See but not swim with whale sharks

[susieq76]

We are headed to Cancun on 9/16 for a week. My youngest son is CRAZY about sharks- especially whale sharks. I want to take him to see them but there is no way I'm letting his 40lb self swim with them...

1) Are they still around then or is it just too late?

2) Anyone know of somewhere (tour, place ect) that you can just see them from the boat but not swim with them?

Steve or anyone living there? Thanks in advance!

[Steve]

Mid September is around about the time when the tours stop due to the whale sharks moving on, so 16/9 might be OK or might be too late. Depends on the big fishies and what their own itinerary is.

There isn't a 'place' where you can see them from as far as I know as they are usually quite a way from any coast, so you'll need to take a boat. The boat operators dont have a problem with people not actually swimming but their costs are the same whether you swim or not, so no discount for non swimmers I'm afraid.

More info and prices at

Whale Shark Tours Cancun

[mariayucatan]

how old is your son ?

we swam with the whalesharks 3 yrs ago in Holbox, my son was 8 yrs old and a skinny thing and he couldnt wait to get in the water

I was petrified but I did eventually get in

It may sound silly me saying not to worry because animals are animals, however we had an excellent guide and he told us that when something gets up close to the face of the whale shark its natural instinct is to dive downwards, I was sceptical but he was right, everytime we re entered the water I swam directly to the face of it and looked into the mouth of this amazing creature, expecting it to swallow me whole and as always it dived below the water, it was another amazing surreal experience for us all in Mexico
Have a think about it, but then I dont know what age your son is.
good luck

[susieq76]

He's 8, but I'm afraid he'd want to ride on one like he sees on shark week!

[cancunwelder]

We went swimming with the whale sharks at the end of july and it was incredible! Your timing may be a little late but worth looking into. It is a approx 2 hour high speed boat ride so be prepared with extra dry warm clothes for the ride back. I would wait to get there before making any reservations after watching the weather to pick a good day. The sharks are in open deep water so even good days aren't like being on the beach. If i do it again i will bring my own snorkle gear also. Their stuff is ok but the whole idea of swimming with them is to jump out of the boat in front of them and swim fast as they pass by you. Good fins and a good snorkle would help. If your son is not intimidated by their size he would be fine, nothing to fear from these huge gentle fish. Another cool shark thing is at the cancun interactive aquarium where you can go into the shark tank while inside a clear cage and feed the sharks through openings. He would enjoy that as well or as another shark option if it turns out to be too late in the season.

[Laura Mapchick]

The last official day of whale shark season is September 15, so you will miss it by a day.

[CancunCanuck]

I would be more concerned about the long boat ride than swimming with the sharks. The sharks are totally harmless! My lil guy is 6 and I considered bringing him with me this year, but he was sick the day that I went. I was glad I did not bring him, there was a lot of seasickness all around, small boats, long time in open water, experienced divers were ill. The swim with the sharks is INCREDIBLE and totally safe, pretty sure he wouldn't be able to swim fast enough to ride them, haha. Hopefully I'll be taking my son next year.

Don't let the seasickness scare anyone off, take a Gravol the night before and the morning of, eat a banana and some ginger tea and you are all set. INCREDIBLE experience. Here's a pic from this year....

[susieq76]

Thanks guys. I will def take him to the aquarium! That sounds like something he'd flip over! Appreciate all the info!