Swimming with whales in Dominica

What an incredible experience this was! We did this trip with our friends Shane and Tanya on SV Seascape. Four other people joined us on the boat just for whale watching (not swimming with the whales).

Our whale guide (Andrew) was recommended by our scuba guide (see this blog post for more info about scuba with Fabian...).

Swimming with whales is illegal unless you have a guide and a permit. A reputable guide will include the permit as part of the experience.

A reputable guide will also do the tour in a way that is sensitive to the whales, making sure not to harm them or even make them uncomfortable. It should be approached in a way that encourages the whales to be curious and to want to investigate us. And the number of people in the water should be limited so as to avoid putting stress on them.

That's precisely what Andrew does.

Of course, there's no guarantee that you will find whales - this isn't a zoo or an aquarium. These intelligent creatures go where they want to, and there is a lot of water out there. Andrew has the equipment and experience to stack the odds in your favor, but there are times where he takes people out and doesn't find whales.

Because of the aquatic geography, Dominica is the only country where sperm whales reside all year. Sightings seem to be most common between November and March, but as our experience shows, they can even be found in May.

This trip isn't cheap. Prices change a bit depending on high season vs low season, etc. We paid $2300 for the 4 of us. And we got lucky in finding whales. But it was very much worth it for this once in a lifetime experience.

First, we started off south west from Portsmouth, following some early whale sounds detected on the hydrophone. These disappeared, but we started to hear more farther north, so we changed directions. Along the way we came across a solitary beaked whale swimming south. It was too far away for us to get any pictures or video of it, but even so it was a neat encounter!

After several stops to deploy the hydrophone and listen for whales, we finally came across one! Later, Andrew identified her as a female named "Soursop" (they can be identified by the shape and markings on their tails). This is one from a group that is less commonly found around Dominica, so she was quite special. Below is video of our encounters with her:

Our friends from SV Seascape also had a chance to swim with her:

If you want to schedule a trip with Andrew, he can be reached via WhatsApp at +1 767-315-0980. As previously noted, prices can vary, partly based on how many people are in your group, so you'll have to talk to him to get a quote.

It's a full day trip (8am to 4pm). He provides food and drinks, but I recommend bringing snacks and water to supplement.

You will want to have personal sun protection (hat, long sleeve shirt, sunglasses, sun block, etc). There is some shade on the boat, but you'll get exposed quite a bit due to reflections from the water. And, honestly, once you see whales, you'll forget about being in the shade...

And you will also want snorkel gear (mask, snorkel, fins, swim suit). And, of course, an underwater camera (GoPro, etc) is highly recommended!

We brought towels and a change of clothes but ended up not using them.

The sea state may be rough on the day of your trip, so if you are prone to seasickness, be prepared with whatever medication you find to be most effective to combat it.