Congrats, you just arrived to my top 1 bucket list thing! Yes, swim with my favorite animals, the motherhood creatures, the most magnificent living beings on the planet. Whales. Or... Humpback whales in this case. You can only "Officially" swim with them in a few places on earth - Queensland and western Australia, maybe French Polynesia and, of course, Tonga. Tonga is an underrated country in the pacific ocean that not many Europeans have heard of, but totally worth visiting for many things! I must say you can always swim with whales in Mozambique or other part less developed, but... I don't assure you'll be safe or the whales would be safe there.
So, Tonga, is the final escape for the humpback whales journey that came from Antarctica to breed, so, due to the big concentration of this animals, you can do whale watch and even swim with them! Whales are massive and in many cases, playful and can come very close during the swims. I think this is amazing, but I can appreciate that some would be scared in this situation. Ask yourself if this is something you would genuinely enjoy before going, because I already saw many good people that thought about some animal experiences and when they were there.. Well they couldn't do it. So, please be mentally prepared for this because otherwise you will just blow up your money.
How to visit:
There are many places in many Tonga islands that allow you to do this. The best months to do it are September - October, but the season is from July to November. Since this is not an exact science, I would book more that one day for you to have more chances to see them.
Spots are limited since only 3-4 tourists can be in the water at any
given time with the whales. Most boats take a max of 7 guests for this
reason. Permits are limited to only 21 boats per year, so it’s something
to book well ahead of time and plan your year around.
Most dive shops and whale tours will not provide personal equipment,
which means you’ll need to bring your own wetsuit, flippers, mask and
snorkel, and weight belt.
The water can be cold and at times it rains, so a wetsuit is essential and a rain jacket is a good idea, too.
Here are your links:
Happy journeys in Tonga!
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