Chile

I am planning a family trip to Punta Cana in the summer of 2012. We are bringing our daugthers, who will be 21 and 15. The younger one shares my love for dolphins.
In comparing parks for swimming with dolphins, I am looking at Dolphin Island and Manati Park. Leaning toward Manati. Has anyone personally experienced either, and/or have feedback for me?
Much appreciated!

Chile

qwovadis

Dolphins are free-roaming wild mammals sonsider swimming with them there on the many FREE DOLPHIN tours that are available. The captive dolphin capatalistic ventures are for money-making enterprises only. They capture wild dolphins as more and more people pay money to see these wild creatures do things only to obtain food. Everything you see dolphins do for "entertainment" while under captivity, they do in the wild. That's right: leaping high into the air, doing several flips, then entering the water without a splash; walking backwards on their tails; hitting the water with their flippers; etc. The wild dolphin pod is a very complex social system, where baby dolphins must be with their mothers for at least 3 years before they totally understand the cooperative efforts to find food and to avoid shark attacks. Captive dolphins do not perform "tricks" for tourists to make them laugh; they perform only for food. Being higher-level cognitive processing mammals, like apes and dogs, they suffer from depression and live less longer than those living in the wild. By paying money to see captive dolphins, you are promoting the continued indiscriminate capture of adult dolphins, including mothers, leaving the babies and juveniles to somehow fend for themselves in the complex social pod structure and increasing their chances of becoming prey to sharks.

virginia

agree with qwovadis 100%. please don't pay to swim with captive dolphins.

ejcrowe

If you really love dolphins, please don't pay to swim with them in captivity. It's a sad, sad thing for those creatures.

However, if your heart is truly set on swimming with them, do so in the wild. There is an outfit out of Bimini Island in the Bahamas that has a great track record for dolphin sightings and swims. The name is possibly O'Keeffe, but I'm not positive any longer.

I researched them a number of years ago when our granddaughter had her heart set on swimming with dolphins. After I explained to her the ethics of swimming with them in captivity, she was horrified and didn't want to do it any longer. We never ended up doing the Bimini thing, but it's been there in the back of my mind ever since. I'd love to swim & snorkel with dolphins or whales one day.

virginia

ej, isla holbox & isla mujeras are supposed to have good trips to see whale sharks - there is a season for it, but i'm not sure when.

suze

Another vote for planning an activity to see dolphins in their wild natural habitat, not to swim with them in captivity. You can do more research about why it is a bad practice, there's lots of information online about it.

atravelynn

Summer 2012--perfect timing for swimming with whale sharks (big vegetarians) in Holbox. Check out Captain Willy's operation. You can rent the boat just for your family. They provide an excellent and safe experience.

If the dolphins are a must, how about swimming with WILD dolphins in the Bahamas? I'd choose an option that allows for several days of swims to increase your odds of a good outing. Summer is also peak time for dolphins.

Interactions with wild animals at their choosing is far more rewarding and less cruel.

Have a fantastic family trip!

DickieG

I swam with wild dolphins twice in The Bahamas. The peak of my life to date. The Abacos are certainly difficult to get but the water is far clearer than the Southern States where you will see dolphins and maybe swim with them but not see them underwater due to the lack of water clarity. In most of The Abacos we had 60ft plus of very clear visibility. Just be careful of anything larger than dolphins with stripes down their side, they are not dolphins!

Here's an example

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYPb86iB_v8

...and please to back up the above, don't let's have anyone paying to see captive dolphins. They haven't committed any crimes and so shouldn't be locked up. If you swim with them in the wild you will understand what a "cheap" experience a captive situation is.