snorkeling in Baja
panga in sea of cortez
lapaz malecon
man snorkeling in lapaz baja
sea of cortez outside of lapaz
person swimming near whale shark
man snorkeling with a whale shark
whale shark in LaPaz
man snorkeling in lapaz baja
whale shark eating plankton
whale shark in bay of LaPaz
Whale shark in sea of cortez
women snorkeling in Baja
panga in sea of cortez
lapaz malecon
man snorkeling in lapaz baja
sea of cortez outside of lapaz
person swimming near whale shark
man snorkeling with a whale shark

Itinerary

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Day 1

LaPaz Whale Shark Tour

What to Expect: 

Many people describe snorkeling with whale sharks as exhilirating 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 Marina Singular in the morning for a 4-5 hour excursion.Snacks are included in your outing as well as the full services of our talented intreprative 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 exhilirating experience you will be accompanied by our 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 incredilbe adventure. In addition they are trained in intreprative guiding and share educational information about whale sharks, LaPaz and other marine life in the Sea of Cortez. 

What to Bring:

  • Swim suit (It's efficient and convenient if you dress with your swim suit 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.

New Restrictions per Mexico:

Please note, there are newly enacted changes by the Mexican government to the rules and regulations governing all whale shark tour operators in La Paz. Historically, there have been no restrictions on the number of vessels that can visit the whale shark grounds. As this type of excursion has grown in popularity in La Paz, the government has stepped in with a management plan that limits the access to the whale shark grounds to a specific amount of vessels at any time. While we applaud these conservation efforts, it is not without some headaches and hiccups as the government works out the best management strategy for tour operators to work within. 

The new rules require all vessels to be equipped with a GPS tracking system and communicate with a monitoring authority via radio before entering the whale shark grounds. If at that time there were already the quota limit of vessels in the grounds, then a one in/one out waiting list begins. Once entering the whale shark grounds, vessels have 2 hours to remain in the area before they must leave. 

We have adjusted our departure time to meet earlier in hopes we can be ahead of any waitlist, but lately, we are finding that this isn't always enough. Therefore we want you to be prepared for the possibility of a delay, and therefore an extension of the time it takes to accomplish our goal of introducing you to these magnificent animals. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this causes on your trip with us.

Dates & Rates

DatesAdult (USD)Child (USD) 
Oct 31, 2023 to Apr 30, 2024
Lowest tier Price
$135£0€0$0$0$135£0€0$0$0BOOK NOW

Supplementary Information

Please note: $135 per person price is for groups of 4+. For groups of 2-3 a $50 per person surcharge applies.

*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! 

Prices: Groups of 2- 3

  • $185 for those joining us before or after a Sea Kayak Adventures kayak or whale watching tour.
  • $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.

Prices: Groups of 4 -10

  • $135 for those joining us before or after a Sea Kayak Adventures kayak or whale watching tour.
  • $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.

Includes: 

  • Professional bilingual guides
  • Certified Captain
  • All snorkeling equipment (Wetsuits provided if needed)
  • Snacks
  • Clean drinking water

CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS: Weather sometimes prevents us from being able to operate the whale shark trips as planned.  We will try and find a substitute time in this case. If we make the decision on the morning of the trip that we cannot leave the harbor, 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 70% refund of that portion of the trip fee allocated to the whale shark experience. 

Reviews

4.933335
Average: 4.9 (15 votes)

Reviews

5

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!

5

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!

5

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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