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Whale Shark and Snorkeling Adventure from Isla Holbox
4.6
209 Ratings
Holbox
Can you imagine swimming with a 14-meter-long animal? Whale sharks, the biggest fish in the world, come every year to visit Holbox. They are totally harmless, so you will be able to swim by their side in an amazing and life changing experience. During the boat trip, you may see turtles, giant manta rays, dolphins, flamingos and/or many other species.
Can you imagine swimming with a 14-meter-long animal? Whale sharks, the biggest fish in the world, come every year to visit Holbox. They are totally harmless, so you will be able to swim by their side in an amazing and life changing experience. During the boat trip, you may see turtles, giant manta rays, dolphins, flamingos and/or many other species.
Duration:
6 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
-
GJM8+4R Holbox - Participants will gather with their guide and group at the office in Isla Holbox at 6:30 am, located one block from the main ferry pier (not on the beach side). A brief orientation will be provided, along with all necessary equipment. A light breakfast will be served to ensure a great start to the day.
Afterward, the group will…
- GJM8+4R Holbox - Participants will gather with their guide and group at the office in Isla Holbox at 6:30 am, located one block from the main ferry pier (not on the beach side). A brief orientation will be provided, along with all necessary equipment. A light breakfast will be served to ensure a great start to the day.
Afterward, the group will walk to the pier, where the boat awaits to embark on the journey to locate the whale sharks. The trip will last between one and two hours, with opportunities to observe various species along the way (if a giant manta is spotted and its behavior allows, participants can swim with this gentle creature). Upon arrival in the area, swimming with the whale shark will be done in groups of two plus the guide, ensuring safety and an optimal experience.
On the return trip, there will be a stop near Cabo Catoche to snorkel at the “cuevones” reef, with chances to see sea turtles, nurse sharks, lobsters, squids, octopuses, and various reef fish. During the journey, the freshest ceviche will be prepared. Finally, the group will visit Santa Paula, where they can stretch their legs, enjoy a refreshing swim, and savor the ceviche. From there, it’s a 45-minute journey back to Holbox.
What's Included
- Light breakfast: coffee, tea, fruits, yoghurt and sweet buns
- Guacamole or mango for those who do not eat fish
- Cool water and sodas
- Snorkeling equipment
- Our famous ceviche
- Light breakfast: coffee, tea, fruits, yoghurt and sweet buns
- Guacamole or mango for those who do not eat fish
- Cool water and sodas
- Snorkeling equipment
- Our famous ceviche
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Taxi to / from meeting point
- Gratuities
- Taxi to / from meeting point
Additional Information
- Children under 6 years old are not allowed.
- Season starts officialy May 15, but the arrival of whale sharks to the area vary each year.
- Subject to favorable weather conditions. If cancelled due to poor weather, you will be given the option of an alternative date or full refund
- Children under 6 years old are not allowed.
- Season starts officialy May 15, but the arrival of whale sharks to the area vary each year.
- Subject to favorable weather conditions. If cancelled due to poor weather, you will be given the option of an alternative date or full refund
Location
VIP Holbox
Avenida Caleta
the office is typical yellow Mayan House
Calle Palomino avenida caleta, 77310 Holbox, Q.R.
close to the Main ferry Pier where the ferry´ passengers arrive to Holbox
(Not by the seaside )
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.6
(209 Ratings)
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1 star
Daviosarah
Jul 5, 2025
Be one with the Whale Sharks! - Our guide Eddie and captain Christian went above and beyond to make sure that the experience was top notch. They drove us a longer way where it wasn’t as crowded- we found ourselves surrounded by the whale sharks! Eddie was very competent and safety oriented. His and Christian’s homemade ceviche and guacamole served on the beach was out of this world. They showed us the migrating flamingos. Also, we stopped in the middle of jumping dolphins! Another treat was the unexpected giant manta rays feeding! Lots of time for pictures. I loved when Eddie said, “don’t worry about GoPros with your first dive- just connect with nature and the whale sharks”. I’d love to do this again!
Review provided by Viator
Min_y
Jun 21, 2025
Gustavo was a... - Gustavo was a conscientious guide who really cared about the welfare of the whale sharks and made sure visitors behaved appropriately. While I was uncomfortable with how many boats were surrounding each whale (~50 boats around only 2-4 whales) VIP Holbox is a company that follows the rules and I highly recommended them as a tour operator for this experience. However, if wildlife management or animal welfare is of particular concern to you, I would consider skipping this tour altogether.
Review provided by Viator
Emilygu3067ap
Jun 21, 2025
Beautiful and Thoughtful Tour - As a tourist, it is your duty to patronize ethical wildlife tours. VIP Holbox is a group that follows the rules, respects the wildlife, and has guides who care about whale shark conservation. Our guide (Gustavo) and the captain took care to give us a great experience. We saw whale sharks, turtles, nurse sharks, and dolphins. I would highly suggest not patronizing companies which touch, dive under or over the sharks, or any other unethical behavior. It was a beautiful experience and we are glad we chose VIP Holbox.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elisa_s
Jun 10, 2025
Magical whale sharks adventure - It was amazing. Seeing and swimming with the whale sharks was a magical experience.
Of course our guide Deigo and captain are what made the experience truly a once in a lifetime experience. They were friendly, and outstanding! After guiding us on our swim to see the Whale sharks, they pulled up to a little quiet deserted beach and swam in crystal blue water they made us a lunch which we ate on the boat. On the way home we pulled over to see some flamingos.
A perfect day. !
Review provided by Viator
Richard
May 19, 2025
We were lucky! DO THIS! - Felt nervous this would be a disappointment being at the very start of the whale shark season and how it would work given some of the negative reviews from 2024 we saw.
Thankfully… i was proven wrong. It took some time to find an adult whale shark and we all had 2x swims with the magnificent creature accompanied by our guide.
No chasing, no pushing in with other boats… (3x other boats) and there was a respect towards the whale shark that was all very well managed. I managed to get some really great gopro footage, and we shared some of the content afterwards with the other people on the boat.
Importantly i felt safe, the whale shark had freedom and it was a jaw dropping experience. Eddy and Paulo were our guides and did a great job.
Cerviche was excellent,
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tara
Sep 5, 2024
Best day! - My husband and I had the most incredible experience. Our guide Eddie was excellent. He made us feel save through the entire experience. Eddy and captain Ali were professional, friendly and very knowledgeable. They were respectful of the ocean life which was important to us. It's obvious they truly love what they do. I HIGHLY recommend this company and crew!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
865josefas
Sep 1, 2024
Amazing experience - Super recommended, definitely to repeat.After an hour and thirty minutes of sailing we finally made it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sybrandh2019
Aug 25, 2024
Great experience including breakfast and lunch - We started the day at 6:30 am with a great breakfast and explanation about swimming with the whale sharks. At 7:00 am we boarded and then left full throttle. After 2.5 hours of sailing we saw the first whale sharks. We were all allowed to make 2 dives, what an experience! Then we sailed into mangroves where we enjoyed a great lunch. On the way back we sailed between a dozen dolphins.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sascha06
Aug 23, 2024
Wonderful experience! - This tour was outstanding. Our guide, Eddie, was knowledgeable and respectful of the whale sharks while ensuring that we each had a memorable experience. Our boat captain, Pablo, was safe throughout the trip. This was an experience that I’d highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
V1302wealexh
Aug 16, 2024
Great Experience - It was a long day but an incredibly amazing trip! It is a long boat ride to start with (2+ hours), but that is to be expected as we need to go out quite far to see the Whale Sharks. Our tour guide was very helpful and the captain was attentive. My partner was seasick, despite having no issues with boats previously.
They offer anti-sickness tablets, so I would recommend taking them, even if you have had no problems on boats before.
The stop afterwards on the beach was beautiful and the guacamole and ceviche were delicious! We had also gone through the mangroves of Holbox on the way back and saw some great animals.
Would definitely recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
