In early April, 2010, I sailed on the Norwegian Star for 7 nights to the Mexican Riviera. I have done this itinerary many times and I always enjoy it because there is so much to do and see. My previous trips to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas have primarily focused on shopping, but this time I decided to do something different: I wanted to see dolphins.Most shore excursions that involve dolphins entail you standing in a large tank of water and having trained dolphins swim with you and maybe giving you a kiss. It's a fun experience because the dolphins are so cute and friendly, but is that really the best way to see dolphins? Wouldn't you prefer to see dolphins just being dolphins, instead of acting like trained seals? If that sounds like a good idea to you, then you should try taking a dolphins in the wild excursion: it's like whale-watching, but when you locate the dolphins in the water, you may get to jump in and swim with them!
I booked my excursion with ShoreTrips, entitled "Dolphins in the Wild with a Marine Biologist". The excursion is actually operated by a company called Wildlife Connection in Puerto Vallarta. You meet with the Wildlife Connection staff at Opequimar Pier in Puerto Vallarta, where they give you a brief introduction to the tour and information about dolphins, and then you head out on one of their boats to search for the dolphins. Each boat has a driver and a marine biologist with a camera. The marine biologist will take photos of the dolphins during the excursion and can email them to you if you wish. You have to keep in mind that since you're going to look for dolphins in the wild, you may not see any, but it also also possible that you may encounter dolphins that would like to play; and if you do, then you can get in the water and swim with them!
On our excursion, we set out looking for dolphins, and at first we didn't spot any, but we did see a manta ray and a whale! After a while, we spotted some dolphins but they didn't want to stay
up near the surface. We kept moving the boat around to different parts of the water to find dolphins a
nd we ended up seeing quite a few. Some even leaped and flipped in the water like the trained dolphins do in the tanks, but this was better because it was spontaneous and the dolphins were doing it because they wanted to, not because they were commanded to do so. At one point our marine biologist got in the water to play with the dolphins, but they wouldn't stay near her and play so there was no point in us getting in the water.
nd we ended up seeing quite a few. Some even leaped and flipped in the water like the trained dolphins do in the tanks, but this was better because it was spontaneous and the dolphins were doing it because they wanted to, not because they were commanded to do so. At one point our marine biologist got in the water to play with the dolphins, but they wouldn't stay near her and play so there was no point in us getting in the water. The whole tour lasted about 3 hours (I think) and it was really a lot of fun. It was so exciting seeing the dolphins in their natural habitat, seeing them leap, swim, and play as they wish. I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to swim with the dolphins, but the trip was very interesting and I will always remember it. The next time I'm in Puerto Vallarta I will do it again and maybe I'll get lucky and get to swim with the dolphins next time!
Here's a clip of some dolphins leaping:
If you would be interested in taking this excurion the next time you are in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, please contact me at (630) 868-6719 or ShoreTrips at http://www.shoretrips.com/ and we will be happy to book it for you. You can reach Wildlife Connection directly at http://www.wildlifeconnection.com/.
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