Wild Dolphin Trip - Getting Up Close And Personal

Questions: Swimming With Dolphins Dolphin trip operator Accommodation & food Time out at sea The boat and the weather The dolphin experience Disappointments Tips and advice Rating

Which company did you go with, and where?

I received an e-mail (I don't know from where - usually it's from Dolphin Essence, who organises trips to go to Ponta Do Ouro in Mozambique) and my boyfriend and I were going to go on a dolphin trip but then he was unfortunately killed in June last year.

So I went as therapy and it worked amazingly.

It was with Dolphin Encountours (make an enquiry).

So are you planning to go back again?

Yes, December or November [2007].

How did you find the operations and service levels of Dolphin Encountours?

I found everything to be brilliant.

Very good. Very concerned about what's going on around there and conservation, cleaning up beaches and all kinds of things.

Were their briefings quite comprehensive and would they give it every time before going out?

Yes, they were.

It was all amazing. The cabins are very basic but to me it just suits what you're doing. I wouldn't want to stay in a 5-star hotel and go swim with the dolphins and things.

The food is out of this world. I'm nut intolerant and they catered for me which was amazing. The food is absolutely incredible.

The first trip we went was about an hour, hour and a half. But the second trip I did was a dolphin research trip so we stayed out longer - up to six hours a day, depending on the conditions.

Either doing pod counting and sea conditions, where we saw the pods, how many babies there were in the pods, looking for scars and things on them, try to identify them.

How often do you go out to sea during your dolphin trip?

The first time I went my sister and I did an extra trip so we went twice a day and the second time we only went out once a day because you're then on the boat longer.

Next time, would you go on the normal or research trip?

I'd go on the research trip. It's more in-depth and you spend more time out on the boat and with the dolphins and there are fewer people on the boat then, so you can get much more personal.

I think for a first time it's ideal to go on the normal trip because you don't know how you're going to react on the sea and swimming and everything but once you've been and you become an addict like me, then a research trip is the answer.

How big is the boat?

They've just got the one boat. It can take up to 14 people.

How long would it typically take to find the dolphins once you're on the boat?

It varies from trip to trip. Sometimes straight away, sometimes after a couple of hours. It just depends. Sometimes you don't see them. It's entirely up to the dolphins.

I suppose that's where the risk comes in if you only book one swim on a dolphin trip.

Yes - I've been on the packages. I think I've been out on the boat about 10 times and only once did we not see the dolphins and then the weather was very bad.

How was the weather the rest of the time?

In November it was very hot and in May it was nice and cool. Not cold, but cool. It was ideal actually. The wind came up for a couple of days and that upsets the sea a bit.

But the water was lovely, very warm, and the visibility was amazing - absolutely incredible.

They come quite close, some of them close enough to touch but you're not allowed to touch them. It takes a lot of will power not to touch them, but you could easily touch them.

Were the pods quite large; how many dolphins would you see at a time?

Some were 3 or 4 and others I stopped counting at 52 because you just couldn't count them all - so it depends.

Please tell me a bit more about your actual swimming with dolphin experience?

The first time I went we swam with whale sharks which was absolutely amazing; that was incredible.

The second time we had a pod of 4 dolphins that spent 20 minutes with us, which was… you can't describe the feeling to anybody. It's just absolutely very humbling and awe inspiring, it just does something to you.

I heard that they sometimes mimic your movements. Has this happened to you?

I had one swimming with me and we were like playing games with each other, it was incredible.

No, I just found it all to be… when you're not out on the boat you can go walking or just relax and read and swim in the sea and snorkel … to me it's the perfect holiday.

Take lots of mosquito repellent.

Did you take anti-malaria tablets?

I didn't, no. I just took lots of spray and sprayed the room and myself.

10, for both trips.

I highly recommend it. Anybody that can do it, should do it.