Swim With Dolphins In the Wild

About 13 passengers were in the water - about 10 minutes at a time - about 5 or 6 times, with different groups of dolphins. They were extremely playful and interactive, swimming circles around the humans and practically leaping over us.

The water was cold, requiring wetsuits that were cumbersome - that is the only small downside! Well worth the trip!"

Chisa loves dolphins and she loves dancing. Learn more about her project
"Dancing with Dolphins"

They were fortunate enough to include in their sighting five hector dolphins, who were unusually forthcoming and friendly despite their bashful nature. There were many dusky pods and some came close enough to touch (even though they were advised to keep their hands by their sides so as not to scare the animals off).

They entered the water four times in total and were met by a pod at every swim. Thanks to the group's good humoured attempts at noises, singing and splashing, the dolphins were nearly as happy as they were to be sharing in this incredible experience which Diane rates as one of the top 5 in her life…

Remembering the power of perseverance and patience, he decided to simply show up for an outing to see if he can't find a way to be squeezed in and as his luck would have it, he got himself booked on a trip 15 minutes after arriving.

For him this was simply something he had to do while in Kaikoura and it was a remarkable experience to swim around with these beautiful creatures while singing some Bob Dylan and The Beatles songs to keep them happily entertained and entertaining…

He was barely in the icy water when the pod came swimming towards them, so close that he could (and did) touch one of the dolphins - a moment that left him flabbergasted.

Neil was able to spend almost an hour in the water playing with the dolphins which were still trailing their boat and shooting up out of the water as the group made their way back to shore. He rates this experience very highly...

Although she did swim with and see quite a few dolphins, she did not enjoy the adventure as much as Paddy, who spent a great amount of time swimming around in the water and making noises for the pod along with some of the children in the group.

Not being practiced in the art of snorkelling caused her to take in quite a bit of seawater, a taste one would do better to avoid. So be sure to know what to do when snorkelling before attempting it, since it can be quite a feat to tackle without at least some experience.

Her highlight was when four dolphins swam alongside the boat, keeping up with the pace and jumping in and out of the water right in front of her…

They were extremely playful but also very fast which made photography difficult.

The guides made it clear that the dolphins weren't there for the humans' amusement, but rather the reverse. If you don't keep their attention with noise and mimicking their movements, they soon lose interest and disappear deeper into the ocean...

After half an hour of searching they found a pod of around 200 dolphin that was playful enough to swim with them. Jenna had one circling and diving under her for almost ten minutes.

To top it all off, the pod that they swam with joined two others so the boat was eventually in the middle of about 800 dolphins...

The sea was reasonably rough with a large swell running but fortunately Andy didn't get seasick (yet).

To his amazement, the dolphins were all around Andy and would swim right up to him until their noses touched his mask and then circle back around...

He thought that they would only see dolphins in the distance but the boat headed right into the middle of hundreds of the dolphins.

They actually swam towards Anders when he got into the water and made eye contact and one of them swam past him and touched his back. An unforgettable experience...

They managed to swim with dolphins in 4 different places and seemed to like it when Brenda swam round and round in circles.

She also tried singing to them to keep their curiosity levels up and it seemed to work...

The dolphins swam to within half a metre of Laura and the last time she dived down seven dolphins swam under her and one jumped out of the water right next to her...

The first time Matt entered the water the dolphins gave him a wide berth and headed southwards even though he was making ridiculous noises (as instructed) to attract their inquisitive attention.

The next pod they found was much more welcoming and they came to within half a meter of him, one of them circling in the way a dog would chase its own tail and other doing somersaults and acrobatics...

Akaroa dolphin swim »

The water temperature was around 11°C so the full length wet suits, boots and gloves provided by the company were very welcome as they climbed into the water to visit the dolphins in their natural habitat.

There were only 3 dolphins but they came pretty close because they are curious about noise and Lyse sang them the theme tune to Howard's Way and clanked two stones together to get their attention. An amazing experience...

The water is pretty cold in Akaroa (about 13°C) but they managed to float around and interact with about 15 dolphins for half an hour.

They played an amazing version of dolphin "chicken" where they would swim directly towards Becky and Stuart and then veer off course at the last moment...

Once in the water she was surrounded by friendly, playful dolphins and after realizing that she'd forgotten her underwater disposable camera on the boat, she started swimming back to go and get it, only to have 3 dolphins swim from side to side in front of her as if to stop her from getting out.

She says to swim with dolphins was an amazing experience that she will never forget and well worth the money and getting up early in the morning...

They set off in a medium sized boat filled with about 20 people in wet suits and face masks but without flippers because they don't want people swimming after the dolphins (minimal impact).

It took them a while to find the first pod of dolphins (over an hour) but when they entered the freezing water the dolphins swam away. Everyone left the water and waited for the dolphins to return which they did.

While Kathryn was in the water one of the dolphins did a couple of leaps right in front of them which according to the guides rarely happens. The maximum time allowable in the water with the dolphins is one hour after which they returned to shore...

However this soon turned to delight. The chalets were spacious and the traditional cube house was wonderful with brick doomed ceilings and terraces with beautiful sea views.

The food was good, varied and plentiful. The service attentive and the restaurant itself very well designed with a wonderful view. The cafe on the beach - FREE soft drinks, tea and coffee. This saved an amazing amount with children around.

ALL the staff were extremely friendly and helpful and unbelievably child orientated. The beach was ideal for the children with calm waters and it enabled them to learn to snorkel, which was fantastic, and the varieties of fish we saw was amazing.

The desert trip was exhilarating and yet at the same time evocative and relaxing.

To the main part, to swim with dolphins, well how can I describe this experience? Imagine having dolphins, beside you, below you, and almost leaping over you because they wanted to not because they had to. An incredible holiday that we hold very dear to our hearts and we hope to return again soon."

They were looking at her inquisitively, no more than a foot from her face and when she turned upside down with her flippers pointing towards the surface, one followed suit. She did a corkscrew and it copied her again. Amazing.

The dolphins stayed for twenty minutes only leaving occasionally to surface for air...

There were three adults and one smaller one who came closer to them and swam along for about a minute.

Everyone kept as still as possible, not realizing that if they had started doing spins and summersaults their swim with dolphins would have maybe lasted a little longer...

They even go so far as to bring their newborn babies to show them off to the people on the boat. Colin went on the tour to see for himself and these were his impressions...» swim with dolphins in Australia

Source: Review submitted

On one occassion the dolphins' body language showed they didn't want to interact and they just watched from the boat, but on another occassion they had a swim of 36 minutes!

... » The Belben family's dolphin encounters

Source: The Star newspaper's website

He reports that their skipper, Harry van den Heever was extremely apt in training the group to snorkel and managed to help those with fear of the deep water overcome it with great ease.

They swam with inshore bottlenose dolphins, which according to David were at times more sociable than others, but that they kept within viewing distance of the group for most of their dives either playing with the divers or simply keeping to themselves.

Meals were sometimes served outside on the beach, creating an atmosphere to suit the natural theme of the trip. Mostly they would swim with dolphins early in the morning (about 8am) as the afternoons tend to be a bit windy.

They also partook in activities such as learning how to give a foot-massage and kite-surfing…

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Read why he believes as many people as possible should do it too, and why he picks the same operator time and again... » Swim with wild dolphins trip report

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She had a wonderful experience and recommends it to everyone, especially if you enjoy relaxing sea holidays, fantastic food and getting close to wildlife...
» Therapeutic dolphin trip

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Although she is not a swimmer, she went along on the boat while her husband swam with the dolphins. Getting so close to wild dolphins made a big impact on her and she vows to be back! » Rehana's eco friendly dolphin resort trip report

Source: Review submitted

There were also a few bottlenose dolphins which weren't as friendly and much larger.

It seems unnecessary to pre-book your swim with dolphins in Mauritius - get the inside info direct from Danielle by reading her full report...

Source: Review submitted

Chisa gives the low down on what time to start, which beaches to try, and what to do if you are lucky enough to come across the dolphins.

There are organised boat trips and she includes some information on these in her review - Kona dolphin swim: Hawaii »

Trip rating: Beyond compare

Source: Review submitted

My dream has always been to swim with dolphins in their wild habitat and they made that dream come true. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget. From the swim to the whale sighting and on to finding the spotted dolphins to play with the boat and the wake you couldn't ask for anything better.

The girls know their job thru and thru and really care about their job. I would recommend this crew to anyone and everyone that is wanting an adventure to change your life."

Source: Heather's blog

They were lucky enough to even see dolphins on their way back to the shore as well and a sight that left her breathless was a couple of dolphins, about nine of them, riding a wave together in full view of the boat. When the wave broke, the dolphins jumped right out and back into the water, an event she regrets not being able to photograph since it all happened too quickly.

Another amazing moment was when a mother and her calf came up from under the water and swam right at them…

Source: Review submitted

Visit Chisa's "Dancing with Dolphins" website to see what she's busy with these days...

The experience is absolutely amazing! Swim with dolphins several times each morning and evening - basically every time they come to the boat! These dolphins are very friendly and playful. Sometimes they will play 'keep away' with a bandana with you. Sometimes they just let you watch their feeding, mating and playing behavior. A few animals will initiate physical contact. There is usually one session of 'night time dolphins' - where you can watch the night time feeding behavior by the light of the boat - astounding!

In addition to the spotted dolphins, bottlenose dolphins are often encountered - either on their own or mixed in with the spotteds. Except at night, when many dolphins come together, swimmers encounter between 1 and 8 dolphins at a time.

A full week might seem like a big investment of time...but it's well worth it if you want to get intimate with wild dolphins. On the rare day that the dolphins don't show up - the boat might go to a spot where you can snorkel or SCUBA - amazing how the off shore reefs are so pristine! Also, the middle of the day when dolphins are sleeping is a downtime for humans, too - so be sure to take a book or several DVDs and plenty of music to pass the time. The boat is pretty basic, although very comfortable. Meals are family style. Most people you meet on the boat have taken the trip more than once...including me!"

Source: Review submitted

The dolphins were eagerly engaging with them and they swam around each other and watched as the dolphins jumped in and out of the water around them.

It is evident from Julie's trip report that she loves nature and respects wild animals. She also shares a big fistful of tips and advice from this and other travel experiences in her wild dolphin swimming trip report »

Source: Review submitted

She thinks the destination is great and worthwhile but not the best for actually swimming with the dolphins due to low interaction and the restriction of having to swim in two's.

Read her full review - Azores dolphin watching »