プライベートツアーでジンベイザメと泳ぐ

I booked the private trip to be able to use the time with whalesharks as much as possible. This was really worth on the day of the trip. I enjoyed one of my best days at the see - after we arrived to the spot, whalesharks were just everywhere, coming from all directions. All boats and their guests got the chance to see these wonderfull creatures. My captain and guide worked perfectly, we started to be the team after a few minutes of the first jump. I managed to be with whalesharks for two 30 minutes long jumps (the advantage of the solo traveler). Thanks also to Willi for all his help!

I decided for the private trip. Not cheap, but makes sence if you want to be independent from others. I really enjoyed the approach of the company - compared to many others, there was not try to promise too much, opposite, limitations were mentioned. The trip to the main whaleshark spot is long - 2-3 hours in the speadboat. Demanding, but the reward was more than excellent. There were dozens of whalesharks in the area, so everybody was able to stay with "own one", no fights, not queues. I was with whalesharks for several times (Maldives, Australia) but this case was unbelieveable.

Captain Jaen and Guide Gustavo fulfilled for us a long sought, seemingly mythical swim with the elusive Whale Sharks of Quintana Roo, MX. VIP Holbox Experience is a first class operation. We reserved a private tour and they picked us up from our hotel in the morning. After about a 3-hour boat ride they put us right on the whale sharks and for the next hour we snorkeled and swam with at least eight of them, and a giant manta! On the way back we stopped at a random beach where they made us fresh ceviche and guacamole…SO good. When the trip was complete Captain Jaen delivered us right back to the beach next to the hotel….no taxi required. First class! We will do this again!

We had a fantastic time! We got to swim with a beautiful female whale shark in a calm, yet exciting environment ! On the way we also saw flying fish, dolphins, pelicans, turtles and even a small shark! The food was also delicious and Edier was a very helpful and friendly guide! Thank you!

We had an unforgettable trip with a fantastic crew and captain on a whale shark diving experience in Holbox. From the very start, we were welcomed warmly and made to feel right at home. A delicious breakfast awaited us on board — fresh rolls from the local bakery, yogurt, and even seasickness tablets thoughtfully provided for anyone who needed them. After a clear and informative briefing, we set off by boat to the dive location. The experience itself was nothing short of magical. We were incredibly well taken care of by Captain Jorgen and Eddy, who both made sure we felt safe, supported, and excited throughout the trip. We swam with whale sharks, saw flamingos, and even caught a glimpse of a majestic manta ray. The atmosphere on the boat was cheerful and relaxed, and the freshly made ceviche for lunch was absolutely delicious. It was a day to remember — truly special from start to finish. Keep up the good work, Greets Esthet

I can’t speak highly enough about VIP Holbox as your guide for this incredible adventure. Their guides are bilingual, their staff is competent and knowledgeable, and they do their absolute best to ensure a successful trip. I had promised my daughter a graduation trip. She said she wanted to swim with whalesharks. Knowing that we are going to see wild animals in unpredictable conditions I decided to book a private tour. This means you pay for the boat, the guide and the captain regardless of how many passengers you have (up to 8 I believe). It was only the two of us, my daughter and I. Our guide was Willi and our captain was Ali. It’s important to understand how swimming with whalesharks is conducted when you decide to choose what company will charter you. The first challenge to overcome is to find a whaleshark. Once a shark has been found, it is common for boats to signal each other and that boats converge on that location. Since only two people and a guide are swimming with the shark at any given time, boats line up and take turns to drop people in the water to start their swim. So to understand the math, if there are four boats, each with 8 passenger, that is 32 people taking turns, two at a time, to swim with the shark. You will get an opportunity every 16th turn. Eventually the shark will start to get stressed and attempt to avoid the swimmers. We were out during a rougher sea making it harder to find the shark as the waves obstruct signs like fins. So naturally, like many other boats do, we went to a location that had found a shark and boats were already taking turns. Not ideal, but we did one swim. Then our guide and captain made a bold move. They decided to leave the shark we were with in an attempt to find one on their own. The move is bold because from a business perspective you can end up with complaining customers because you spent your time looking for a shark when there were known locations already. However, with great risk comes great reward. After twenty minutes of searching we encountered a shark. Probably 25-30 feet long. But now, we’re the only boat, it is only two of us, the shark is not stressed, and any other boat is quite a distance away before they can join us. My daughter and I had an incredible experience. Compared to the normative experience of having a brief moment, we were able to swim for a very extended period of time next to such a gracious animal and just coexisting…in harmony. About 25 minutes later other boats showed up…but we had already had the experience of a lifetime. After the other boats showed up we did stay for a while to continue the experience and we were able to observe other boats and their guides. There is a quality difference. We got clear and concise instructions to make the most of our experience, while other boats dropped off their people and only confusion arose severely reducing the experience. If you’re going to swim with whalesharks, I can recommend VIP Holbox. I further suggest getting your own group a private boat, and make decisions with your guide and captain to maximize your experience.

Do not book online but on site by playing with the competition! We paid way too much online (€1000 for 5)! A single 30-second dive... + 20-minute snorkeling and Ceviche sent to the beach! We didn't feel like we were being considered and our guide only had eyes for one of the participants who was in a thong! Honestly, it’s not a very VIP tour!!

Great experience with Willy. Very respectful of animals and has explained to us very well about whale sharks. We have been delighted

This is the first time I am posting a comment on Tripadvisor but I truly felt that I had to do it this time so that other people could benefit from the terribly bad experience we had. The whale shark trip we booked with V.I.P Holbox Experience was supposed to be the best activity of our family trip in Yucatan. It unfortunately turned out to be only (by far!) the most expensive and disappointing one. We spent 1500 USD (26950 pesos) and nine hours at sea to view one small shark from the boat at a distance of 40 m during 20 seconds, with 50+ other vessels around. Very far away from our expectations (and what was advertised by V.I.P Holbox Experience), e.g., 2X2min per person snorkeling 2 meter away from these peaceful giants... On the way back, we spotted ourselves some dolphins and had to beg our crew (Willy and Ali) to go closer to them and hence have something concrete to show to our kids after such a long boat trip... If this wasn't disappointing enough, we met at the harbor several ecotourists gone with other companies who had the chance to swim with 5+ sharks in a nearby spot on the same day, an information that was communicated to but deliberately ignored by our crew, probably to save on time/fuel. When complaining to the company about that, they said that (1) after thoughtful research, the group of 4 sharks was in fact the same shark saw 4 times in row (incredible response and bad luck we saw the videos from that day where different animals can easily be recognized) and (2) that this was the first day in history where no company had the chance to swim with whale sharks (which is not true since we saw ourselves people doing snorkeling with the whale shark we saw from the boat). We then asked for a partial refund given how exceptionally bad the day was (something that was spontaneously provided by other companies) and they never responded to us... In short, V.I.P Holbox Experience clearly appear to be a company more interested in making profit rather than in providing a great experience to their customers. To avoid absolutely.

If you want whale sharks to survive, please, do not go on tour to see them. I have never be that ashamed of myself. Whatever you are told (whale sharks are very protected, you pay a high price so that only respectful profesional bring you onsite, no more than 2 persons + 1 guide with the shark), this is how it ends: More than 100 boats, tracking that giant yet defenseless animal. Maybe if your boat is first on site it doesn't look like that, but once the animals are found, all the boats come as quickly as they can to track them down. Then, the whale sharks try to escape, but there is always another boat on their path, with 3 people jumping 2 meters ahead, so they have to change direction, and it lasts for hours, so that each of the 300 tourists onsite has the "chance" and "hapiness" to swim with them. This is a traumatic experience for the animal : the boats, the noise, the people, and eventually (as you can see on our picture), the motors cutting their fins. Be repsonsible, more than we have been, and protect those magnific animals: leave them alone.