What I learned from swimming with whale sharks in Baja Mexico
Recently I went on a quick three-day weekend trip to Baja Mexico with the single aim of swimming with whale sharks. Whale sharks are the largest fish in the oceans, reaching lengths of up to 40 feet. In December the whale sharks like to feed in La Paz Bay, which is a federally-protected refuge for these endangered creatures, so it’s a great time of year to meet up with them.
There are numerous tour companies which offer opportunities for whale shark focused tours, but I would highly recommend using MeXplore. The advantages of using MeXplore were numerous, including that our tour was led by a biologist (Karen) who had conducted academic research on the whale sharks in the Bay. Karen knew each one by name and was able to answer every question we had about their feeding patterns and behavior. MeXplore also provided wetsuits and snorkel gear for all participants (though I brought my own full-face snorkel). We spent about two hours on a boat around the bay following the whale sharks and swimming alongside them. For me, I was only frightened for a moment, when one of them swam directly at me. I was worried it would run into me (and they are huge — these juvenile sharks were 17 to 20 feet long). However it veered to the side at the last minute and passed right by.
Our guide Karen was great at ensuring that each of us was very safe on every step of our adventure which included numerous whale shark swims, snorkeling in a sea lion colony and along a coral reef, and lunchtime at Balandra beach.
Balandra beach truly lived up to its reputation as the most beautiful beach in Mexico. It has pristine white sands and is shallow enough that you can easily wade, and sunbathe while enjoying the gorgeous views. Even more amazing was the fact that we had the beach all to ourselves for the afternoon. At the beach MeXplore provided us with a tasty lunch that included fresh ceviche, burritos, and a sampler of fresh fruit.
The snorkeling was amazing, colorful fish and vibrant sea life in every direction:
On our second day in La Paz we wanted to visit the nearby island, Espiritu Santo. This island is home to abundant wildlife and pristine beaches. We hoped for a tour similar to our adventure with MeXplore. However, we ended up on a much larger boat (the whale shark tour only had eight passengers) with about 75 tourists and it was much less of an interesting adventure. That tour was only a few dollars cheaper than MeXplore and I would say that it was not worth the savings, so when you book your trip I highly recommend that you ask about the size of the boat and number of passengers on the tour. But despite being a bit disappointed with the boat experience, the island was gorgeous and we also got in some good snorkeling with fish, turtles and more seal lions.
In addition to selecting a good tour company, you’ll also want to select good accommodations and restaurants for eating some fresh fish once you are back to shore. We stayed at the Hyatt Place and found that it was completely comfortable. The complimentary breakfast was tasty and healthy, too. I can highly recommend the banana smoothies, cinnamon oatmeal and breakfast vegetables.
For dinner we found three excellent restaurants, all of which had outdoor dining (which we wanted due to Covid, but also because we were enjoying the warm evenings in December in Mexico). The first is a “fast” and inexpensive option, which is a small chain in the area called Claro Fish, Jr. The ceviche was tasty though the guacamole was a bit bland. Our favorite dish was the coconut shrimp. You could easily get a full meal with a drink for less than $10. The next night we went to Las Tres Virgenes, which is a more upscale option. They cook much of the food there on an open fire and it was so tasty! I especially enjoyed the corn, the bone marrow, and a giant cadillac margarita. An excellent meal could be had there for $20-$25 apiece.
However the last night we had the best meal of all, at Tatanka, which was a bit hard to locate as the front door is down an alley and around a corner (note: there’s a sign on the wall of the alley, but it is quite hard to see in the dark)…but it was well worth the effort to locate the restaurant. Depending on whether you order drinks, an excellent dinner her would cost less than $30 apiece. Definitely order a wide variety of dishes so you can enjoy the great variety in this restaurant:
I hope these details help you plan your own trip to snorkel with whale sharks in La Paz, Mexico. If you go, please tell me how it goes in the comments!