Our niece and her husband will be based in Tuscon for several months, and we live in Palm Springs. We are thinking of doing a trip down to Baja to snorkel with whale sharks this winter. Just wondering if anyone else has done this and if you can recommend specific operators/areas to stay. DH and I prefer the Caribbean or South Pacific to Mexico and haven’t been to Mexico in 15+ years.
Anyone been snorkeling with whale sharks in Baja?
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audreyh1
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Would love to anywhere!
I occasionally saw a trip from the Oceanic Society that would do this. But I think it was in the Caribbean.
Did do an extensive Baja boat based whale watching trip with them in Baja - down Pacific coast then a week cruising the southern sea of Cortez - and it was fabulous! We didn’t encounter any whale sharks though.
I occasionally saw a trip from the Oceanic Society that would do this. But I think it was in the Caribbean.
Did do an extensive Baja boat based whale watching trip with them in Baja - down Pacific coast then a week cruising the southern sea of Cortez - and it was fabulous! We didn’t encounter any whale sharks though.
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grasshopper
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We snorkeled twice with Whale Sharks in La Paz as part of 2 UnCruise Adventures Baja trip.
Even Ms G was ready to get back in the water with the whales. The whales like feeding areas where the plankton is stirred up, great for them not great for photos.
I looked through my photos to see who UnCruise contracted the whale tour with, nada, nothing but whale photos.
Even Ms G was ready to get back in the water with the whales. The whales like feeding areas where the plankton is stirred up, great for them not great for photos.
I looked through my photos to see who UnCruise contracted the whale tour with, nada, nothing but whale photos.
audreyh1
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Cool! Did you see blue whales too with all that krill around? We were in that general area when we had some close blue whale encounters. Yep, I’m ready to go back too!
grasshopper
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Saw whales from a distance, couldn't really ID them. Certainly not the great sightings like Alaska, Hawaii, or the California coast.
ShokWaveRider
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We did a whale watching tour on PV, Mexico. One of the best tours we have done. Very respectful of the whales which was important to us.
EastWest Gal
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How did this thread turn from whale sharks to whales?
While staying in Kona, we did night snorkeling with manta rays. Coolest thing ever. You hang onto a raft with lights pointing downwards. The krill are attracted to the light. The manta rays know that light = krill = food. The mantas make loop-de-loops, often coming within inches of you. They are huge!
While staying in Kona, we did night snorkeling with manta rays. Coolest thing ever. You hang onto a raft with lights pointing downwards. The krill are attracted to the light. The manta rays know that light = krill = food. The mantas make loop-de-loops, often coming within inches of you. They are huge!
athena53
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I did that on UnCruise in Hawaii- fantastic experience.
Have also gone on the boat for the whale shark expedition with UnCruise but didn't go in the water. It was a little on the cool side for me even with a wet suit (March, 2019) so I restricted my snorkeling to places with colorful fish. A 75-year old woman and her granddaughter actually went into the water. You hang by the edge of the boat and when the guides see them they tell you when to jump in.
The OP mentioned not having been in Mexico for 15 years- I'd never been and was a little edgy since the headlines about crime in Mexico are always pretty scary, but I felt perfectly comfortable walking around La Paz myself. They have a pretty big expat community, which probably helps.
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pb4uski
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Should this thread be merged with the Big Drop in Life Expectancy thread? 
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I’ve snorkeled with nurse sharks a couple of times in Belize. It was a lot of fun. They were about as big as I am. But, I would think twice before jumping in the water with something as large as a whale shark.
audreyh1
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We had a blue whale come up right next to the boat at sunrise one morning. We were up to see the green flash before sunrise, but the whale on the other side of the boat stole the show. We saw the humongous open mouth rise up from the water, close, the pleated skin at the throat fanning out, and then slowly sink again. Just an incredible thing to see!
We saw 12 species of whales on this trip. That includes some dolphins which are toothed whales. The sperm whales (also toothed) were the freakiest looking, and we saw several of them. Humpbacks close too.
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audreyh1
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Should this thread be merged with the Big Drop in Life Expectancy thread?
Whale sharks are essentially filter feeders.
audreyh1
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We really tried to do this, unfortunately that year that section of the Big Island had an outbreak of dengue fever right before our trips so we decided to stick to Maui.
REWahoo
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No, but I once borrowed money from a loan shark in Philly, which I figure is far more dangerous.
Sojourner
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Wow, that's amazing! A blue whale encounter like that is definitely a bucket list item for me.
pb4uski
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Should this thread be merged with the Big Drop in Life Expectancy thread?
Oh, that would make me feel better... I guess that I think shark=teeth but that isn't necessarily true.
donheff
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I did a lot of snorkeling on an Uncruise Baja trip but no whale sharks. Must be a particular time of the year when they are around. I may have to look into that and go back.
I did chase a white tipped reef shark while snorkeling in the Galapagos Islands and got a few photos.
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street
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I haven't but it would be a great adventure.
stepford
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I don't have much to offer about Baja, but DW and I did go snorkeling with the whale sharks in the Ningaloo Reef area of West Australia about 10 years ago. Pretty cool operation with a spotter plane relaying info to the dive boat - which would then scoot over and release about 8 of us to dive off and frolic with the big guys. This lasted for about 6 hours until we were all pretty thrashed.
The quality of my underwater photography leaves much to be desired, but here's a snap I took to show the scale of the critters:
The quality of my underwater photography leaves much to be desired, but here's a snap I took to show the scale of the critters:
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grasshopper
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True, when the Grey whales arrive UCA shifts whale watching to the Pacific side.
As incredible as the land critters are in the Galapagos. the sea animals like the white tipped reef shark, green sea turtle, Galapagos penguin, and marine iguanas, are just as wonderful.
Midpack
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No, but I'd definitely snorkel with whale sharks if ever in a location that offered it. I've been on whale [-]shark[/-] watches in San Diego, Boston and Bar Harbor, and enjoyed it immensely every time.
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I don't have much to offer about Baja, but DW and I did go snorkeling with the whale sharks in the Ningaloo Reef area of West Australia about 10 years ago. Pretty cool operation with a spotter plane relaying info to the dive boat - which would then scoot over and release about 8 of us to dive off and frolic with the big guys. This lasted for about 6 hours until we were all pretty thrashed.
The quality of my underwater photography leaves much to be desired, but here's a snap I took to show the scale of the critters:
Awesome photo! Visiting the Ningaloo Reef is on my bucket list.
