Don’t Swim With Whale Sharks in the Phillipines & What To Do Instead
As the Philippines is quickly becoming a popular destination for backpackers and honeymooners alike, more and more people are learning about the hidden spoils of this island chain. From white sand beaches to limestone caves and plenty of aqua blue waterfalls, there’s so much to do on these 7,100+ islands.
Many people flock to Cebu in particular, as its located pretty centrally for most island activities and is also home to a major airport. (Flying is pretty much your only way to get from island to island save for a few long and infrequent ferries).
On the southern side of Cebu is a sleepy seaside town called Oslob which is most well known for the infamous whale shark experience. Whale sharks are the largest sharks of all, and since they only eat plankton, some of the friendliest, so many people choose to snorkel or scuba dive with them to get up close and personal with these gentle giants.
Below is my honest review of the experience and some suggestions for alternative, ethical animal encounters (and other fun activities) to consider instead.
What To Expect
You can show up at any point between sunrise and noon. Some people wake up bright and early in an effort to be the first to feed them. Some people just show up at any point throughout the morning. No matter when you choose to visit, there’s guaranteed to be a ton of people waiting ahead of you. There are so many boats on the shore and in the water that you will almost always be surrounded by other tourists, boats load of them.
Your experience will feel rushed and unethical. We left feeling uneasy about the whole thing. It seemed like a giant commercial enterprise so tourists could get that infamous selfie with a shark and then move on with their day.
Imagine being one of those sharks, getting fed every day for 6 hours straight just so you could circle around a few meters and never follow your normal migration pattern? They’re not supposed to be in Cebu year ‘round but they’ve stayed because they’re constantly being fed.
The Positives
- The locals are trying to keep things organised and have a system in place with a mandatory briefing.
- The briefing runs over the rules: no touching the sharks, don’t swim too close, wear Reef safe sunscreen
- They give the briefing in Mandarin, too, since there are quite a lot of Chinese tourists visiting, which is great so everybody can understand the rules.
- They don’t allow tourists to feed the sharks, just the fishermen.
- There are police men on patrol who look ready to arrest or punish those who don’t abide by the rules of the briefing.
- They say theres a minimum 6 months in jail and a hefty fine for those who try touching the sharks or breaking the other rules.
The Negatives
- The sharks we saw had gaping cuts in their fins and open wounds. Apparently they’ve gotten so used to boats like ours feeding them 24–7 that they’ve sometimes gotten too close to other boats’ propellers and harmed their fins from the motors. It was incredibly sad to see.
- You only get 30 minutes from the second your boat leaves the shore. You pay P1,000 for the experience (which is a lot of money in the Philippines. But it translates to $20 USD). That’s a pretty quick way to blow 20 bucks.
- It wreaked of dead fish the whole time.
- At least when we were there, it was extremely wavy and chopy..really hard to swim. Since we couldn’t (and shouldn’t) get too close to the sharks, we basically went into the water to take a picture, held onto the boat the whole time, and couldn’t move. It really wasn’t pleasant.
Alternative Activities in Cebu
While the Philippines is absolutely massive with so many islands to choose from, right on Cebu there is so much more you can get up to instead.
If you still want to go to Oslob, there are several waterfalls in the area that you can check out like Tumalog or you can do a day trip to Sumilon Island to wade in the crystal clear waters and lay in the crisp white sands. There’s also a local hair salon and a small massage parlor that are both extremely affordable. We got 1 hour full body massages for P500 ($10 USD).
For history lovers, there are old ruins right in the heart of downtown which have been around since the 1500’s during the era of Spanish colonisation.
You can also go up to Moalboal instead and do an Island Hopping day trip that enables you to swim with a wall of Sardines (literally, over 1 million of them!) and snorkel with sea Turtles.
For adventure seekers, you have to try out canyoneering at Kawasan Falls (also in Moalboal). It’s 3+ hours of walking through waterfalls, jumping off cliffs and trekking through the jungle. While it can be scary to do the cliff jumps, it’s a safe activity and an absolutely incredible one at that! I have never seen such incredibly clear blue water before. My friends and I were joking that it smelled like a candle the whole time.
Part of the charm of the Philippines is just how much unspoiled nature there is, so you could also rent a motorbike for P500 a day (that’s $10 USD) and drive around exploring on your own time. Be careful, of course, but this is a great way to get to untouched beaches and find hidden alcoves or waterfalls — much better than the tourist trap of the whale shark excursion if you ask me.
BTW if you love animals and nature, maybe you’ll love these other posts:
So You Want To Ride an Elephant?
10 Beautiful Parts of our Planet
Off The Beaten Path in New Zealand: Milford Sounds
As always, feel free to comment below if any questions/comments/contributions!
❤ Liv
