BEST Whale Shark Tour In Exmouth For First Timers (By Locals)

We know first-hand how hard it is to pick a whale shark tour – most are really good, have raging reviews, and offer similar experiences.

We’ve booked two whale shark tours in Exmouth, plus have lived in Western Australia most our lives! We’ve also visited the Ningaloo Reef more times than we can count.

So we have a heap of experience with these tours!

We’ll help you decide which whale shark tour is best for YOU. This guide has everything you should know to make an informed decision.

Like the best season to do it (not August, learn from our mistakes), the pros and cons of a shared vs own spotter plane, and the fine print of the no-sighting policies.

This guide will show you how to prepare for the big day, what to expect, and why these tours are worth it even if you can’t swim with a whale shark (talking from experience there!).

Let’s dive in (pun intended)!

We recognise the traditional owners of this land, the Jinigudera people.

5 Best whale shark tours in Exmouth

If we wanted to book another whale shark tour in Exmouth right now, these are the ones we would do.

There are about a dozen tour operators, but the ones that made our top 5 are:

• Tours we’ve done personally, or
• Tours with lots of reviews found in third parties, i.e. other places than the operator’s website. This is important as it helps us have a more unbiased opinion about the tour.

1) Three Islands Whale Shark Dive

Own spotter plane | Free photos | Check tour here

Best for: Excellent value for money AND all photos for free. They’re also trying to offset their carbon footprint.

This is one of the best whale shark tours out there – they have an exclusive spotter plane, and the photography package is free.

The professional photographer on board will take pics and videos during the whole day and you can have them at no extra charge!

It’s something we missed on our tour (you had to pay extra for photos). Just make sure to swim in front of the photographer a few times!

They also have a solid No-Sighting Policy – go to the tour again for free on the next available day, or a repeat voucher valid for 2 years.

We’re not fans of the 2-year voucher, we’d prefer a partial refund. But if you don’t mind planning another visit to Exmouth/Coral Bay in the next 2 years to claim the voucher, it’s 100% worth it.

That said, we applaud their efforts to offset their carbon footprint. They partnered with Carbon Neutral and have planted thousands of trees in WA since joining the program.

Pros:

Cons

2) Ningaloo Whale Sharks

Own spotter plane | Best guarantees | Check tour here

Best for: Those looking for a whale shark tour with great value for money! We’d pay for it again, no question.

We did this tour back in August, ’21 and it was in-cre-di-ble. But full disclosure – we went very late in the season so the chances of us swimming with a whale shark were very low.

It was a risk we were willing to take with this operator, though! They’re the only ones (to our knowledge) that have two sets of guarantees:

• An excellent no-sighting policy: Get on the next available tour for free of charge or get a partial refund. No vouchers.
• A “Good Swim Guarantee”: If you spend less than 2 minutes swimming with a whale shark, you can go on the next available tour to try again. We don’t know of other tours that offer this!

And unlike most operators, they have their own spotter plane. This means you won’t have to share the whale shark with other tours, which we really appreciated.

Sadly we didn’t swim with whale sharks, even after going a second time after claiming the Good Swim Guarantee. Of course it was not their fault, we went very late in the season.

BUT still, it was 100% worth it. We snorkelled 4 times and the spotter plane found some manta rays so we got to swim with them. We also saw a humpback whale breaching, it was mindblowing.

Honestly, we would pay for that tour again even if we didn’t swim with whale sharks. The only thing we would change is that the photo package is not free.

Pros:

Cons

3) Ningaloo Blue Dive

Shared plane | Free photos | Check tour here

Best for: Those who are also after some goodies to remember the occasion – free photos, a whale shark swim certificate, and a beach bag!

This is another excellent tour provider, but their only downside is that they share the spotter plane with other operators.

This means that you might have to do a queue to get to swim with the whale sharks (remember that it’s up to 10 people at a time).

That said, people rave about the staff. Reviewers agree they’re very enthusiastic and really care for everyone in the boat!

And from our experience with other tours, having an epic staff guiding you makes the whole thing so much better, so this is something to keep in mind.

They also have a no-show policy where if you don’t see a whale shark, you can go again on the next available tour for free.

Pros:

Cons

4) Exmouth Dive Whalesharks Ningaloo (we did this one)

Shared plane | Small group | Check tour here

Best for: Those looking for a more intimate experience – their tours are capped at 14 people and have a family-operated vibe.

If you want to go with the smallest group possible without paying for a private tour, book this one.

We also booked with them and had an excellent experience! They take you swimming with either whale sharks or humpback whales, depending on what’s available.

It’s great if you’re visiting late in whale shark season like we did, as you’ll probably see megafauna regardless of when you visit.

Also, they do offer free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance as well as “Reserve now & Pay later” if you book through this link. These features are extremely convenient if you’re planning the trip in advance!

That said, there are a few reasons why it’s #4:

• The cost. It’s a bit pricier than average, but it makes sense because of the smaller group – they cap at 14 participants while most tours cap at 18-20.
• No spotter plane. You’ll have to share the tour with other operators.
• No-sighting guarantee is not as appealing. They don’t offer partial refunds or another tour free of charge like most operators, they offer a 50% discount on another whale shark tour for the next 3 years.

But as you can cancel for free when booking through here, it’s ok if the no-sighting policy is not as good as others.

Just keep an eye on the weather and, if it won’t be good for whale-watching, you can always cancel the tour up to 24 hours in advance and get all your money back.

Pros:

Cons

5) Coral Bay Eco Tours

Shared plane | From Coral Bay | Check tour here

Best for: If you’re staying in Coral Bay and want to go on a whale shark tour without driving all the way to Exmouth.

Coral Bay is a 1.5-hour drive from Exmouth, so if you’re staying there, this tour is the best option for swimming with whale sharks!

They include all the basics (food and equipment) as well as free photographs. But they don’t include hotel pick-up and drop-off.

This is not a big issue though – Coral Bay is very small. If you’re staying in town, you could actually walk to the meeting point! You have to be there at 7:30 am, then take the bus transfer to the jetty.

One big plus is that last time we checked, this tour was somewhat cheaper than the tours in Exmouth! Coral Bay is expensive enough, lol.

However, they don’t have no-sighting guarantees. But as with the previous tour, this isn’t a problem because you can cancel for free 24 hours in advance when booking through here.

Pros:

Cons

Things to consider before booking the best whale shark tour

After booking TWO whale shark tours in Exmouth and having to reclaim the no-sighting policy, this is what we recommend considering:

1) Season of your visit

This is the most important factor and it will determine your likelihood of swimming with whale sharks.

The best time to swim with whale sharks in Exmouth is from early April to late June. May is your safest bet, as it’s usually when the coral is spawning and the sharks are feeding.

If you are slightly out of the season, like March and August, it’s a bit of a 50/50 chance on whether you see the whale sharks or not.

We went in August, which is very late in the season. It’s why we didn’t swim with any whale sharks – the one time we almost did, the creature swam into the deep before we could swim with it!

2) Spotter plane

This is another key factor. The spotter plane finds the whale sharks and shares their location with the operators, so they can take you to them.

Most tour operators share a spotter plane (up to 4 boats per plane), which makes the tour more affordable.

But if there are fewer whale sharks available (like when it’s early or late in the season), some boats might have to share the same whale shark.

This means that some people may have to wait in queue for their turn. You go in the water in groups of up to 10 and the whole swim lasts ~10 minutes.

The waiting isn’t as bad as it sounds, though. Also, all tour operators work together to make sure every tourist gets to swim with a whale shark. They help each other a lot which is lovely to see!

But if you don’t want to wait, you can book with an operator that has their own spotter plane (tours #1 and #2 of our ranking below have them).

3) Number of passengers

By law, whale shark tour operators can carry up to 20 passengers per boat. This doesn’t sound like much but keep in mind that you will swim with whale sharks in groups of up to 10.

During our research, we noticed that tours with their own spotter planes tend to carry the full 20 passengers. However, their prices are around average!

We think this is because:

• They have to pay for the plane in full, so the cost is not shared with other operators.
• But they don’t want to overcharge the tourists, so they keep the prices around average.

We booked with a tour operator that had their own spotter plane and 20 people on board and it was great! It was a bit annoying to wait in queue but only because we were dying to get in the water.

If you’re looking for smaller groups, know they often cap at 10-15 passengers.

This gives a more intimate experience but for a higher price. An example of this is tour #4 described below.

4) Policies and guarantees

As Mother Nature is in control (not the tour companies), the truth is that sometimes whale sharks just don’t show up.

It happened to us because of visiting so late in the season, so we were grateful for booking a tour operator that had a no-sighting policy in place.

Most operators have this policy. This means that if you don’t see a whale shark, you could get:

• A partial refund. This is because they have to pay for some stuff beforehand to run the tour – booking fees, paying for the spotter plane, etc.
• Get on the next available tour for free. This isn’t necessarily the very next day after your tour, it’s whenever there’s availability.
• A voucher valid for 2-3 years.We’re not really fans of this because this would require planning another trip to Exmouth just to redeem the voucher. But honestly, it’s a great reason to visit the Ningaloo Reef again!

5) What’s included in the tour?

All tour operators include:

• Snorkelling gear. Some even offer prescription masks if requested.
• Hotel pick-up and drop-off for most accommodations or a meeting point.
• At least 2 snorkelling sessions, sometimes more depending on the number of whale sharks. You will swim with turtles, manta rays (if in season), and more!
• Photos. Some offer the whole photo package for free, others just 1 free photo. Other operators also offer videos for free, while others provide them for an extra cost.
• Food on board. This varies a lot between operators. Some include morning tea and afternoon tea, while others have a gourmet lunch according to dietary needs.
• Fees and taxes.

So it often comes down to what’s important to you. Here are some questions to help you out:

• Is hotel pick-up and drop-off important to you? Or you don’t mind getting to the meeting point?
• Would you rather have good finger food or prefer more gourmet options?
• Photo package included or not?

How to prepare for your whale shark tour?

After being on several whale shark tours (both in Exmouth and the Philippines) here are some things we wished we knew beforehand.

First, whale shark tours are a full-day thing and are very physical. You’ll be out in the sea from early morning until afternoon, either snorkelling or swimming with the whale sharks.

Whale sharks swim very quickly so you’ll have to keep up!

At the end of the tour, we were both ecstatic and exhausted. So we recommend bringing a few things:

• Your own energy snacks. Operators will feed you, but extra snacks will keep you going for longer, so you can do as much snorkelling as possible. Bec almost passed on the last snorkel because of how tired she was.
• Warm clothes. Whale shark season is also spring-winter in Australia and it will get chilly, especially in the afternoon.
• Sea sickness tablets. You’ll be on the boat all day and they can be a lifesaver! Tour operators don’t provide them.

What to expect on the very day of the whale shark tour?

If you’re in Exmouth, the tour operator will pick you up from either your accommodation or a meeting point early in the day. They picked us up at 6-7 am.

From there, they drove us to Tantabiddi Boat Ramp, the starting point of most tours. The drive takes around 40 minutes and it’s very scenic!

Once you’re out in the sea, the spotter planes will start looking for whale sharks. In the meantime, you’ll go on a morning snorkel to practice and check out the incredible marine life of the Ningaloo.

The whale shark is spotted – now what?

First, it’s time to get everybody back on the boat to head to where the whale shark is.

Then they separate the participants into groups of up to 10 – that’s the max amount of people that can swim with a whale shark at any given time. This is to keep the experience stress-free for them.

The boat stops ahead of the whale shark, so when you jump in the water, it will swim by your group. After it glides by, it’s time for you to follow.

Generally, the whole experience lasts around 10 minutes, or until you are too tired to follow the shark. Then, you get back on the boat, where they take you a few metres ahead to repeat this all over again.

Why whale shark tours are worth it even if you don’t see them

We didn’t see whale sharks TWICE because we went very late in the season. But we still would’ve paid full price for what we received, the snorkelling was absolutely incredible.

And we’re not the only ones! While we were researching this guide, we combed through hundreds of reviews of different tours.

Some people didn’t have the chance to swim with whale sharks, but they still thought it was worth every penny because of the experience.

Why? Remember that the guides are mostly locals! If there aren’t any whale sharks around, they take you snorkelling to hidden gems and spots only accessible by boat, thus free of tourists.

Also, the spotter planes are not only looking for whale sharks. In one of the tours we booked, the plane spotted manta rays and we swam with them!

We also saw humpback whales, it was an unforgettable day.

So even if you don’t see whale sharks, there’s so much more in these tours! You won’t regret booking one.

Top tips

Book your Exmouth whale shark tour ahead of time! We can’t stress this enough.

Take advantage of pages with “reserve now & pay later” features to secure your spot without spending a dime. Most links included above have this.

Also, leave your photo equipment at home and, if you can, pay for the photography package. Swimming with whale sharks is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and you deserve to be 100% present in it, not worrying about getting the right angle.

Now, to make sure you get enough pictures to remember this day by, pay attention to where the photographer is. Try to position yourself in front of them a few times underwater.

Swimming with whale sharks will be the highlight of your trip to Exmouth, but there are other awesome things you can do there as well, such as:

• Snorkelling these awesome spots
• Scuba diving in Muiron Islands
• Checking out Cape Range National Park

More awesome tours in Exmouth:

Did you know?

Ningaloo Reef is the world’s largest fringing reef, stretching for 300km. It goes from Carnarvon in the south, all the way up to Muiron Islands and Bundegi Beach, in Exmouth’s Gulf.

As for whale sharks, they are considered the world’s biggest fish. Their size varies between 4 to 18 metres long! Imagine that gentle giant peacefully gliding next to you.

FAQs

The bottom line

The Ningaloo Reef, in Western Australia, is practically a highway for gentle giants as it has humpback and whale shark season. Exmouth and Coral Bay are the two main towns for tours to swim alongside them.

Doing a whale shark swim is a life-changing experience. So make sure to be fully prepared, bring snacks, and leave your camera in your hotel to be fully present.

If you visit in July, consider doing one of the many humpback whale tours available, too! And take at least one day to check everything the Cape Range National Park has to offer.

Finally, if you want to plan a visit to Exmout but don’t know where to start, check out our article about how to plan a one-week trip to Exmouth!