Cancun: Swimming with Whale Sharks

Is it now safe to travel to Cancun?

In the times of Covid-19, traveling is a risk and it’s always safer to stay home. Non-essential travel should be avoided. The deadline to reopen the U.S.-Mexico land border was recently extended to October 21, although technically, air travel has been allowed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, along with train and sea travel. (The website for the U.S. embassy and consulates in Mexico is regularly updated with entry and exit information.)

Mexico’s states have implemented different reopening phases, depending on the Covid-19 metrics. On June 1, the Mexico government introduced a national “stoplight” system to phase in the return of nonessential activities. Red states are essentially in lockdown, with just essential activities allowed; oranges states allow restaurants, hotels, and stores to open with limited capacity. Daily updates are posted here.

As of July, “The Mayan Riviera, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta (which are some of the most popular destinations for American travelers) are located within the orange states,” reports Travesías. “As a result, they have begun their economic and tourist reopening with all the safety and hygienic measures required.”

This Travel & Leisure article gives great information about traveling in Cancun during the Pandemic. According to this article, Cancun has been doing an impressive job at containing and preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

Cancun was the first destination in the Americas and one of the first few in the world to receive the “Safe Travels” global safety and hygiene stamp from the World Travel & Tourism Council.

Under ASUR, the company that operates the major airports in southeast Mexico, Cancun’s airport protocols have been updated to include temperature control, social distancing measures, mandatory mask usage, and hand sanitizer stations. Expect to have your temperature taken upon arrival, and when returning home, you’ll have to fill out a COVID-19-related questionnaire at the airport before being allowed through security.

In interviews with two Leading Hotels of the World properties, Travesias confirmed that hotels have reopened with new safety protocols and global sanitation standards—and that Americans are most definitely visiting.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises against traveling to areas where transmission levels are high. Before you make any booking, check the CDC’s latest guidance for traveling, including wearing a face mask in public settings. Do not travel if you are sick or have likely been exposed to COVID-19.

Guido J and I have been to Cancun many times and have visited the main sites and I can tell you that the most memorable experience for us has been swimming with whale sharks. That’s what I love most about traveling, to go out of my comfort zone and discover new experiences: we have done cage diving in S. Africa to have close up encounters with the Great White Sharks, we scuba dove the Blue Hole in Belize where there were sharks lurking around, and the Sharks Cove in Tahiti where we were circled by lemon sharks and reef sharks, and this Whale Sharks snorkeling ranks among the top adventure!

Whale Sharks

Whale sharks are the biggest fish in the ocean and can exceed 20 to 30 feet (6 to 9 meters) in length. These majestic creatures are gentle and feed on plankton. They travel great distance to find enough food to sustain their huge size. They visit the Mexico region every year as it’s rife with plankton, krill and fish eggs.

Whale Sharks in Mexico

People say that Mexico greets more whale sharks than any other places in the world. The best places to find Whale Sharks are in Cancun, Cozumel, or Baja California Sur

In Cancun, the season is officially set from June 15 to September 15, with the peak being in July and August. In Cancun, you can only snorkel or swim with whale sharks. If you wish to scuba dive with whale sharks, you should go to the Sea of Cortez or Baja California Sur (La Paz, Cabo San Lucas and Cabo Pulmo National Park) where the best months to see whale sharks are November to May.

Our Whale Shark experience

There are many tours operating Whale Shark snorkeling in Cancun. We find that Viator is very reliable and offers many types of whale shark tours including snorkeling and scuba diving. Here’s the link to Viator’s small group snorkeling tour with whale sharks.

Typically a Whale Shark snorkeling is an all-day activity. In the morning, we drive our rented car to Punta Sam where we board our Whale Shark boat tour.

Once you get to the meeting point, make sure to use the toilets, and have something light to eat if you have not had breakfast yet, before boarding.

Most boats do not have a toilet so be prepared to do #1 in the ocean or hold it all day.

Swimming with Whale Shark Tips

Note that you should get biodegradable sun lotion and avoid any regular sunscreen as the chemicals stay in the ocean for a long time and affect marine life. Alternatively, wear a long sleeve T shirt or rash guard to swim in and to protect you from the sun. I opt to rent a wetsuit (which is better than wearing a life vest) and snorkel equipment from the tour operator.

What to pack: swim suit, T shirt, rash guard and shorts, sunglasses, hat, rubber sole shoes or slippers, a towel and a waterproof bag. Make sure to have some cash for tips. If you are prone to seasickness, you should bring some Dramamine. Luckily, both Guido J and I have sea legs but if the weather condition is bad and the guide suggests to take Dramamine, I will always heed the advice.

Years before, we went out on a boat in Cape Town, S. Africa, to cage dive with the Great White Sharks, our group was advised to take Dramamine, and the few who didn’t were so sick due to strong swells that they missed out on their dive.

It’s a small boat so the group is limited to 10 people with 2 guides and a captain. There are drinks available on the boat.

We reach an area where dozens of whale sharks are sighted. So exciting!

On the day that we are out, there’s only another boat aside from ours, so we get to swim longer with the whale sharks… If there are many boats, they coordinate among themselves so everyone will get a turn while minimizing any disturbance to the whale sharks and ocean life.

You should listen closely to the guide’s instructions, as we go into the water by group of 2. Have all the gear ready, when the guide says go, off we jump in the water.

As we enter the water, Guido J gets so excited and swims off after the whale sharks.  It dawns on me that I’m in the middle of the deep open water, surrounded by dozens of whale sharks which seem to be moving very fast. I’m struck by their beauty and grace and feel real joy and wonderment swimming next to them.

They come very close to you but here’s another tip: do not reach out and touch them, no matter how badly you want to. Whale sharks are vulnerable to endangerment and are protected by international laws.  Besides, they are there to feed and do not want to be disturbed.

If you wish to follow them, you need to swim fast! Otherwise, you will only glimpse at them as they swim past… Swimming with the whale sharks is such a fun and exhilarating experience.

You are not supposed to free dive either, as the whale sharks do not like to have someone under them while they’re feeding and they would react by diving deeper, which would spoil the snorkeling experience for others.

This has been a truly amazing experience to be treasured for a long time.

When everybody is back on board you couldn’t wipe the smile off our face…There are a couple of people who have got cold feet at the last minute and have watched the whale sharks from the boat, which they have also enjoyed.

Lunch off Isla Mujeres

The boat makes its way toward Isla Mujeres where it sets anchor in a shallow area off the coast where we can swim in the crystal clear water.

In the meantime, the captain is preparing fresh ceviche for us to enjoy with tortilla chips and guacamole.

The ceviche tastes very fresh and tangy, and is the perfect lunch with cold beer! Check my ceviche recipe for a tasty, light and healthy meal at home.

This being nature, when you set off, tell yourself that there’s a chance that the whale sharks may not appear on that day… Most tour operators may agree to take you out again on another day, but most likely they will not give you a refund. We have been on a manta ray scuba dive trip in Tahiti and have not seen any in 3 dives, it’s been really disappointing but hey, it’s wild life. However, last year I have finally seen the graceful manta rays up close on a night snorkel in Big Island, Hawaii…

Take my word for it, swimming with whale sharks will be one of your best vacation experiences!

Whether you choose travel insurance for your international or domestic trip, make sure you understand exactly what’s covered. There are different categories for basic and special coverage. Be sure to check out this article from Money.comand make sure you understand the fine print before booking your next trip

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