Everything you need to know about swimming with whale sharks
in Oslob, Cebu, Philippines
You may have heard of Oslob as being one of the places to go
if you want the experience of swimming with whale sharks.
Yes, you read correctly, you can go here and swim with these
amazing animals.
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| Not my picture but this is what these beautiful creatures look like |
How we got here: We woke up early and took the bus from
Moalboal to Oslob which took about 3 hours. Make sure you get there early
because if you actually want to swim with whale sharks, you cannot do it past
1200. The earlier you get there, the better
When we arrived, we were overwhelmed by the number of people
trying to sell us a tour. The tours are expensive and I honestly had no idea
what to expect. Don’t forget to BARGAIN!
Most packages included standard snorkeling or scuba diving.
I don’t really recommend scuba diving because when we were there, we could see
all the way down at the bottom, and the marine life was not as impressive to
me. I would recommend snorkeling and save scuba diving for a more impressive
site.
We ended up going with one of the vendors and after getting
ready, we were off to see these enormous but harmless creatures. We were
waiting for a long time to go out on a boat that will give us access to swim in
the water with them.
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| Accurate representation of what to expect. (I did not take the picture) |
I was honestly really disappointed by the experience as a
whole. I knew there would be some people there but I was definitely not
expecting the HUNDREDS of people that were in the water right next to each
other. All the boats were in a circle around ONE whale shark. I think I saw the
whale shark a total of 3-4 times.
One thing you should know before you go is that these
animals are actually not supposed to be there. They are fed in order to stay
and provide a source of income for the locals. These animals are actually meant
to migrate.
The whole experience lasted for not even 30 minutes and we couldn’t
really leave the boat or else we would get yelled at. I have seen so many
videos and pictures of people actually swimming next to the whale sharks and I
was so excited to do so, but that was definitely not my experience. There were
about 20+ people on just the boat we were on and we were all right next to each
other, packed extremely close to the point where one girl hit my phone out of
my hand. Thank god I caught it and nothing happened. Someone else elbowed me in
the head and I also kicked someone in the head. I am assuming that everything
was an accident, but who knows… :)
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| Team no sleep and it shows! Post whale shark adventure |
Pro Tip: We met this woman on our way to Bohol, who was
traveling solo and she said that she made friends with some locals that brought
her to an island and let her swim with a couple of whale sharks and gave her no
time limit. If you can find someone that can help you do that, I would
absolutely do it.
Don’t get me wrong, although the experience itself was
pretty disappointing, due to the fact that I felt rushed and did not really see
as many whale sharks as I thought I would, but I can at least say that I went
swimming with whale sharks!
Also, you might get a little scared when you first see them,
because they are HUGE, but it goes away very quickly and you will appreciate these
beautiful creatures.
Don’t forget to leave the beach better than you found it!
