Ningaloo - Coral Bay or Exmouth?

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BacardiSpice

BacardiSpice

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Looks like I'm finally heading over to the West Coast, after a lifetime of travelling everywhere in the world but WA! A mob of us are planning on heading over last week June/first week July - ages ranging from 18 months to 70. It's a motley crew, you could say...

There are three divers in the group, and virtually everyone old enough to put a face mask on is keen to see the whale sharks and mantas (and I'm sure that the 18 month old and 3 year old in the party will want to do so as well once they grasp what's going on).

What are the recs on accomodation? Is it best to base ourselves in Coral Bay or Exmouth, or a mix of both? There will be about eight of us, so we're looking at units or something along those lines. Access to the Reef and the mantas is a priority, but as half the group is in our 20s/30s, a nice pub or two wouldn't go astray...
 
Hi there...

I'm out that way in June too...

Seems to me a lot of the best dive sites are available in Exmouth. For example the Navy Pier is worth a visit and there is certainly a pub in Exmouth!

However Coral Bay is meant to have a laid back almost island feel to it.

I'm diving with Exmouth Dive Centre and they have said that they only run the whale shark expeditions in Exmouth at this time of year.

I suggest dropping them a mail. They are very helpful!
www.exmouthdive.com
www.ningalooreefdive.com

I decided on splitting my time between the two. So I've managed to arrange nearly a week in both places.

Hope this helps.
 
Cheers for the input, Mark! I'll get in touch with them. At the moment it looks like a split booking to spend time in both locations. We're keen to get it finalised as soon as possible.
 
Coral Bay is better for the snorkellers as great snorkelling is right from the beach and there is a lovely sandy bay area for the littlies. The diving is great and some boat trips are suitable for both divers and snorkellers.

You will need to head to Exmouth for the sharks at that time of year, but the mantas and humpbacks should be present in both areas.

The wee ones will need a babysitter for all but the glass bottom boats. There is a good daycare facility across the street from the Exmouth Diving Centre in Exmouth, but nothing similar in Coral Bay.

There are two pubs in Coral Bay - one is open to all and one is only for guests at Ningaloo Club, I believe. There is one pub and one tavern in Exmouth - both open to all. Each town has several restaurants and a bakery.

Accommodation - you are going to need to get this booked. The units book out in advance a lot of the time.

Let me know how I can help...I hope to hear from you via email soon!
 
Cheers Alcina! That was very helpful - I'll pass it on. My sister will be handling the bookings within the next couple of days, and I'll let her know she'll need to split the locations. We've decided to collectively manage the babysitting duties, as there are some members of the party that I suspect will *not* be getting wet! I think the older toddler would like the glass bottom boat idea (although the 18 month old loves a fishie as well - she's glued to my freshwater tropical tank whenever she's over).

Thanks for the help, and I'll probably be in contact soon!
 
Ooops...just realised I'm an idiot. I wrote 'June/July', but it's on the cusp of 'May/June' we're travelling.

Head goes donketta donketta as I bounce it off the desk...
 
I'd still do CB for everyting bar the sharks and do Exmouth for the sharks. Not sure how many days you will be in the area...if you plan two or three in Exmouth and all the rest in CB that will probably keep all happy as the land-lubbers can hit the Cape Range National Park out of Exmouth while the divers dive. Exmouth is NOT as good for boat tours for snorkellers (with the exception of the Glass Bottom Boats - there are two and both are worth doing as they visit very different areas of the reef system). The snorkelling in Exmouth tends to be more advanced (deeper etc) than that from the boats in Coral Bay.

HTH
 
Just phoned that info through, Alcina, and she's well chuffed with it - she's been talking to a World Wildlife Fund colleague in WA who is working with turtles, and apparently everything you've said tallies well with what she has been saying (with a few extra tips thrown in!). This friend also comes from a diving background and recommended Exmouth Diving Centre.

It's going to be about two weeks in total with perhaps a couple of days in Perth, so she's going to try and book four days in Coral Bay and the remainder (the bulk) in Exmouth. I'll let you know how that goes - she and her husband are tremendous 'critter' people, and looking forward to it even more than I am (although there's a chance I may have to pull out at the last minute...). She's never seen a manta, except for one leaping out of the water when they were in Mexico, so is almost as revved about them as she is about whale sharks!
 
That would be Alison...we trained her so she better have good (and accurate) things to say :wink: She doesn't have much dive experience in Coral Bay but has been in and out of Exmouth for the past several seasons.

At that time of year there will also be a manta/humpback tour from Exmouth...it's quite different to the one in Coral Bay. Not sure if I'd suggest both unless you are really keen on the mantas...then I would definitely do at least two manta tours. I love the mantas so for myself I'd do as many as I could!!

Critters we can do at all sites in both areas, no problem!
 
That's her! No worries - she's been doing the promotional work well :wink: Bec was well-fired up for the trip when she got off the phone.

I'm a manta fiend - once booked a trip to Yap to make sure I saw them, and have manta necklaces, sculptures...bit of a manta nutter. Between the 3 - 4 of us who will be in the water we'll have to work out who wants to do what...Bec was looking at even booking two days with the sharks as she's so fired up for it.
 
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