Do you like whale watching and want to see something even more excited? It is time for you to step into water. This time I want to talk not about whale, but about biggest fish in the world – whale shark. I will show where and when you can see it.
Places for a swim with whale sharks
Time for swimming with whale sharks
Tour prices in Australia
One of the first appearance on big screen of this fish was in documentary about Kon-Tiki expedition from South America to South Pacific. Kon-Tiki was the raft used by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl. In his book about this expedition whale sharks were mentioned as sea monsters. I can just imagine what they were thinking when they met this fish similar to shark and which can grow more then 10 meters long. But despite its size, the whale shark does not pose significant danger to humans, feeding on plankton and small fish. Only thing people should be careful – unintentional blows from the shark’s large tail fin.
Best places for a swim with whale sharks
I hope I didn’t scare you and you are ready to jump into water 
Next question would be: where can you do it? There are couple places in the world you can do it. Occasionally whale sharks can be seen by scuba divers in Thailand, but nobody can promise you will see one. There are whale shark snorkeling tours in some Caribbean countries and also in Mozambique, but probably best place to swim these giants is Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia. At Ningaloo Reef tour operators use whale spotting planes and it makes big advantage comparing with other places in the world as it gives you more chances to see whale shark.
Best time for swimming with whale sharks
Whale shark season in Ningaloo Reef starts in April and last until July. The time frame can slightly vary each year, so it is better to contact operator of your choice to check what is situation. You also can check Three Islands Whale Shark Dive website, as they have nice marine life calendar here and latest season news here. Thought all tour companies have very high rate of whale sharks spotting, but sometimes weather conditions are not the best to go out to the sea, so it is good to have couple spare days in case tour will be canceled on particular day.
Tour prices in Australia
Most tour operators located in small town Exmouth which is gateway to Ningaloo Reef. It were two operators in Coral Bay, 150km (100 miles) South of Exmouth, but now only one company offers swimming with whale sharks tours.
Here is a list of whale shark tour operators in Exmouth and Coral Bay in alphabetic order:
All prices are in Australian dollar. Probably because of high AU$/US$ exchange rate there are not much changes comparing with year 2011.
| Tour Operator | Adult | Child | Video/Photo | No sightings policy |
| Tour operators in Exmouth | ||||
| Exmouth Diving Centre | 385$ | 60$ | In the unlikely event no whale shark is sighted on your tour we do offer ONE FREE REPEAT TOUR per paying passenger. Repeat tours are only available on next available day and seats will be allocated based on your date of booking. | |
| Certified divers can choose to do a single reef dive, too. Don’t expect to see whale sharks on you dive. Snorkeling with whale sharks and one dive will cost 415$ Digital Cameras are available for hire. 80$/tour for photo or video camera. |
||||
| King’s Ningaloo Reef Tours | 385$ | 270$ | 60$ | |
| Ningaloo Blue Dive | 385$ | 220$ | 60$ | If you don’t see a Whale Shark go again for FREE! |
| Ningaloo Reef Dreaming | 370$ | 270$ | free photo CD | They will book you onto our next available tour. If this does not suit your schedule, they will then present you with a voucher for a free Whale Shark tour, valid for three years. |
| Has own spotter plane. Best price guarantee | ||||
| Ningaloo Whaleshark-N-Dive | 390$ | 270$ | 50$ | Second trip at no charge on the next available whale shark tour. Offers a non- transferable voucher that is valid until the end of the season |
| Ocean Eco Adventures | 395$ | 275$ | complimentary DVD | Offers one complimentary repeat tour on the next available day. |
| Has own spotter plane. | ||||
| Three Islands Whale Shark Dive | 375$ | 265$ | DVD 50$ | A non-transferable repeat tour voucher, valid for the current and following two seasons |
| 35$ discount for YHA members | ||||
| Tour operators in Coral Bay | ||||
| Ningaloo Experience | It is not operating any more. Check Ningaloo Reef Dive bellow for tours departing Coral Bay | |||
| Ningaloo Reef Dive | 375$ | 270$ | DVD 40$ | Passengers will be put on stand-by list for an allocated day that may be available. The offer is available only while you are in Coral Bay and for the current Whale Shark season. It is not transferable to another person or other company. |
Tour prices are very similar so probably main factor of choosing tour operator will be seat availability on preferred day. Or it depends where you are staying and do you want to do any additional activity. At Coral Bay there is no choice as there is only one tour company. The choice narrows if you want to go scuba diving too, as only some companies offers scuba diving on whale sharks tours. Because these tours are not very cheap read carefully refund sections as all companies have different policies.
Also you can check some operators reviews on Tripadvisor or on PlanBookTravel (Exmouth or Coral Bay). Personally I was on tours with Three Islands Whale Shark Dive(they had best price in Exmouth)and Ningaloo Reef Dive(only operator in Coral Bay at the moment). I was happy with service I got and can recommend both companies.
All prices are good on time of publishing of this post. I tried to contact each tour company for latest information, but please visit page of each tour operator for up to date prices as it can be changes done at the time you’ll read this post. Let me know if you find any incorrect or outdated information here.
..Swimming with giant Whale sharks is a once in a life time experience you can enjoy off Western Australia. Ningaloo Whaleshark n Dive formerly Village Dive operates various dive and snorkel tours on the Ningaloo Reef including Whale Shark tours. Whale sharks are the largest fish in the ocean growing to 18 m in length.
I just recently learned of the existence of whale sharks. I saw pictures of people swimming with them. I want to do it but I don’t know if I can overcome this immense nervousness I am feeling.
Elena Anne recently posted..Bad Breath: Prevention And Treatment
Elena, what does make you fill nervous?
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Great info you have here, man! I’m not a big traveler, but hopefully sometime soon that can change. Just need to save up a bit of cash then watch out world, here I come!
Very cool, but very nerve-racking at the same time. I would definitely try it though.
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Must be thrilling but I’m not sure I can do this. Maybe I can watch them from somewhere safe but not swim with them.
Ana, you can see whale sharks in aquarium like the one in Atlanta, US. I think Georgia Aquarium at the moment is the largest aquarium in the world
http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/support-us/conservation/research-on-whale-sharks.aspx
Wow, it’s very exciting to swim with sharks.Thanks for the post on it and sharing tour prices.
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