General Whale Shark Information
You do not scuba dive, but snorkel with the Whale Sharks in the Ningaloo Marine Park. This is not a disadvantage as whale sharks generally swim within the first one to three meters of water at a pace that most divers would be unable to sustain in Scuba equipment. There is a maximum of 20 passengers on board per tour and max 10 snorkellors with a Whale Shark at one time.
Although we HAVE offered early morning dives on Whale Shark tours in the past, our Whale Shark tours are now strictly snorkelling only. This decision was made due to an inability to combine both activities and be able to reach a whale shark as fast as possible when located by our spotter planes.
We generally have one hour on board the boat to prepare, prior to the spotter planes arriving overhead. This is the period in which th dives took place, but is most importantly an opportunity for people to get used to their equipment, and get comfortable with getting into the water and back onto the boat before heading out to the deeper water to swim with the whale sharks. We also sell tours as a full day Eco tour which includes beautiful snorkelling. In order to do this, we have to stay within a depth of around 5- 9 meters. This is not considered value for money for a scuba dive. Alternatively if we take the divers to deeper spots, the snorkellors are unable to see (the visibility is often low due to the plankton the whale sharks are here to feed on).
When the spotter planes go up at 10am, they may locate a whale shark immediately or we may wait until 2pm. We may see four individual sharks in a day and have hours swimming, or we may see one shark and get just a 10 minute encounter. Most of the operators share their plane fees and whale sharks so that we can maximise the chance of EVERY person on a whale shark tour that day having an encounter. If there is one shark on the entire reef between five boats with a chance it could disappear, we want to be right there swimming with it, NOT trying to recall divers from the water, stripping and storing scuba gear etc. It is not unusual for us to get three or four drops on a shark before the other boats arrive, because they have been trying to recall their Scuba divers. People snorkelling can just look up, hear the whistle an get on board so that we can race to the location of the whale shark. Not every day is that hectic, but we like to give our customers the best possible chance.
We offer some excellent Whale Shark snorkel and dive tour packages, if you are determined to get in some diving while at Ningaloo. For $595.00 we offer a Whale Shark tour, A Reef tour (2 x Dives) and an Islands tour (2 x Dives). Please visit our website www.villagedive.com.au and let us know what you are interested in and we can definitely tailor a package to suit you.
Once you have selected a date, in order for us to confirm your reservation, we require a $100AUD deposit. In order to do this, we will require your credit card number, expiry date and card holder's name. We will provide you with your receipt when you arrive in Exmouth and you can pay the remainder of your tour then.
Our cancellation policy states that if your tour is cancelled due to bad weather, boat problems etc, you are entitled to a full refund.
If no whale shark is sighted on your tour, we offer one free Whale Shark Snorkel per paying passenger, on the next tour which has places available. This is usually the next day, but if things are really busy, could be two or three days later. We place the customers onto their free tour in order of booking. If you book earlier you will be offered, one of the first available places. There are NO REFUNDS for no sightings.
Our Cougar Catamaran is generally a better option than single hulled boats if you get sea sick. However the best thing to do is get a perscription from you doctor for some really good sea sickness medication, as we are unable to provide this onboard to to legal reasons.
