Whale shark - Isla Mujeres question

[svs]

I am considering weekend trip to Isla Mujeres this summer to see whale shark, booking one or two day trips. I guess today’s weather in northeast made me to dream about something warm. I looked through old posts here and still have few questions.
1. It sounds like the best activity is during July/August peaking during full moon. This year full moon will happen mid July and mid August in mid week. If I go on weekend, which is the best before or after full moon? Or do I make too big a deal out of it and any weekend during July-August will be about the same?
2. Any recent experience with dive shops. Very few are mentioned here as good such as Mexico Divers or Enrique's Unique Dives, but I can’t find a way to look at booking directly. Anybody knows if they still in business or any other recommendations. Also some mention that some shops bring all clients to the beach on a day of the trip and then spread them between boats. Is it common practice? I would prefer shop I choose if possible. I found booking link to “On Isla Mujeres Tours”. Anybody had experience with them?
3. Most likely I will be going as single. My wife is not very enthusiastic about whale shark. Does this present extra complication? It sounds like most boats drop people in pairs.
4. I visited IM once, years ago. Could somebody remind me how long and how much is cab ride from airport to the IM ferry? Do drivers take dollars or do I need to get pesos at the airport.
Thanks

 

[togatown]

We went in mid-July three years ago, and it was hotter than a mofo. Edit: I'm losing my memory, as we stayed in Playa Del Carmen. Then took a cab to Cancun, and caught the ferry to Isla Mujeres out of Canvun, and snorkeled with the Whale Sharks. Both were great experiences.

Tip: Bring biodegradable sunscreen, and your own wetsuit if you can, if not they do rent them.

 

[seeker242]

Went a couple years ago or so July 4th weekend. Didn't pay any attention to moon cycles. Saw hundreds of them! Booked directly with Mexico Divers just by emailing them. It's just snorkeling so Buddy pairs are not important. Private cab was about 40 min to ferry. We got pesos because cab drivers will give you a really bad exchange rate.

 

[kelemvor]

I am considering weekend trip to Isla Mujeres this summer to see whale shark, booking one or two day trips. I guess today’s weather in northeast made me to dream about something warm. I looked through old posts here and still have few questions.
1. It sounds like the best activity is during July/August peaking during full moon. This year full moon will happen mid July and mid August in mid week. If I go on weekend, which is the best before or after full moon? Or do I make too big a deal out of it and any weekend during July-August will be about the same?
2. Any recent experience with dive shops. Very few are mentioned here as good such as Mexico Divers or Enrique's Unique Dives, but I can’t find a way to look at booking directly. Anybody knows if they still in business or any other recommendations. Also some mention that some shops bring all clients to the beach on a day of the trip and then spread them between boats. Is it common practice? I would prefer shop I choose if possible. I found booking link to “On Isla Mujeres Tours”. Anybody had experience with them?
3. Most likely I will be going as single. My wife is not very enthusiastic about whale shark. Does this present extra complication? It sounds like most boats drop people in pairs.
4. I visited IM once, years ago. Could somebody remind me how long and how much is cab ride from airport to the IM ferry? Do drivers take dollars or do I need to get pesos at the airport.
Thanks

1. I've done the whale shark snorkel once, and tried to do it twice. In 2015 I went to coz and despite being there during the last week of June the sharks did not show up that year. Operators will sometimes claim the sharks are guaranteed to be there, but that simply isn't true. When I went back last summer (2018) the same week, we had whale sharks! There were a lot of them. Despite the sharks being out in the gulf 2 hours from shore there was a huge floatilla around them. Maybe 50 boats. It was intense. I was amazed nobody got run over by a boat, but it seems most captains knew what they were doing.
2. My trip was "through" dive paradise (sort of). They arranged it with a third party operator. I can't seem to find the name of the operator we went with, but I'll check with others from our group. The operator was great, there was a clear briefing and light breakfast snacks. The DM prepared our lunch (some kind of ceviche I think) on the ride back, which was an amazing feat given our high speed and the huge waves. Then we hung out in the waist deep clear water for an hour or two after the shark snorkel while we ate. It was an amazing day.
3. Due to the high seas, several of us were seasick. I had forgotten to take meclizine before leaving the hotel that morning and we could not find any once we got to the operator's area. Don't make my mistake. Anyway, the reason I mention it is that several people went in with the sharks only once or twice. The operator let us all stay until we'd had our fill. They allowed 1 or 2 people in the water at a time, with a dm (except it was a snorkel rather than a dive). When it came time for the people whose buddy had ducked out, it was just the 1 person plus the DM. Those people had the best time because they got the most time with the shark. In short, you're probably better off going solo for this excursion.
4. We didn't take a regular cab, we took some kind of van that was arranged by the dive shop back on cozumel. I believe it was $20 each but I might be remembering incorrectly. It was quite a long ride so I thought it was a bargain. That was from the ferry area to isla mujeres and back, not $20 each way.
4b . Everyone I encountered in Coz and Cancun (experiences limited in Cancun) was happy to deal strictly in USD. Personally, I don't bother with pesos when I go to mexico. I've heard you can save money by dealing in pesos but it seems complicated and people report varying degrees of success/savings. There are plenty of ATMs but I always just bring sufficient cash with me when I go. The hotels generally take credit/debit cards, but small stores don't. We had to pay cash (USD) for the whale shark trip. I think it was $175 a head

The trip was arranged by Al from Bay adventures (travel agency). www.bayadventures.com. The prices they gave us were right at what I found when I priced things out directly. They must be getting some kind of discount in order to make money and still charge the "regular" price. Their number is 888-599-3483 and they're in Miami, FL.

 

[Sushi Boy]

I have a trip report from 2010 posted here. I went as a single, but found a dive shop from another state that was running a trip there for the dates that I needed and tagged on with them. IMO, you wouldn't have any problems doing the snorkel as a single. Most of the folks on the boat I was on spent 10-15 mins in the water with the whale sharks and then sat on the boat the rest of the time. I took as many turns as I could and they had to pull me out of the water when it was time to go.

 

[togatown]

We went with this guy that my wife found online, named Rodrigo, who called himself "the whale shark daddy", lol! IIRC, we went in two or four at a time, and had quite a few turns. We got lucky and saw a Giant Manta while in the water as well.

 

[svs]

Thank you everybody for very helpful comments

 

[Manuel Sam]

1. Based on my two trips there in late July 2010 and 2018, to me, the full moon does matter. The sharks are there because of the spawning of the bonitos. It is believed that the spawning activity peaks each month around full moon. My results before and after the full moon varied from one trip to the other. On both trips I straddled the full moon - two days before and two days after, for a total of 5 days in the water. In 2010, there were a lot more sharks - over 200 - everyday, before or after full moon. Mantas were a rare sight tho. In 2018 - by my estimates, no more than 100 - and the two days prior to full moon were the best. The action then dropped off with each successive day. Two days after full moon, the action was so slow that at times there were 3-4 boats trailing one shark. But I did see a lot more mantas this time - up to 5-6 at a time, mostly reef mantas. I don't have enough trips to tell you if this - more mantas but less sharks - is now the norm.
2. Coincidentally, given your question, I went with Enrique's in 2010 and with Mexico Divers in 2018. I think that both are good, but your experience will bein large part dictated by Mother Nature and by the crew that you go out with. We were fortunate that we got an amazing crew on this last trip with Mexico Divers: they were the owner's Father, Fernando, and the owner's brother Boris. They were extremely accommodating and flexible, catering to pretty much all our requests. I can't vouch for what the other crews are like. You should be able to Google Mexico Divers.
3. I can't help you here because in both cases, I chartered the whole boat with a few others. If you could find 4-5 other like-minded people, chartering is the way to go because you can then try to influence time of departure (so as to get there before the whole navy gets there), and how late you stay: most boats stay til around 11:00ish and then head back and have you spend time at Playa Norte. We did none of that. It is true that the action starts to slow a bit after 11:00, but there is still plenty of action. We were typically staying till 1:00-2:00PM.
4. I booked a ride with BestDay.com in advance that included the ferry ride across. They charged me $19.07 total, including tax, which I prepaid online at the time of booking. There are cheaper ways to do this but it involves taking multiple public buses. The ride took about 1/2 hr from the airport to Puerto Juarez. The only caveat is that it is a shared ride, so if you are the first one there, then you have to wait for other passengers heading in the same direction.

I might also add that the Hotel Rocamar was excellent and very conveniently located, if you are looking for a decent place to stay. Just be sure that you get a room that is not at the lowest level because the balconies on those open onto a public boardwalk. For reference, if you decide to stay here and get a room at the same level as the Front Desk or above, that is fine: the Front Desk is one floor above the lowest level.

If I can be of further help, email me at ceeehunt@gmail.com.

 

[Dan]

Here’s the link: http://www.mexicodivers.com/

I went with Mexico Diver during 4th of July 2017 & took this video:


But if you come during the snapper spawning, you might get lucky to see these:

 

[Rocketman3]

Last June I went to Cozumel with Scubaboard. My wife wanted to see the whale sharks, so we booked Our flights a day early, and booked a hotel on Isle Mujeree. We booked with www.islewhalesharks.com. Did PayPal for our deposit.
I wish I could tell you how great is was but... there was a big storm on the day we were scheduled so it was a no go.
They were great about the refund of the deposit. I got an email and the money was back before we got home.

My wife really wanted to see the whale sharks so she talked to dive paradise and they arraigned for her tour. The only bad thing was she was on Cozumel first ferry out at too early o’clock.

If you get sea sick use your meds. She said several people on her boat were sea sick. For that reason I had a better day diving on Cozumel.


Hope it all works out for you