Whale Shark Safari
Overview
Available languages
Mobile ticket
Swim with the biggest fish in the sea! This tour is one not to be missed. Whale Sharks make an annual appearance in Coral Bay between March - June.
Additional Info
Wheelchair accessible
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What To Expect
Coral Bay Ecotours
Your tour begins at 7:30 am at the Coral Bay Ecotours office, followed by a short bus transfer to the jetty to board the vessel. Then we head out for your first reef snorkel experience in the beautiful coral gardens, where you may encounter numerous fish, reef sharks, and other marine species. After morning tea, we begin our journey to the outer reef. By this time our spotter plane is already searching for our whale sharks and informing us of any other exciting marine life spotted along the way! We will do our best to allow you to experience as much wildlife as possible during our tour. Once our spotter plane has found a whale shark, our boat will make its way there. Guests will be split into 2 groups of 10 and take turns to swim with the whale shark. To ensure that we don’t disturb its natural habits, we are allowed a maximum one hour of swimming time with the whale shark. We stop along the way home for a second reef snorkel at a different site.
What‘s Included
Afternoon tea
Tour escort/host
Lunch
Photo Package
Glass of Champagne
Coffee and/or Tea
Additional DPaW fee payable prior to departure ($20 per adult and $10 per child)
Options
Whale Shark Safari
Reviews
152 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Super service and friendly crew steal the show.
tylerhA2252LX,May 9, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Coral Bay Ecotours hosted a top notch snorkeling tour experience from booking to boat to crew. The crew delivered with well organized instruction turning a group of novice sightseers into an organized team of giant fish finders. Personable instruction from the whole crew: Skipper Paul, Guides Paula and Esther, Photographer Flor, and deck hand Pedro. I should not overlook the pilot on the spotter plane who was working all day in the background scouting sharks. The service was exceptional and all guests were given considerate attention. The team delivered, chasing down many whale sharks until everyone got their fill.
Best experience of your life!!!!
A5004ZVmarioc,May 8, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00For the price this was an amazing experience. We got to swim with the whale sharks 5 times. We were so lucky. On top of this we had 2 other great snorkels on the reef. Staff were wonderful. Friendly, attentive and very knowledgeable. Food was well done. Giving us everything we needed and more. Even finished with a glass of champagne. They took lots of photos of us that were included. An all round a once in a life time experience.
Beautiful whale shark tour but without whale shark
549carinan,May 5, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
4.00Very nice team. All well organized and nice boat. Food was also very good. We saw 2 tiger sharks , reef sharks and nurse sharks. Turtles and dolphins also some. Unfortunately, there was only one whale shark to see in the whole week and my daughter was very sad that we did not see one on our whale shark tour.
Spectacular & as the crew would say “that was sic”
Fiona S,May 4, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00A very well organised & run business. The crew were fantastic, very knowledgeable, patient & caring. We got to see more than we expected, from copious amounts of fish, reef sharks, turtles, sting rays, manta rays, even an oceanic manta ray & then the whale shark 💕 The food was great & the day topped off with an incredible sunset! Who could ask for more!
No Whale Shark today.
kencZ1763IA,May 4, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
3.00We booked over 6 months ago with another company for 550 per person for our whale shark swim safari. It was cancelled 3 days before arriving in Coral Bay. The company booked us onto a coral bay eco tour but we had to pay an extra 50 per person. All day affair. No Whale Sharks. No specific offer of discounts for retries, and certainly no refunds. The day was OK and the crew were good. Better and more generous follow up service would have been welcome. For me Whale Sharks were the key attraction of Coral Bay. It is a long way to come and an expensive day out such that you need to think carefully before another 600 gamble. Company seems to be happy to appear to be more interested in profiting from you multiple times rather than looking after customers.
Incredible!
171lotted,May 3, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This has been an incredible experience! The whale sharks are such amazing creatures and getting the change to swim with one up close made me speechless. The crew is super friendly and made the whole day fun. They can tell you so many fun facts, are really good at sporting animals and the photographer is very talented! Ofcourse, swimming with whale sharks is expensive, but once you’ve seen how much work it cost and get an amazing experience it’s definitely worth it. We saw lots of other animals as well. Lots of turtles on the snorkels and dolphin, tiger sharks and mantas from the boat. And the snorkels spot are so beautiful! Had a lovely time! Definitely recommend with this company! We did the marine eco safari as well with this company and ended up swimming with the mantas and so many sharks!
Biggies Dream 2026
denisemS5637MT,May 2, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00The crew, photographer, skipper, spotter, boat, catering, weather & whole day was absolutely the best experience. The day was so magic even my teenage son who was only a spectator had great day! Was led by my teenage daughter & bestie bucket list that I was only too happy to jump on board with. Will remember this day; talk about this memory forever. Would do it again & come back to Coral Bay Eco Tours
Expensive but so worth it!!!
979mariekev,Apr 29, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This was a fabulous trip. Not only did we swim with a whale shark, we had two snorkel stops and saw the most gorgeous corals. The crew were incredibly lovely, knowledgable and extremely good at people management. They were so warm and passionate about their jobs, it was a pleasure to be around them when not around the whale sharks! Thank you for one of the best trips ever!
Highly recommend this tour!
annebQ8430RE,Apr 29, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Was a magical day with a terrific crew. Conditions were perfect and after a little while of searching we found a whale shark. Very exciting! The snorkel ‘drops’ were respectful and organised with military precision as one had to move quickly and maintain appropriate distance once the shark is sighted. Also did three seperate snorkels where we saw a range of sea life and beautiful corals - including grey reef sharks at the shark cleaning station. Was a great day and worth the cost!!
Experience of our lives!
jugndan2016,Apr 28, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Wow, what an awesome day!!!! Thank you so much guys we had an absolute blast. Starting with turtle, white tipped reef shark, the biggest Ray I e ever seen, not to mention all the coral and all the beautiful ‘little fishes’. Followed up by not 1, not 2 but 3 whale sharks to snorkel with!!!!! And then a possible further 2 cruising right by the boat!!!!!! The wildlife experience was amazing, and the crew and the service couldn’t have been better either. From the captain getting us all in the right place, to the snorkel guides, the photographer everything was perfect. Thank you all so so much. We were well looked after from the off, the equipment was great, we had breakfast lunch and even a glass of bubbly on the way back to the dock to celebrate our wonderful day.
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Operated by Coral Bay Ecotours