Whale shark experience with lunch

Activities

Riviera Maya / Playa del Carmen, Mexico

from 65 reviews
4.54/5
Free Cancellation
Language: Spanish , English , French
Mobile voucher accepted
Duration: 8 Hours
Instant Confirmation
Guided Tour
e-Voucher
Group Tour

Do this because

This is a chance to swim with whale sharks in the wild
There's a beachfront lunch packed with traditional Mexican flavours included in the experience
You'll sail with a marine expert for the best chance of spotting the biggest fish in the ocean

What to expect

Swimming with sharks is a big tick on the bucket list – and you can do it right here in Mexico. Sail into the Caribbean Sea with a marine expert, and you'll snorkel with one of the world's largest sea creatures, the whale shark. Then, there's a relaxing cruise back to shore for you to pinch yourself to check if that really just happened. To top it all off, you'll sit down to a beachfront lunch filled with traditional Mexican flavours before returning to your hotel.

What's included

Boat cruise
Lunch
Soft drinks
Transport
Equipment
Lifejacket
Swim stops
Bilingual guide
Snorkel gear

What to remember

Whale shark are gentle giants, but human touch can disrupt their natural behaviours. Help us protect these majestic creatures by observing and enjoying them from a distance
The minimum age is eight years old, and the max weight allowed is 118 kilograms
Bring your swimwear, a towel, sun-protective clothing, a hat or cap and sunglasses
Just so you know, due to federal regulations, suncream isn't allowed
You should be comfortable in the water and able to swim to join this tour, and it's best if you're in generally good physical condition
This activity isn't recommended for anyone with injuries, neck or back problems, or for pregnant women
If you have respiratory or heart conditions, or anything that could cause loss of consciousness, you may not be able to participate in water activities
Swimming with whale sharks is an incredible experience, but since they're wild animals, sightings can't be guaranteed
Port tax of USD $40 per person to be paid during check-in
Alcoholic beverages are available for purchase during lunch
Lunch menu:Taco station featuring gratin skirt steak tacos, achiote-marinated chicken breast tacos, sweet pepper and corn tacos and corn tortilla quesadillasSides include corn esquites, traditional guacamole with tortilla chips, ham and cheese panini and a vegetable wrapHouse salsas and toppings include roasted tomato salsa, fresh tomatillo salsa, pico de gallo, smoked chilli cream, spicy habanero salsa, sour cream, cotija cheese, pickled onions and lime wedgesVegetarian options include fresh vegetable sticks (cucumber, jicama, carrot) with sweet and sour dressing and a fresh leaf salad with vinaigretteHand fruit selection includes Starking apples, green grapes, seasonal fruit, fruit skewers, and honey pineapple popsicles with tajín and limeTraditional Mexican sweets include coconut candies, sweet tamarind pulp, stone-ground chocolate, spicy tamarind candy and cajeta wafersWater bar with horchata, hibiscus water, and plain wate
Not suitable for guests who can't swim
Not suitable for expectant mothers or guests with back problems
Not suitable for guests who suffer from travel sickness
Not suitable for wheelchairs
Not suitable for families with small children
Children must be supervised by an adult (over 18 years) at all time
Bring a towel
Bring a hat
Lockers not included
Subject to weather conditions
Not suitable for guests with poor health
Not suitable for guests with cardiac or respiratory problems
Height, weight and/or age restrictions may apply
Bring money for extras or gratuities
Some entrance fees and optional extras are payable locally
Please note that all times are approximate and subject to change
This experience doesn't follow our general cancellation policy. If you need to cancel, you must do so at least 24 hours in advance to receive a full refund

Provider

TUI MEXICANA SA DE CV

Booking Fee

Good news! No extra fees are applied to this booking.

Cancellation Fee

Receive a 100% refund if you cancel up to 1 day before the experience begins
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Reviews

Excellent

4.5/5
Based on 65 reviews from verified customers
All ratings (65)
74%
15%
8%
2%
2%
S

Steve B

September 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 47 years old

Great

The posters / adverts show images of a graceful, peaceful snorkel with these giants. The truth was quite different. We were sent in in pairs, with a guide, who manhandled us in order to see the whale sharks. I have no issue with that as he was only trying to get us to see what we came to and it worked. But we were out after 2 minutes and only meant to have 2 goes. Thankfully the Captain gave us all more time and saved the day, but in spite of that it was not the leisurely experienced advertised
D

Darren Orpwood

September 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 42 years old

Excellent

Excellent trip, great friendly staff. Well recommended … I am partially disabled and the crew was excellent helping me
H

Himlims

September 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 24 years old

Excellent

Amazing experience, just not for faint hearted; - don’t eat (much) prior trip; half of people on boat get sea sick - don’t use sunblock; bad for animals - bring some towel and cap/head + enjoy +
H

Hamish

September 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 15 years old

Excellent

Amazing experience, day couldnt have gone better
J

James

September 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 16 years old

Excellent

The whole trip was well organised and the guide was knowledgeable and explained the process clearly and made sure everyone was safe and knew when to be and at what time. I just wished we could’ve had longer in the water with the whale sharks.
F

Frank Moore

September 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple

Excellent

Enjoyed it all but was disappointed not to receive the photos and video I was promised
T

Tom

September 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 12 years old

Excellent

An excellent experience, we had such a great time. The staff were very knowledgeable, keen to share their experience and very friendly. Swimming alongside the whale sharks was completely surreal, and something that’ll stay with us for a long time. The stop at Isla Mujeres was lovely, and lunch was delicious. Overall it was a fantastic experience.
C

Carly Hynes

August 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as Alone - 20 years old

Excellent

Francisco our guide was through in his description of the rules we needed to stick to to ensure the whale sharks were safe and we followed the rules of conservation, which was a big relief. The opportunity to swim with these majestic creatures was wonderful!
J

Jonas

August 2025
From Germany
Traveled as Alone - 17 years old

Excellent

Das Essen auf der Insel hätte man getrost weglassen können, dafür den Preis ein wenig senken.
S

Sydd864

August 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 49 years old

Great

I

Inge

August 2025
From Netherlands
Traveled as With family - 32 years old

Great

Wij hadden echt geluk, na minder dan een uurtje op de (speed)boot kwamen we een groep walvishaaien tegen; een stuk of 10. De gidsen zorgen ervoor dat je met niet teveel tegelijk het water in gaat en geven goede tips. Vanuit Playa del Carmen was het vrij ver weg; er was gezegd dat we ook iig koffie en een muffin zouden krijgen; dat was niet zo. De lunchplek is fantastisch, de lunch zelf niet. Maar het mocht de pret niet drukken, we hebben met walvishaaien gezwommen!!
E

Eryka Hayes

August 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 6 years old

Excellent

What an experience being able to swim alongside these wonderful large creatures. This is the 3rd time of doing this trip and it won't be my last. The guides were friendly and very helpful. I cannot recommend this trip enough.
S

StuartA

August 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 28 years old

Excellent

Only a little thing that the minibus didn't have curtains, and after a day without sun cream or shade, the window tint wasn't enough for the 1.5hr trip back to the hotel. We could have also done with more water throughout the day. None of that distracts from the amazing experience of swimming with the whale sharks though, and the added bonus of seeing flying fish too...
J

Jill Robertson

August 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 38 years old

Excellent

This was a real highlight of our trip! We got to see and swim alongside such majestic creatures. My only criticism is that for a total of 6 hours travel time, we only got 2 jumps each - it would have been real value for money if we could have had more. Also it took the first jump to realise which way to swim once you’re in the water, so as not to miss the big fish!
P

Paul Greenway

August 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 42 years old

Great

The whole day was fun, even though we only saw 2 whale sharks and spent a lot of time far out at sea trying to determine where they were- but that's expected.
R

Richard

August 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 25 years old

Great

The experience of being up close and personal with a whale shark is utterly mind blowing! The boat staff are brilliant, I would highly recommend this trip to anyone. However, we were collected and driven to the experience by an imbecile who was driving extremely unsafely! 80 km/h speed limits and he was exceeding 140 km/h, texting, sending pictures on his phone, every passenger commented on how unsafe they felt, there was a family of 5 on the van as well, it was terrifying!!
B

Bohei

August 2025
From Germany
Traveled as With family - 30 years old

Excellent

Ein unvergessliches Erlebnis mit Walhaien zu schwimmen!!! Die Reiseleiterin Ana war herausragend gut. (Englisch obwohl deutsch versprochen wurde..) Einziger Wermutstropfen: TUI Agent Pawel, der den Ausflug beworben hat, wusste offensichtlich einiges nicht bzw. hat es falsch dargestellt. Die beworbenen Foto/ Videoaufnahmen, die man lt Pawel hätte käuflich erwerben können, wurden gar nicht gemacht/angeboten. ?? . Positiv: entgegen der Aussage Pawels wurde die Isla Mujeres zum Mittag angesteuert.
A

Al

August 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 37 years old

Poor

Sadly this is not worth the money and should carry health warning! We located the whale sharks, my son and I had c5 mins in the water. My wife and other son got no time, when another coupe got 2 x 5 min slots! The lunch was inedible. The coupon said open bar we were told one drink each and the pay. We were forbidden to apply sun screen on the boat or not allowed in the water, with no protection from the sun on the boat and had severely sunburnt legs. Have raised a formal complaint.
D

Dave Dransfield

August 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 38 years old

Excellent

J

Joris

August 2025
From Netherlands
Traveled as Alone - 8 years old

Excellent

Nou het was effe zoeken en het duurde echt heel lang maar de 4 tot 8 uur wat er staat dat je bezig bent met de excursie klopte toen niet want wij werden opgehaald om tien voor 6 en we waren pas 5 uur locale tijd terug en dat was echt heel lang
B

Bdhdjsjsjsjs

July 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 31 years old

Great

B

BeckMex

July 2025
From France
Traveled as As a couple - 15 years old

Excellent

G

Gavlar

July 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 27 years old

Excellent

Not much selection of food. Experience itself. Brilliant
S

Sharon

July 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 40 years old

Excellent

Not been able to use sun cream resulted in us being burnt quite badly. This was not explained to us when we booked the trip. A very important part that was simply ignored, had we known this we would seriously have reconsidered. Why Tui would put our health at risk is really concerning
J

Jean

July 2025
From Netherlands
Traveled as As a couple - 35 years old

Excellent

De belevenis van je leven! Zo dicht bij deze wonderlijke, grote dieren hadden we nooit kunnen dromen. Zeker een aanrader! Je hoeft geen olympisch zwemmer te zijn om dit te kunnen. Mss één klein detail: de “beach club” had meer het allooi van een kantine dan een club. Voor de rest: fan-tas-tisch!!!
S

Sally

July 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 41 years old

Average

The food and experience at Isla Mujeres after the Whale Shark experience was extremely poor unfortunately and resulted in 2 people from our group experiencing food poisoning. The actual Whale Shark experience was very good and exciting.
A

Alex & Rad

July 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 19 years old

Excellent

Francis was amazing. Clearly cares for the habitat and creature. Found the sharks quicker than expected too!
B

Bumblebox

July 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 38 years old

Average

Whilst seeing and swimming with whalesharks was impressive, the tour wasn't good value for money at all. The actual whaleshark swimming only lasted 10 minutes! The rest of the time (about 7 hours) we spent on a tiny boat and on a touristy beach. Lunch was included but very basic.
A

Anonymous

July 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 26 years old

Excellent

M

Michelle kelly

July 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple

Excellent

Would have loved more time with the whales
K

Kim Sharp

July 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 29 years old

Excellent

C

Cath Hale

July 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as Alone - 35 years old

Excellent

Amazing experience. Really well organised.
J

Jessica

July 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 6 years old

Excellent

C

Colin ogden

June 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 43 years old

Poor

This has to be the worst trip I've been on. 50 plus boats to try and see a couple of whale sharks. It felt very dis organised and when a whale appeared it dived straight down as all the boats rushed to see them. Also it was a very long day to see nothing.
A

Andy

June 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 34 years old

Great

The boat trip was excellent. Given the time at see, I’d recommend extending the shade coverage in the boat as easily burnt despite sun protection even with short time outside the shade. I would also strongly recommend removing the beach club visit at the end of the trip. The food was awful, the vibe unpleasant and made an unpleasant end to a good day. Finally, it took nearly 3 hours to complete the hotel drop offs which left us feeling very tired and frustrated.
L

Lenka

June 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 34 years old

Excellent

Excellent expirience, excellent guide, excellent trip. But bad food choice.
B

Bo162

June 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 38 years old

Poor

Very disappointed, paid top price for better experience. Bus tiny and cramped, breakfast and dry breakfast bar inedible. Boat old and cramped. Whale shark swim disturbing. 12 to 15 boats corralled the sharkes some were hurt. I know we wanted to swim with them but I never imagined to torment it would cause.Lunch was awful sat outside a toilet kitchen staff threw a bucket of op next to tree splashing us. Food worrying. Told we would be eating in club house but it was a hot beach bar. Expensive
E

Erica

June 2025
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 42 years old

Great

The weather conditions the day we went in my opinion weren't suitable and I would have preferred it to have been cancelled until a more calmer day at sea. We only got 1 jump in the water as the weather conditions were getting worse . By the time we got to the island we had one hour to eat lunch which most of us didn't have as we were feeling sea sick. The staff were amazing though but feel it was a lot of money for the couple of minutes I was in the water with the whale shark.
J

Johannes Holle

June 2025
From Germany
Traveled as As a couple

Excellent

E

Elizabeth

August 2024
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 33 years old

Excellent

Fantastic experience. Amazing opportunity to see the whale sharks. Great crew and they ensured everyone was safe at all times and got the best experience possible. My husband & I disagree about the time at Isla Mujeres. Food average and restrooms awful. I would prefer to come straight back to hotel and for the experience to then cost less. Husband liked to get off boat. Disappointing the $30 each docking tax was not explained by rep until we booked tour. Take antisickness if you have it!
B

Beg

August 2024
From Spain
Traveled as With family - 41 years old

Excellent

Me gustó mucho la experiencia y Hugo y su compañera. También el capitán Horrible la comida El conductor que nos vino a buscar bastante mala experiencia además de hacernos pasar por nuestro hotel y no para porque él consideraba que primero debía dejar a otros turistas que estaban más lejos. Vaya sin sentido. Además se lo dijimos y en lugar de informarnos dijo que él prefería hacerlo así… fatal
L

Lisa Crates

August 2024
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family

Excellent

Fantastic from start to finish…..from the driver who picked us up and then our guides on the boat. Me and my son will cherish this experience, once in a lifetime opportunity. I recommend anyone who comes tooMexico to do this.
M

MB Lauzon

August 2024
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 40 years old

Excellent

Michelle (guide) was energetic and knowledgeable. Overall great experience
K

Kaia

July 2024
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 30 years old

Excellent

After the trip my 13 year old daughter said " This was the best experience in my life!" and I fully agree with her. The trip was very well organised. We were extremely well looked after and cared for all of the time. We were guided every step of the way by the very experienced staff. I highly recommend the Whale Shark experience.
N

NJCJSJ

July 2024
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 29 years old

Excellent

Michelle, Renee, Danny, and Mauricio are amazing! The next time we come down we will specifically ask for them to be our team.
A

Anonymous

July 2024
From United Kingdom

Excellent

Fantastic day out. The staff were all amazing, I would highly recommend this,
E

electric2010

July 2024
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 48 years old

Excellent

All of the staff was excellent. They worked their hardest to attend to all of our needs. They were able to get us to the location where the whale sharks were feeding. They ensured that each of us was able to see & swim with the sharts.
O

Ocean lover

July 2024
From United Kingdom
Traveled as Alone - 32 years old

Excellent

A

Alfredo F.

July 2024
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 39 years old

Excellent

This was a bucket list experience for our family, especially our daughter. Selena Pupo was extremely helpful and accommodating with our request on date options and tours, recommending the one that met the criteria. And this was not only for this tour, but the same thing happened with the second tour she helped us book for ATV at Puerto Morelos. Talk about a great customer experience, Selena sets the standard and always goes the extra mile to delight the customers! Keep up the great work!
O

Ocean lover

June 2024
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With friends - 33 years old

Excellent

I found the entire experience to be great. From the organization from the time I stepped off the bus and was I introduced to my tour guide juego,to the crew on the boat. I can not say enough good things about my experience!
G

Gaynor

June 2024
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 41 years old

Average

Amazing seeing and swimming with the whale sharks. However hardly any shade on boat, not allowed sun cream so burnt quite badly. Difficult to put cream on after swim as such a bumpy ride. Long journey - 2 hours- to get to sharks and then same back. Need more shade on boat as sun is so strong. Only a few seconds in water with sharks and all very quick in and out of boat but amazing to see them. More shade on boat though please.
K

K

June 2024
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 8 years old

Excellent

the trip was amazing. Our guide Francis was very helpful and amazing. The guy who goes into the water with you was amazing. He held onto my hand as I’m not the strongest swimmer and it really made me feel at ease and confident in the water. Overall an amazing trip. I would recommend to eat beforehand as there was no breakfast and was a long time until lunch.
C

Claire Siddall

August 2023
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 33 years old

Excellent

The experience was incredible. I felt safe at all times despite being a little scared of jumping into deep water. Instructions were given clearly and support given at all times.
J

Jack

August 2023
From United Kingdom
Traveled as Alone - 14 years old

Excellent

The crew who were with us on the day were amazing! Jorge our driver was friendly, efficient and had water and breakfast on board. Michelle (Stella!) Was our guide on the boat and did an amazing job! As I was a solo traveller she really made me feel welcomed and comfortable. The actually experience was incredible and to finish it off with a gorgeous buffet by a golden beach was perfect. 10/10 recommend
S

Scorchio

June 2023
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 49 years old

Great

Pick up was on time. Didn’t like the wait for the boat going out, didn’t want to go to the island for lunch. Sandwich provided by the crew was much better than the lunch on the island. Would have preferred to go snorkelling at a reef instead. Crew were excellent and the whale snorkelling was a bucket list and the Dolphins were there too putting on a show which was another bucket list so all in all an unforgettable day.
W

Wendy

September 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 35 years old

Great

The experience was great. Initially it was very busy but our tour guide moved away from the crowd. The tour guide was very enthusiastic and wanted us to get the best from our experience. She showed great care for the whales. PUT SUNSCREEN ON AT THE HOTEL, we burnt really badly as they wouldn’t let us apply cream there even though it was reef friendly. I wouldn’t recommend for children under 13yrs. You need to swim fast and expect to be sea sick.
L

Liam

September 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 11 years old

Excellent

Seeing the whale sharks is a must it’s a bit expensive but we had a amazing day and after you go to a beautiful beach have dinner and chill for a while . Defiantly worth the trip and a tick off the bucket list . Plus the tour guide we had Carlos was amazing.
G

Gaz Hind

August 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With friends - 23 years old

Excellent

It was fantastic, I swam with whale sharks
P

P

August 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as With family - 36 years old

Excellent

D

Diana

August 2022
From Netherlands
Traveled as With family - 29 years old

Excellent

Zwemmen met walvishaaien, fantastisch! De boottocht op open zee om ze te zoeken, was zwaar en lang. De boot was eenvoudig (harde banken haaks op de vaarrichting) en de zee onrustig (blauwe plekken, vergeet je reispillen niet). De hulp op de boot was top. Mijn hand werd vastgehouden tijdens het zwemmen en ook mijn kinderen werden goed in de gaten gehouden. Tip: huur ter plaatse een go pro en maak filmpjes. Eén water en één cola pp aanwezig. Weinig uitleg over de dieren.
K

Kayleigh

August 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 8 years old

Average

Only had 2 minutes to swim with the whale sharks, we weren’t allowed to use suncream as stated in the booking confirmation, scolding sunburn and heat stroke, hardly any shade on the boat at all, Isla mujeres stop off was lovely but not a wide selection of food. Staff were great but a bit pushy and holding their hands out for tips.
T

Toni x

August 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 36 years old

Excellent

We paid through using TUI app but when we got there we had to pay another 420 pesos which we were not aware of? So why?? We didn’t really have a choice not to pay. As for snorkelling with whales it was a great experience
S

Sandor

July 2022
From Netherlands
Traveled as Alone - 19 years old

Excellent

M

Matt

July 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 28 years old

Excellent

Jonathan was great as where all staff Would have been nicer to spend more time in water or have 3 sessions instead of 2
M

M Campbell

July 2022
From United Kingdom
Traveled as As a couple - 10 years old

Excellent

The whole experience was amazing. Our guide, Manuel (Manny) was a good laugh and very informative on all questions that were asked. The group was good and everyone had a full understanding of the day ahead and what it consisted of. The actual experience was incredible. My only comment, and it’s not down to the tour itself, was that other people were not so considerate. But idiots will be idiots.

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