Swim with dolphins- PV vs. Cabo?

I have read lots of various threads about the swim with dolphins excursions offered. Most if any that compare both are pretty old, and I haven't read anyone that has done both.

I'd love to hear feedback if anyone had experience with both excursions? We would be looking to do the signature swim experience, as it has the most time in the water. Our kids are 11 and 14, and we did a dolphin swim in Hawaii about 6 years ago that was wonderful! At this point we are leaning towards PV but are open to Cabo as well. We will be booking through the ship.

Thanks for any feedback!!

I would do it in Cabo as you can walk to the dolphins right from the ship. In PV you need to go to Nuevo Vallarta. I also think the dolphinarium in Cabo is pretty nice and there are tons of great tours to do in PV.

I would do it in Cabo as you can walk to the dolphins right from the ship. In PV you need to go to Nuevo Vallarta. I also think the dolphinarium in Cabo is pretty nice and there are tons of great tours to do in PV.

Thanks! I just kept having Free Willy in my mind... aquarium in Mexico and all. I don't want to contribute to some quasi-legit enterprise. Where we went in Hawaii was very humane and safe, captive bred dolphins who were free to choose to participate or not. I want to do the excursion (and the pictures in Cabo look amazing!) but I don't want to exploit wild dolphins in a tiny tank, either. It would be a great choice for our short Cabo day.

Thanks! I just kept having Free Willy in my mind... aquarium in Mexico and all. I don't want to contribute to some quasi-legit enterprise. Where we went in Hawaii was very humane and safe, captive bred dolphins who were free to choose to participate or not. I want to do the excursion (and the pictures in Cabo look amazing!) but I don't want to exploit wild dolphins in a tiny tank, either. It would be a great choice for our short Cabo day.

In my opinion, any wild animal held in captivity is being "exploited" to some extent.

Vallarta Adventures runs Cabo Dolphins, a very eco-friendly company. Rest assured these dolphins are respected & loved by the trainers.

We did Swim with Dolphins in Cabo 2 years ago and were quite impressed with the entire experience. The staff was wonderful, the trainers knowledgeable.

These animals are special and are treated that way. Trainers expect and insist visitors to respect the dolphins also.

You want to see "exploit"? Look for the guy at the Puerto Vallarta Marina with the little donkey all drugged up

so it can sit on a bench or on the lap of a tourist for pictures and a tip.

Best Dolphin Swim is in Cabo. The facility is nice and newer.

BUT to be honest...we feel bad for the Dolphins. It was a great experience, but I don't think I want to do it again.

Best Dolphin Swim is in Cabo. The facility is nice and newer.

 

BUT to be honest...we feel bad for the Dolphins. It was a great experience, but I don't think I want to do it again.

That's what I was wondering too.

Thanks for the feedback on Cabo. I think we'll do the swim there. It's $10 cheaper, but doesn't include lunch while the one in Nuevo Vallarta does. However, theres lots of great eating you can walk to in Cabo so honestly that's a plus!

Picture costs? I know they don't allow any of your own photos, but how much do I need to budget?

Picture costs? I know they don't allow any of your own photos, but how much do I need to budget?

They have a few different packages. We got them all for around $100.

Hope that helps. :)

You can get 4 pics in the CD for $ 100, or $ 25 individual printed.

We received about 20 pictures on a CD for $99 in Cabo.

The place is clean, well kept, and in my estimation, the folks love their dolphins.

It's an easy walk to the Dolphins, and if only part of your group is actually swimming, the remainder of the group will be given wrist bands so that they can go up on the observation deck to watch. The spectators will also be offered the oportunity to "pet" the dolphins. (Pictures will be taken, and you will be "offered" the ability to purchase them...either printed, or on the CD with those of the swimmers.

The Cabo dolphin center has a great Cantina. Clean, shaded, and the food is not only reasonable, but good. Our kids and grandkids loved it.

Thanks- great info!

You will really want the photos! They are expensive but so worth it! I also agree the Delphi lounge at Cabo was really cool- great drinks and the prices were reasonable. They do take excellent care of their dolphins as well. When we were there, they had a vet doing test and weights and such and it was very clear that they really care about the dolphins. The trainers were excellent also and ours had been working with the same dolphin for two years and they had a very special relationship.

My daughter and I are going in Oct. and she is 18 so she is going to do this alone to save on funds. Will she be okay doing this alone? She is smart and not shy and traveled alone before. Thanks

She'll be absolutely fine! No worries- save them for when she goes away to college :)

My daughter and I are going in Oct. and she is 18 so she is going to do this alone to save on funds. Will she be okay doing this alone? She is smart and not shy and traveled alone before. Thanks

She'll be fine! Be sure to check in with her, and they will give you a wrist band so that you can go up on the deck and watch everyone swim.

That alone is a lot of fun.

Thank you downsized that makes me feel better! :)

That's what I was wondering too.

 

Thanks for the feedback on Cabo. I think we'll do the swim there. It's $10 cheaper, but doesn't include lunch while the one in Nuevo Vallarta does. However, theres lots of great eating you can walk to in Cabo so honestly that's a plus!

 

Picture costs? I know they don't allow any of your own photos, but how much do I need to budget?

I did Cabo dolphins and I loved it. The dolphins are treated very well as far as I could tell. Of course they are not free to swim about in the ocean but they are treated well and conditions seemed fine in my opinion. I haven't done it in PV but it was a very quick walk in Cabo (5 minutes tops) and once done, you were free to do whatever. In PV, there is transportation to/from the center which takes time away from other fun. In my opinion, there are a lot of other things to do in PV than in Cabo so the dolphin swim in Cabo makes more sense to me. Of course my opinion only.

As for the pictures and cost; save up. YOU MUST BUY THEM! End of story. They are fantastic and you will fall in love with everyone of them. They take tons of pictures and its so hard to choose which one(s) you want. The first time I went with my DH, we bought 3 photo's. It cost us about $20/each or so. The next time I went, my kids swam with the dolphins and because I knew I wanted each of them to have their own pictures for memories, I opted to buy the cd for $99. It said you get 8 pictures but I got to pick out 10 of our photos plus they had a bunch of generic shots added to the disc. I did have a couple issues with the pictures on the disc. First, Walmart & Walgreens wouldn't print without the release from them. I emailed them & they sent me the release so no harm no foul. Second issue was the photo centers (Walmart & Walgreens) could not get the coloring anywhere near as good as the ones I bought from them directly. Their equipment prints the colors so vividly. The water looks amazing in my pictures I bought from them and not so great in the ones I had done, re-done back home. I would recommend buying the cd so you can at least have images for downloading to a computer etc, but if you see a photo that you just love and want to hang on a wall, buy it too.

Here is the cabo dolphin center aerial view. The tender drops you off on the right center of the image where the 3 white cone shapes are.

and here are a couple generic photo's from the disc:

Hi All,

I'm traveling on the carnival splendor in November. My friend and I really want to swim with dolphins but do not want to pay the high cruise ship prices. Does any one know if they ofter it for less when you get to the pier? Around how much does it cost? Any info. is appreciated :)

Thanks,

Dana

The cruise ships have the market locked up when ships are in port and its hard to do on your own and risky if they find out you are with a cruise ship. They ask what hotel you are staying at. Some have lied and said they are staying at a resort but you risk not being able to do it. If you really want to do it, I suggest paying the price. Some in PV book thru Vallarta Adventures I think its called but same scenario.

In fact, when I went to the website for Cabo (cabodolphins.com) and asked the question, they said I could not book on my own if I was on a cruise ship. But in Cabo, Carnival price was actually lower than their website showed. If the ship doesn't make it to port, you could lose your money too. I pay the ship excursion because it isn't worth the risk of not being able to do it IMO.

Thank you!:)

We did "Dolphin Trainer for a Day" in PV 2 yrs ago. It was quite expensive but I do not regret doing it at all. The facilities were incredibly nice and the staff was very friendly and genuinely "animal loving" people. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I even loved the ride back and forth because we got to see the "real" (not just tourist area) PV area scenery. Our guide was a very friendly and kind young German lady, and she loved working with those incredibly cute and smart animals. :) (who wouldn't?). They give you a floating vest and it doesn't matter if you are a good swimmer. It's safe in that sense. 19yr old is old enough to do the swim by herself and safely enjoy it.

Hello - I just returned from PV last week and did this tour:

www.wildlifeconnection.com/dolphins-tour/

It was awesome and just as pictured. Check out the reviews on TRIPADVISOR.

They even take professional pictures of you while you are in the water and e-mail them to you at no charge - mine were were e-mailed a day after the tour.

This is a small but safe excursion and getting to swim with these animals at their pleasure in the wild is an amazing thing. We swam and snorkeled with multiple groups of dolphins and even had a little baby swimming with it's mother with-in touching distance.

Note: I have done the captive dolphin swim in PV. I did enjoy it at the time with my children but told myself I would never do it again.

This was ever so much better. Highly recommended!

Hello - I just returned from PV last week and did this tour:

 

www.wildlifeconnection.com/dolphins-tour/

 

It was awesome and just as pictured. Check out the reviews on TRIPADVISOR.

 

They even take professional pictures of you while you are in the water and e-mail them to you at no charge - mine were were e-mailed a day after the tour.

 

This is a small but safe excursion and getting to swim with these animals at their pleasure in the wild is an amazing thing. We swam and snorkeled with multiple groups of dolphins and even had a little baby swimming with it's mother with-in touching distance.

 

Note: I have done the captive dolphin swim in PV. I did enjoy it at the time with my children but told myself I would never do it again.

 

This was ever so much better. Highly recommended!

Oh my gosh - this is PERFECT for us. Can you please give me more details how the day was? Where did you meet them, did you take a cab, how far was it, etc. My girls are dying to do a dolphin swim, but I really didn't want to do a captive one. I'll email them as well, and take a look at TripAdvisor, but appreciate the details from another cruise passenger who just did it.

Thank you!

Best,

Mia

(Kerry's girls) - Wildlife Connection - PV Wild Dolphin swim

I actually just spent 2 weeks in PV - not on cruise, but will be there in Dec on cruise.

I know they book with cruise passengers because it is on their website and I also talked to Eduardo (owner) about it. It sounded like for cruise passengers they may do a pick-up just outside terminal area. Needs to be first thing AM because that is the time when the dolphins are available and most receptive.

I am sure they will e-mail back and forth with you to set up how and where.

I had done some research before I left for PV. Have been there quite a few times so have done most of the "best" tours, and was looking for something a little different. I printed off a copy of their webpage with contact numbers and called and talked to them directly when I got to PV. They honored the advance internet booking rate for me and I set it up to meet them directly at the marina. Our marina time was 9:15 @ Obermar (sp) across from Westin in marina area. Any taxi driver can find it - should be no more than $40 - $60 MP (about $5.00 US) per cab from just outside terminal area if you do it yourself. 10 minutes or less to get there depending on traffic.

If I was going to book this for a cruise excursion I would allow Wildlife Connection to tell me the best way - timing to do it. The nice thing is it is an AM tour so no worries about getting back to the ship in time. They may even have others on your ship booked.

Also, I would put your mind at ease about dealing with them, payment, etc. In fact Eduardo didn't even take our money until after tour was over - I had to remind him we hadn't paid in advance. Very nice man and when I called the number listed on webpage I'm pretty sure it was his wife I talked to. Both of them speak excellent English and I would not hesitate to book with a CC if that was easiest. Got the totally trustworthy vibe - just so you know.

I've attached a couple of pics of us in the water with the dolphins to give you an idea of how close (but safe) and thrilling it is. Your girls will love it!

Sorry - attached pics didn't go with last post???

Hi, I have "talked with you on a different post and you gave me such good info, thanks. I do have another question for you. If hubby comes along for the dolphin swim but sits in the "stands", can HE have a camera? Also, do you make reservations EARLY? Thanks again! Marian