Swimming with Whales Sharks at Ningaloo Reef

Swimming with Whales Sharks at Ningaloo Reef

Location: Exmouth, Australia

Recommended by Shandos of Travelnuity

How do I know it’s ethical?

The practices for interacting with wildlife in Australia are some of the best in the world. This extends to swimming with whale sharks. 

It’s a condition of the licenses granted to boats by the Parks and Wildlife Service that a maximum of ten people can snorkel with a whale shark at a time. This means that multiple boats aren’t dropping off swimmers at the same time.

There’s also a strict no-touch policy in operation, with swimmers not allowed to approach any whale shark closer than 3m or 4m around its tail, meaning it’s easy for your guide to the police and ensure the whale shark is treated with respect.

Description of the Experience

Whale sharks are seasonal visitors to Ningaloo Reef, located midway along the Western Australia coastline. They generally migrate to the waters during the winter months, with whale shark tours running between March and July.

After being picked up in the small town of Exmouth, halfway between Perth and Broome, you’ll drive around the cape to Tantabiddi Boat Ramp, where you’ll board your boat for the day. Most tours will commence with a morning snorkel, where you’ll have a chance to practice your snorkeling before getting in the water with the massive whale sharks, plus observe the beautiful coral reefs. 

To ensure the best possibility of seeing and swimming with whale sharks, spotter planes operate overhead, notifying the different boats down below when they spot any whale sharks. If you don’t happen to see any whale sharks on your trip, usually you can return again for free, but this is quite rare! The downside though is that the cost of operating spotter planes makes the whale shark tours quite expensive. 

When a whale shark is spotted, it’s time to get in the water! Whale sharks tend to slowly drift along in the water, feeding on plankton, rather than moving quickly, but don’t dawdle too much or you’ll get left behind. You’ll be accompanied by a guide at all times in the water, with more crew on deck if you need assistance. If your boat has more than ten snorkelers, you’ll be divided into two groups to take turns in the water.

As well as whale sharks, there’s also the chance to spot dolphins, dugongs, turtles and whales, particularly towards the end of the whale shark season, as it moves into the whale migration season.

Tips

Swimming with whale sharks is very popular, despite the high prices. Make sure you book your tour well in advance, particularly during school holidays and on weekends. It also helps to be flexible with dates and tour companies.

Company/ Cost: 

There are multiple companies operating whale shark trips out of Exmouth, plus a few from the smaller village of Coral Bay to the south. For a complete list of tour companies, check out the tour search page of the Ningaloo Visitor Centre. In 2023, swimming with whale sharks will cost about $450 AUD per adult. 

Save This Post For Later

This is one post on a series of ethical animal tourism posts by travel content creators. The experiences cover all seven continents and a variety of animals. Ensure that your animal experience is an ethical one.

Discover more experiences