Now I haven’t worked as a instructor or researcher in a while. Places like Sogod Bay are excellent for sightings. Although we knew the whale sharks were harmless, the sheer size of them (20-30ft) long can definitely get you a bit nervous. Disclosure: Stingy Nomads take part in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Where to swim with whale sharks in The Philippines. From there, you can head on over to Moal Boal, Cebu to do the sardine run which is pretty awesome as well! Shark interaction for tourism purposes started in the late ‘90s in the Philippines and has become increasingly more popular. What an amazing experience! When one approached me, I felt like I could fit in its mouth. I did not enjoy the feeding that goes on at Oslob and will not recommend anybody to go there. The sharks were not swimming like they do in the wild and everybody was just hanging around these beautiful animals taking selfies, getting exited kicking each other and the sharks with a hundred people trying to smile on a photo hugging a whale shark. In this article I discuss our whale shark swimming in Donsol, Oslob and Ligazby. Word got out about the unethical practices happening at Oslob casting a dark shadow over the whale shark interaction industry in the Philippines. To be perfectly honest, we went there before really reading up on anything which we know isn’t an excuse. We stayed in Donsol for about a week and went out on three whale shark swimming expeditions, extending our stay for another day after each unsuccessful attempt. Scuba DivingThings to Do in the Philippines. Today, as many as 1,500 people visit Oslob (one of the most famous whale shark hotspots in the country) every day, and the local economy has grown immensely for this reason. Swimming with the whale sharks here is not an authentic nature experience and can be compared to riding an elephant in Thailand being different from seeing wild elephants on safari in Africa or stroking a drugged tiger in Thailand is not the same as seeing a tiger in the bush in India. There are many reasons why you will want to visit the Philippines and swimming with the whale sharks of Donsol, Philippines should be high up on that list. I would much rather see these creatures in the wild, preferably when scuba diving, seeing them in their natural habitat without the overcrowding of tourists. Whale sharks, the gentle giants of the sea can be found mainly in two spots in the Philippines. The animals do not only concentrate in Oslob and Donsol and with a bit of luck, they can also be found elsewhere. Hopefully, this list will help you decide and will give you lots of options, depending on whatever budget you have. Ahhh! This includes the boat ride, the rental fee for the snorkeling equipment, and the 30-minute swim with the sharks. Click here, to know more. I agree, The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is one of the most renowned areas of natural beauty in the Philippines. Do you rent your gear or always bring all of it to locations? We arrived early together with many local tourists for the briefing, “do not touch the whale sharks, wear an orange life jacket if you can’t swim, etc.” About 15 small boats packed with tourists rowed the 50 meters off-shore to a row of buoys to which all the boats anchored and the captains started throwing out a chum line of food for the whale sharks. It will be an awesome experience! As soon as you get there, you can rent lockers where you can store your stuff then you can pay the necessary fees for the equipment. This is definitely not eco-tourism, since eco-tourism is supposed to allow humans in the animal’s environment with minimal impact, feeding these animals and domesticating them in the process has an impact on the whale sharks. They have very small teeth because they are not hunters like other types of sharks. Go Pro Hero 7, best waterproof action cam on the market, we love our new Go Pro, image quality and stabilization is amazin, Microfibre towel, quick dry, a must in your backpack. SWIMMING & DIVING WITH WHALE SHARKS IN THE PHILIPPINES. It is still possible to observe the sharks ethically. We heard that there were spur of the moment whale shark watching trips were being organized and made our way to Ligazpy by Jeepny. An archipelagic country of over 7,000 idyllic islands, the Philippines is an extremely biodiverse environment, with more than 52 thousand species living on its territory.. International tourists will be amazed by the unique flora and fauna of the Philippines and can take part in unforgettable activities involving animals, such as swimming with whale sharks. Even though we had a few interactions we did not feel our whale shark searching expedition was very successful; I was lucky to swim with a massive whale shark in Mozambique a couple of years ago, we were a couple of friends with our own boat on a dive trip and it was only us swimming when this amazing animal showed up! Whale sharks can be seen in a small barangay Tan-awan, which is 10 km away from the center town of Oslob. Before heading to the boats, you will be given a brief where the rules and regulations are explained. Learn how your comment data is processed. In contrast, Sogod Bay in Southern Leyte offered the most sustainable swimming with whale shark experience in the Philippines. Thin neoprene, perfect for keeping you warm when tropical diving. Although they are in the ocean, I didn’t feel like I was swimming with them in the wild. You have to weigh this up against the positive economic influence and the fact that they are not getting slaughtered because of their financial worth to the tourism industry. They should also report tour operators that act unethically, for example those who encourage tourists to hug the animals or grab their fins for pictures. Also, how do you go about transporting your dive gear from place to place? We’re hoping to go back to South Africa in October. The whale sharks are actually very close to shore. Soon, other tourists start swimming towards it so we began swimming towards another direction. He loves traveling, braai (BBQ in South Africa), red wine and spending the day in a wetsuit. If I may ask, I know you list your occupation as a scientist, but what exactly do you do while travelling around the world? It is important that tourists remember to keep a copy of their Philippine visa (if applicable) with them at all times during their holidays in the country. I am not sure how I feel about the feeding of the Whale Sharks, semi-domesticating these creatures seems wrong. Especially if it seems like they could have swallowed you! I knew that they were feeding the whale sharks over here and read some bad reviews, but the experience was worse than I expected. Tourism was brought to this little fisherman village by the discovery of whale shark swimming and today it is the location of the Whale Shark Interaction Eco-Tourism Project. It is easy for everything to go according to the rules if you are just driving around looking for sharks. This is what happened when I went swimming with whale sharks, the largest living fish in the ocean. The animals come relatively near the shore and often stay close to the surface for extended periods of time. Whale sharks used to be hunted for their meat and fins, leading to them becoming an endangered species with a single animal being worth thousands of dollars. The animals are being domesticated by being fed everyday. Maintaining a 3-4ft distance between the sharks and yourself is advisable. Every time I would see one, my heart was pounding as I swam next to these gentle giants. Hey there! This is so cool. Thank You! Whale sharks are filter eaters that feed on plankton and krill. We turned around and started swimming towards it. Many international marine conservation organizations have criticized the whale shark tours in Oslob describing it as a non-sustainable form of tourism. Donsol is a center of sustainable whale shark tourism with feeding of the Butanding (Whale shark in Tagalog) not allowed. We would prefer to swim with them in the wild though…but it was still an incredible experience. There were just too many tourists. Studies have been done to prove the influence of provisioning the whale sharks on their behaviour and migration patterns. After her year long stint traveling around the world, Anna found her love for exploring new places insatiable. In order to get to Donsol, holidaymakers can take a 50-minute flight from Manila to Legaspi or choose the longer bus journey (about 11 hours) from the capital.
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