Dolphin Swim in Cabo or Puerto Vallarta?

[SandS204ever]

My wife and I will be taking our honeymoon cruise in Early December on the Splendor, I see both Cabo and Puerto Vallarta offer Dolphin Swimming, which would you recomend? We did a tour in Hawaii that got us out in the ocean to observe (very close in the water) and now we would like to get close and touch/swim with them.

[Kerry's Girls]

We did a swim with wild dolphins tour in Puerto Vallarta that was absolutely amazing. The company has a couple pods of dolphins they know and when we found them, some of the dolphins swam to us. I loved being with dolphins that weren't captive. I found them from recommendations on the ports of call board here - it's Wildlife Adventures and they have great reviews.

Best,
Mia

[SandS204ever]

Originally Posted by Kerry's Girls

We did a swim with wild dolphins tour in Puerto Vallarta that was absolutely amazing. The company has a couple pods of dolphins they know and when we found them, some of the dolphins swam to us. I loved being with dolphins that weren't captive. I found them from recommendations on the ports of call board here - it's Wildlife Adventures and they have great reviews.

Best,
Mia

Great thank you, we did the same thing in Hawaii however the group we found (close to 60 dolphins) were booking it, we were able to get close but not actualy interact with them, looking for more that style this time.

[Tannison]

We were on the Splendor last August. We booked the dolphin swim with Vallarta Adventures and we loved it!!! We had about 45 mins in the water with two dolphins and the groups are capped at 5-7 people per 2 dolphins. You do two rides with them, lots of playing, kissing, etc. My whole family still talks about it!

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[twindaddy]

Originally Posted by SandS204ever

My wife and I will be taking our honeymoon cruise in Early December on the Splendor, I see both Cabo and Puerto Vallarta offer Dolphin Swimming, which would you recomend? We did a tour in Hawaii that got us out in the ocean to observe (very close in the water) and now we would like to get close and touch/swim with them.

I have done both with Disney, so I can help here. It depends on what you want to do. In Puerto, you ride a bus to the dolphin center, and it includes a lunch and admission to the water park next door, so it costs more, and even people who just want to watch have to pay. And it takes up more of the day.

In Cabo, the dolphin center is right on the pier, and observers are free. You can be in and out in an hour and a half, which worked great for us. No bus ride, and we ate on the ship, and it costs a lot less....money to use to buy the horribly priced (but worth it) photos of the dolphin encounter!

[SandS204ever]

Originally Posted by twindaddy

I have done both with Disney, so I can help here. It depends on what you want to do. In Puerto, you ride a bus to the dolphin center, and it includes a lunch and admission to the water park next door, so it costs more, and even people who just want to watch have to pay. And it takes up more of the day.

In Cabo, the dolphin center is right on the pier, and observers are free. You can be in and out in an hour and a half, which worked great for us. No bus ride, and we ate on the ship, and it costs a lot less....money to use to buy the horribly priced (but worth it) photos of the dolphin encounter!

This is great info, was the experiance you had at both (in the water with the dolphins) about the same? I prefer to do the one in Cabo just for how close it is and would rather not tie up the better part of a day.

[sassyredhat]

We did the Cabo one too. The photo prices are high, but they are soooo good. When we were there, they only accepted cash, so DH had to go back to the ship.

Also, they have a nice outdoor waiting area that you can wait in before they call your group. The locker room is nice, with locking lockers.

Pat

[SandS204ever]

Originally Posted by sassyredhat

We did the Cabo one too. The photo prices are high, but they are soooo good. When we were there, they only accepted cash, so DH had to go back to the ship.

Also, they have a nice outdoor waiting area that you can wait in before they call your group. The locker room is nice, with locking lockers.

Pat

Thank you I will remember to bring cash, told the wife to be that I would even buy one of the pictures. Being an avid hobbiest photographer I cant stand paying the prices at the attractions. Told her a formal night picture is ok too spend more on two pictures then drinks lol.

[twindaddy]

Originally Posted by SandS204ever

This is great info, was the experiance you had at both (in the water with the dolphins) about the same? I prefer to do the one in Cabo just for how close it is and would rather not tie up the better part of a day.

Pretty much the same, Cabo just seemed easier because you were not stuck at the location, we could browse the photos and the little shopping area and then just stroll back to the ship. We paid with a credit card in April of this year, so they take more than cash now.

I would choose Cabo...

[SandS204ever]

Originally Posted by twindaddy

Pretty much the same, Cabo just seemed easier because you were not stuck at the location, we could browse the photos and the little shopping area and then just stroll back to the ship. We paid with a credit card in April of this year, so they take more than cash now.

I would choose Cabo...

If you don't mind posting, how much were the picture packages running? Would like to drop that into my spreadsheet budget, since I know there is no way of getting away without pictures

[misguidedangel]

I too did the Vallarta Adventures dolphin swim in PV. I loved it.....We had 10 people and two dolphins. They were short staffed that day, so they grouped us together with one trainer. One family of five was pissed about not having a trainer/dolphin to themselves that the mom/dad bitched about it..no wonder the two dolphins NEVER went to them, they were angry and complaining...needless to say, I was loving it and I, and two others, always had a dolphin right beside us *BG*.....the couples three kids didn't care once they got in the water and the dolphins showed up, they were happy campers and the dolphins loved em to.....One poor lady had a problem with her life jacket--it kept rising up and wanting to fall off....she was pear shaped and that could have been the problem....

It was around $175 at the time (2009) and well worth it *BG*....but be warned leave your bling bling on the ship and just have your watch on. You can't go in the water with anything on--no earrings, no watch, no necklaces...no nothing...They do not even allow you to have your underwater camera......it is a scam, but they make the rules.....I could have gotten some great dolphin pictures if they allowed me to bring my camera in the water....but I ended up forking over the bucks for the photo package and it wasn't cheap....

[twindaddy]

Originally Posted by SandS204ever

If you don't mind posting, how much were the picture packages running? Would like to drop that into my spreadsheet budget, since I know there is no way of getting away without pictures

I think it was right in the $150 range, and that include a video DVD and photo DVD. yeah, sucky prices, but they get great photos, and how many times in your life are you going to swim with dolpins?

[SandS204ever]

Originally Posted by twindaddy

I think it was right in the $150 range, and that include a video DVD and photo DVD. yeah, sucky prices, but they get great photos, and how many times in your life are you going to swim with dolpins?

Yup thats a lot of money for some pictures o well guess I better add that to the budget. Thanks for the info