best place to dive with whale sharks?

[Tippytoes12]

We dived on two occasions in Oslob in the Philippines with up to ten whale sharks. It was a wonderful.experience and we hope to go again. Many people disagree with the fact that the fishermen feed them finely chopped crill, but life is not perfect....and we loved it. They are wild , but they show up every morning. The only exception was the day after a recent typhoon.

 

[luk]

I'm in the US west coast. If I dont see whale sharks, seeing other big fish is good, or even if a typical stuff is ok with me too.

---------- Post added March 29th, 2015 at 02:57 PM ----------

We dived on two occasions in Oslob in the Philippines with up to ten whale sharks. It was a wonderful.experience and we hope to go again. Many people disagree with the fact that the fishermen feed them finely chopped crill, but life is not perfect....and we loved it. They are wild , but they show up every morning. The only exception was the day after a recent typhoon.

Thank you! Is this year round?

---------- Post added March 29th, 2015 at 02:59 PM ----------

What part of the world are you coming from and what else would you like to see?

As much as you want to see them, if somehow they didn't show on your trip, what else would you want to see?

Richard.

Thank you! I'm in the US west coast. If I dont see whale sharks, other big fish would be fun too - sharks, manta rays, dolphins. Or even the typical stuff is fine too (corals, turtles, small fish)

---------- Post added March 29th, 2015 at 03:05 PM ----------

Cenderawasih Bay in West Papua.......HANDS DOWN. No comparison.


To be surrounded by 8 whale sharks that circle you for hours as you hang motionless in the water column on scuba is beyond anywhere else in the world, IMO.

No, the diver was not touching the shark










I was in the water for five hours for three days and never had fewer than four swimming around me. Of course, the downside is getting there. Not easy....but so worth it!!

Thank you! that looks awesome! What month/time would you recommend diving there? is it better around full moon? how difficult was the dive? Is there a liveaboard you would recommend?

 

[UserNameBella]

They showed up all of once in the month I was in Utila, and not on a day I was out. I wish you good luck in finding them!

 

[Doc]

per post #5...

 

[diversteve]

I am not going there expecting whale sharks but if I do see any, it will be a bonus. But what are my chances of seeing any in the Socorros in the second week of May? Too early?

Historically it looks possible - I search Solmar V trip reports to find when they're likely to see stuff - Solmar V Socorro Dive Reports - some excerpts:

Monday, May 12, 2014
Dolphins, mantas, a whale shark, and more at San Benedicto!
...In the afternoon we moved to El Canon, where for our surprise a male whale shark were there for more than 25 minutes with the divers!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012
After a nice break we all started the second dive on the east side but one group at the time, so funny to say that while one group was watching white tips at 40 ft of water the other group just behind the first one was watching a 20ft in Lent MALE WHALE SHARK!! The water was still so blue and whale shark so close to us that we could see every single white spot on it!! So the 50 minutes dive ended up with a friendly whale shark swimming among the 3 groups!!

Published on May 14, 2012
Roca Partida was excellent. One dive was entirely dedicated to dolphins in the blue while another one was all about admiring a juvenile whale shark. Check it out!

 

[Allison Finch]

Thank you! that looks awesome! What month/time would you recommend diving there? is it better around full moon? how difficult was the dive? Is there a liveaboard you would recommend?

NO!!

Avoid the full moon at ALL costs. These whale sharks are attracted to the floating fishing platforms that fish for bait at night with bright lights. During the full moon, the bait fish are less atrracted to the fishing lights and the catches are much poorer. The whale sharks are less numerous then. Try to time it for the new moon, if you can. Other than that, they seem to be pretty year round.

The diving was effortless. We never even had current. We could just hang there and let the sharks swim around us endlessly. If you were in their way, they would gently nudge you aside, no harm done.

We were aboard the SY Seahorse. Fabulous boat with a better crew. Other boats may be in the area seasonally.

SY Sea Horse Liveaboard Boat Pictures, Schedules & Prices

Sadly, the port harbormaster in Manokwari held us in port for three days until the boat paid an appropriate bribe. That's the way things are done in W. Papua. We found great local diving, but the boat captain swore he would not go out of that port again. Looks like their 2015 itenerary is mostly Raja Ampat. You might have to search another boat out....and a boat is a MUST!!

 

[SirRat]

Can you recommend a dive shop there in Oslob? I'll be there next month.

 

[Tippytoes12]

We stayed and dived with Turtle Bay in Maolboal.

 

[ocdiver1]

I am not going there expecting whale sharks but if I do see any, it will be a bonus. But what are my chances of seeing any in the Socorros in the second week of May? Too early?

Actually too late, best chance at whale sharks is early in the season so Nov-Dec. I saw one at Roca Partida once in January

 

[Hintermann]

Actually too late, best chance at whale sharks is early in the season so Nov-Dec. I saw one at Roca Partida once in January

No, I meant too early for the calendar year. I understood that the best time to see whale sharks in the Socorros is June and November as there is no diving there in between those months. But I have heard that occasionally they might be spotted from mid-April onwards and so I'll keep my fins crossed.