Whale sharks and sea lions snorkeling plus Balandra beach lunch
Overview
Available languages
6 hours
Mobile ticket
This tour combines the "Whale Shark tour" with "Sea lions and Balandra", so, besides swimming with whale sharks you will also:
Visit the "San Rafaelito" islet and snorkel with sea lions, coral reef and the vast underwater life around them. Meet "La Gaviota" Island, home of the Blue-footed booby (season: Aug-Nov) and other endemic birds.
Finally, we'll arrive at one of Mexico's most beautiful and pristine beaches, Balandra. Where lunch will be served and you'll have time to be on the beach for a while or even have a small hike around.
Additional Info
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Wheelchair accessible
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Activity restricted for safety and federal regulations to: women in pregnancy, heart, neck and breathing problems
Freediving is not allowed due to Federal regulations, only snorkeling in the surface
In case of bad weather forecast, we will let you know 2-3 days in advance. In some cases the waves can be moderate causing a choppy ride, and on other days with high winds, the bay may be closed officially to all boat tours
Bring towel and warm clothes (VERY important Nov-March) and biodegradable sunscreen
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What To Expect
We will meet at "Marina de La Paz" located in "Topete and Miguel de Legaspy" streets. It is VERY important to arrive on time. Then we will give you all the gear you need: mask, snorkel, fins and wetsuit (shortie). After that we will depart to the whale shark area and request a spot in the control stand for the Whale Shark area. Once we found one or more we will start the watching and snorkel activity. Our groups are 9 people maximum per boat, this ensures not crowded boats and a more professional and personalized service. We will do the snorkeling activity in groups of 2 to 4 at the same time on the water, so you have a comfortable experience. The guide will take turns with every group and you will be able to swim several times and very probable with more than one whale shark, the times you want to snorkel depends on you, we won't limit you to jump in the water just 1 or 2 times as it can be usual with other tours.
Sample Menu
main
Fish ceviche
Marinated fish with tomato, onion, cilantro and cucumber, all seasoned and served alone or with chips.
main
Burritos
Flour tortilla, two options: with beans and cheese or shredded meat
main
Additionals
We also bring fruit and soft drinks
What‘s Included
Professional guide
Federal permits and whale shark donation for its conservation
Use of snorkel equipment and wetsuits (shorties 3mm)
Traveler's insurance
Complete food and drinks
Pictures and videos of your tour with gopro (consider the quality depends on the day conditions)
Towel, sweatshirt and biodegradable sunscreen
Transportation to/from attractions
Gratuities
Options
Whale sharks
Approx 3 hour trip for whale shark sightseeing and snorkeling.. It is VERY IMPORTANT to arrive on time.
Duration: 3 hours
Reviews
44 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Great trip!
Tasha M,,Dec 25, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Our guides were able to find the whale sharks quite quickly and gave great instructions on how to swim with them. It was exhilarating! The sea lion colony was teaming with coral and fish. Lunch at the beach was wonderful and the scenery was amazing. Highly recommend going with Mexplore!!
Great experience
Sonia b,,Dec 21, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Awesome! Kids loved the sea lions. Balandria is beautiful. The food was good too. Guides where impfomative and attentive.
10/10 would recommend - can’t wait to come back!
Curiosity46360618238,,Dec 14, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Amazing experience swimming and snorkelling with the sea lions and whale sharks! Our guide Carla was super knowledgeable, enthusiastic and passionate. Our captain Alejandro was skilled and great keeping an eye on everyone in the water. Both went above and beyond! Thank you so much!
Great time in December
isabO9556OO,,Dec 12, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Karen and Daniel were awesome, Karen was very knowledgeable. Very well worth it. We went in mid December peak season and saw at least 5 whale sharks. It was amazing and the sea lions were super cute and fun. Beach is beautiful too, amazing water. Definitely recommend
Great tour!
Derrick Y,,Dec 6, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Great experience with wonderful guide. Good value. Fun and educational. Definitely recommend. whale sharks are juveniles not full grown adults.
Amazing Experience!
Forrest B,,Dec 3, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Just wonderful! We were not expecting how incredible the whale shark experience would be. Everything went so smoothly and our tour guide (Karla) was exceptional! The food was delicious and we so so much more than we anticipated for, thank you!
Snorkelling with sea lions
sheena0115,,Apr 26, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We were hoping to swim with whale sharks but alas there weren’t enough to be allowed to. However instead we swam with sea lions which was just amazing!!!! We left the marina quite early which was good as we were alone with the colony. The sea lions are so playful and curious. A joy! There’s also so much more to see as you are snorkelling in a protested park on a reef in the Sea of Cortez. It’s like being in an aquarium. Afterwards we had a great lunch on a lovely beach and headed back to La Paz in the afternoon.
No sharks, and still a great tour!!
LNandCK,,Apr 16, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00MeXplore was good at keeping us informed as we had hoped to do the whale shark tour, but no sharks ☹️. However they gave us a refund for the shark tour and credited back the difference for the sea lion tour. The tour itself was fun and will managed. The food for lunch was great.. lots of ceviche! Highly recommend this company and hope to do the whale shark tour another time.
A fantastic experience. Michelle was fantastic.
Teachfrog,,Apr 9, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Whale Sharks have left the premiss but our guide Michelle and our Captain did a terrific job of making this a worthwhile trip anyway. The boat was comfortable and well equipped and Mexplore provided all needed snorkeling gear and also took and shared GoPro video of our excursion. We had a bilingual group including younger kids and Michelle easily switched between Spanish and English. She also took remarkable care and responsibility for the two younger kids on our trip which went above and beyond. On the way in we pointed to a whale spout and our captain immediately changed course to get us closer to what turned out to be a playful and large humpback playing with two pods of dolphins and several sea lions - magic. We then went to the Northernmost point of Espiritu Santos where the sea lion “nursery” is and we had about 25 minutes of snorkeling with playful sea-lion teenagers - not nearly long enough but lots of fun. We were to return with another reef snorkel on the other side of the island, but it was too windy. The upside was that we got two hours on “Bonanza beach.”I have been a lot of places in the world and it is not hyperbole that this was the most beautiful beach I have ever been on. Michelle and our captain set up a beach picnic with chairs and umbrellas and served us beef burritos, cheese and bean burritos, ceviche, and fruit salad. All of it was great. In short, this was a fantastic trip and well worth the cost. We will be back for swimming with whale sharks and will definitely consider Mexplore as the tour company.
An incredible tour with informative guides and a very nice boat. Would recommend.
Guer0,,Mar 29, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This was a very organized, professional tour. We had an amazing marine biologist on board, Carla, and a very experienced driver named Alejandro. They made the tour very entertaining . Carla explained all about the island and smaller islands and about the various marine life we saw. We saw all manner of fish, sea lions, and Manta Rays and when we asked them if we could have lunch elsewhere they recommended a beautiful beach. The boat was very nice, and the lunch was delicious. On top of providing lunch, they also provided drinks, and Carla even volunteered some cookies that she had brought. At the end of the trip, we were able to see an amazing display of jumping devil rays that are unique to the area and the guide informed us on them. Overall, it was an amazing tour with even more amazing tour guides and I would definitely recommend.
From MX$4,000.00
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