Verified
Whale shark encounter an expensive bust!
The whale shark encounter was an expensive bust. First, 10 people plus 2-3 crew are packed into a small speedboat for a 1.5 hour trip to the open ocean..arrived around 10:00am. There were 20+ similar boats carrying over 200 whale shark encounter customers. Our weather was 88 degrees, 10-15 mph winds, and “rolling seas” but was still doable although one passenger was very sea sick even with Dramamine. After 1 1/2 hours, along with the 20+ other boats, I (not the crew) saw a fin around 50 yards away and captain immediately confirmed and headed toward the encounter while directing only two (2) of the 10 divers to get ready to jump in right behind the dive guide and to follow him to find the SOLITARY Whale Shark that continued to swim away from the boat. The two divers were never able to catch up to the shark to even catch a glimpse of it; and even if they did how and when would the rest of us jump into the water and catch up to the dive guide? I’m a very experienced scuba diver and can’t even imagine how 2 people could have had an encounter for more than a few moments with the shark not alone the 8 other people, if they were lucky enough to even get into the water and catch up to the solitary shark who wasn’t going to hang around for us. And try to picture the other 20 boats converging on our boat and squeezing us out to get ahead of the fast moving shark. NO ONE, in any of the boats, even got a glimpse of the whale shark which is, again, a solitary creature. Even if the shark swam slowly in one direction , how could that many people enter the water in front of the shark as it continued to swim towards them. I’ve been shark diving in the Bahamas, dolphin encounters in several locations and tandem skydiving from 14,000 feet for less than the $225 pp cost of this improbable encounter. I’m taking this off my bucket list!
Reply from Kay Tours Mexico
2026.06.16
Dear Bruce,Thank you for taking the time to share such a detailed review. While I am genuinely sorry that your experience did not meet your expectations, I appreciate the thoughtful way you described what you encountered. Reviews like yours help us identify gaps and improve.First, I want to acknowledge something important: whale shark encounters are among the most unpredictable wildlife experiences in the world. Unlike attractions or controlled animal encounters, these are completely wild animals in open ocean conditions. No operator, regardless of experience, can guarantee the number of whale sharks present, how long they remain in an area, or whether they will stay close enough for every guest to enjoy an ideal encounter.That said, I completely understand your disappointment. When someone travels a long distance and invests both time and money in a bucket-list experience, expectations are naturally high. Reading your account, it is clear that the combination of ocean conditions, boat traffic, and limited sightings did not align with the experience you had hoped for.One point you raise that deserves particular attention is the information provided before the tour. Through our direct booking channels, we normally send extensive preparation materials that explain seasonality, wildlife unpredictability, encounter procedures, boat dynamics, weather considerations, motion sickness risks, and realistic expectations for what a successful day may look like. Unfortunately, the Tripadvisor and Viator platforms place significant limitations on what can be communicated to guests before arrival, and in this case that information gap was clearly larger than it should have been.This review highlighted a weakness in our process. As a result, we are creating a dedicated pre-tour information PDF that can be shared with future Viator and Tripadvisor guests so they receive the same level of preparation and transparency as our direct clients. We believe informed guests are happier guests, even when nature decides not to cooperate.I would also like to mention that your tour took place during the very beginning of the season. Early season departures can sometimes be exceptional, but they can also be inconsistent as wildlife patterns are still developing. Looking back, we should have been even more proactive in communicating those realities. For that reason, we have also decided not to offer this experience through Tripadvisor and Viator during the first month of future seasons until we have sufficient sighting consistency and operational data to confidently set expectations.While we cannot change the outcome of your day on the water, we can learn from it, and your review has directly contributed to changes that will benefit future travelers.Thank you again for your candid feedback. We wish your future adventures, whether underwater in the Bahamas, on a dive boat, or elsewhere around the world, to be filled with the wildlife encounters you were hoping to experience here.Warm regards,Kay Honig
