Discover wildlife in their natural environment with this half-day tour in Puerto Vallarta. Climb aboard a boat with a biologist guide and utilize a hydrophone to find dolphins based on their sounds. Go swimming with wild dolphins and keep an eye out for a range of marine life including turtles, rays, and more. Support marine ecology research with this wildlife-focused tour.

Encounter bottlenose dolphins in their natural habitat
Explore Puerto Vallarta by boat in search of wildlife
Swim in the sea with curious bottlenose dolphins
Contribute to the protection of wildlife in Puerto Vallarta

What's Included

Use of Snorkeling equipment
Bottled water
Soda/Pop

Snacks

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Opequimar Centro Marino
Av. Paseo de la Marina Sur 214, Marina Vallarta, 48450 Puerto Vallarta, Jal., Mexico
OPEQUIMAR is located across the street from Westin Resort in Marina Vallarta. At security gate tell them you are going for dolphins so they will let you in. Inside look for our sign with a whale and dolphin. We receive at the Azzul Marino Restaurant. Please be 10-15 min prior tour

Start time

09:00 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Head to Marina Vallarta and hop aboard your boat with your biologist guide and small group.

Hop aboard a boat equipped with a hydrophone to locate dolphins based on their distinct sounds. As you cruise through the waters of Puerto Vallarta, keep an eye out for bottlenose dolphins in their element and, if conditions allow, enjoy a unique opportunity to swim with these curious creatures. You may also spot other marine animals, including turtles, rays, and more.

The tour provides a chance to participate in ongoing research programs and offers a money-back guarantee on encountering animals. The tour concludes back at the marina.

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Infants must sit on laps
Most travelers can participate
No es recomendable para personas de mas de 7 meses de embarazo
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Kirsten_T

I enjoyed watching the dolphins close up more than getting in the water. The splash you make from jumping in seemed to scare the dolphins away. We saw so many dolphins up close! The guide’s daughter was on the boat with us & she practically danced with the dolphins. She has been swimming with them for years and it showed. I enjoyed watching her more than getting in the water. I highly recommend this experience. We saw multiple babies and watched one catch a fish. It was absolutely beautiful.

Reviews

4.5

508 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 508 reviews

What an Adventure!!!

Jenny_S, Apr 2024

This honestly was my favorite experience of my whole trip! There is something so amazing about seeing dolphins in their natural habitat. We loved the knowledge that was shared. The experience of "chasing" the dolphins was so much fun - jump in...swim ,swim, swim... look over there...dive, dive, dive! There was plenty of opportunity for everyone to try. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

A special experience

PENNY_H, Apr 2024

We had a great time, everyone on board got to swim with the dolphins. Gemma the guide and the boat Captain were great, Gemma giving lots of info before and during the tour. We had a small group, us three an another family, and we just took turns to try and swim to the dolphins and see if they would engage with us. For my husband and 12 year old this was a fun and special experience, and we got to see and meet many of the bays resident dolphins. I can see lots of different reviews where people were disappointed that the dolphins weren’t close enough, you had to swim and try a few times, or the water was murky - all fair enough. But for us the opportunity to respectfully be close to dolphins in the wild, where it was up to them whether they moved on or stayed close was a pretty special and rare opportunity for interaction.

Highly recommend

Jana_M, Apr 2024

Everything about this experience was amazing! You also get a mini education on the wild life and how to respect the waters and the dolphins you swim with.

Definitely worth it, make sure you're swim fit, as you need to swim a lot to get close

Willouw_B, Apr 2024

Getting within a few feet of a dolfin was amazing, I takes time to locate the exact location of the dolfins, and the boat cannot get to close, so you need to be ready to swim . The flippers and goggles provided helps a lot

Fantastic dolphin experience

Elizabeth_H, Apr 2024

My husband, myself and two kids, 7 and 10, enjoyed the biologist presentation before getting on the boat. Loved to be able to visit the dolphins in their own habitat. We saw so many dolphins and was able to swim close to them. Highly recommended.

See dolphins close up!

Tim_D, Apr 2024

We were very close to the dolphins! Guide Pilar and driver George were excellent. They spotted dolphins and gave us great instructions about seeing them in the water, close up.

Great job

Jim_M, Mar 2024

We had a wonderful time and saw many dolphins, the staff and captain were excellent and the day was perfect

Dolphin swim

Emily_N, Mar 2024

Seeing the dolphins and whales was cool but like most people I’ve seen that many times. Our guide was very nice and knowledgeable. Just sucked every time we got in the water the dolphins swam away but it was fun. Just expensive for not actually getting to get close to them.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

The tour goes to visit dolphins in the wild, this means free and wild dolphins in their natural environment, they are not trained dolphins so as it is explained we can only guarantee to see them, what they are going to be, what they are going to do and the reaction they will have with the people in the water depends totally on them not on us, they are free to decide, any way 90% of the times we have successful swimming that means dolphins swim around, interact or be curios with swimmers the only thing we don't allow is to touch them. We feel sorry that the day you went they were not in a mood for swimming with people, this totally depends in the type of group, behavior and which individuals we find, as we are always under their rules, that is how nature is

You need to do this!

Kostiantyn_K, Mar 2024

Great experience! We had a group of 8 total out of 12 max. The lady guide and the captain were super accommodating, knowledge and eager to make iit the best experience possible. We saw many dolphins up close and later 2 x mom + baby whales. Actual swimming with dolphins did not happen as the pods were not into it, but this is nature and worth a shot. I would highly recommend this. Our group was 2 adults and 2 kids 13 and 7. All loved it.

Dolphin daze

Jason_W, Mar 2024

Pilar worked well communicating with the guests, considerately ensuring everyone an opportunity to swim; when we saw whales, she got everyone's input before redirecting to whale watch 2 cows with their calves. Jorge and Pilar did a great job.

What a great experience!

Conforte, Mar 2024

Pilar and Caesar were amazing! They made sure everyone got their fill of swimming with the dolphins. I highly recommend!!

Small group. Great guide...

Justin_P, Mar 2024

Small group. Great guide and captain. Saw many dolphins had one swim within a foot of me and my wife. Saw a whale and her baby. Saw a sea turtle. It was greT

Swimming with the Dolphins in PV

Christian_C, Mar 2024

We saw sooooo many dolphins and were able to get super close while also respecting the animals from a distance in their environment. This was a great addition to our honeymoon! Pilar was a fantastic host!

Hanging with some Dolphins

Nicolle_N, Feb 2024

Pilar and Caesar did an excellent job. We were able to watch on the way out. Saw some lovely calves and moms. Very much enjoyed the trip..

This was so much fun! The...

Kerri_B, Jan 2024

This was so much fun! The operators made sure we all had plenty of turns to swim with the dolphins. They were very nice and knowledgable. I would do this again.

Awesome experience!

Meredith_C, Jan 2024

We managed to get within 2 feet of the dolphins several times. Humpback mama and calf joined us as well. The marine biologist was well versed in the area’s wildlife! Fantastic experience!

Swimming with the wild dolphins

B_S, Jan 2024

We saw lots of dolphins and whales. The guide was knowledgeable and enhanced our experience. Even the young children were able to participate. The only downside was the boat was over crowded.

A can’t miss in PVR

Zak_P, Jan 2024

This excursion was a dream come true. The marine biologist, Pilar, was very knowledgeable, kind and funny. There was a short educational presentation with coffee and snacks. We left exactly on time. The captain navigated the boat to exactly where the dolphins were located. This is swimming with dolphins on their terms, so they are treated like the wild animals they are and not unhappy in captivity. There were 6 other passengers besides the guide and captain, so there was plenty of time to dive in several times. This gave us all a chance to experience being close up with these beautiful mammals. It took about 3 hours total, so it didn’t take up our whole day (although it was the highlight). We would have taken more pictures but we were too exhilarated to think of it in the moment. Next time we are in PVR we will be doing this again.

Small group trip

Jacob_E, Jan 2024

We had a great time. It was a group of 6 people and we were able to see many dolfins. The guide was very knowledgeable and the captain was very able

Highly recommend you go!

Teri_M, Jan 2024

This was the highlight of our visit. The guide is a marine biologist and shared interesting information about aquatic mammals before we left while we had coffee and juice. The boat was clean and spacious. There were 6 passengers and we all had the opportunity to have 3 in-the-water experiences with the dolphins. It was amazing to see them next to you, under you, and to hear their clicks to each other. We were there during whale season and we also saw several whales. Plenty of juice, soda, and water to drink. We will definitely go again on our next trip to PV.

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