I took a trip with a group of freedivers to Tonga and it was awesome. As it was a small group we all had plenty of time in the water with the whales and got to see some other amazing diving spots while there. It wasn't on one of the main islands though and I don't know how frequently they run (trips are organised by Apnea Australia). Can't recommend it enough though if you ever wanted to do this sort of thing again through, and be with a group of people who aren't likely to kick you in the nose by accident! Not a super cheap trip (as you've noted whale swimming in Tonga isn't), but wonderful and I'm so happy I got to go.
Tonga whale swim is from mid July to early October. The rule in Tonga is only 4 swimmers guide in the water at any one time per encounter. Boats may share a Swimmable Whale - for 30 minutes in rotation. This only happened once in a week of whale swims. Some boats have 6 to 8 guests however only 4 in the whale encounter at any one time. We had an awesome experience of hosts, small family owned resort, food & whales at Tonga Blue Lagoon Resort. Prices were reasonable. Highly recommended. We came from Sydney + our friend from Bulgaria.
Thank you for sharing. Sadly I'm living on a fixed income so I will never ever have this dream come true but boyo boy this is all I dream about. Growing up in Palo Alto CA we had Humphrey the humpback come into the bay and stayed for a bit. That's when I fell in love with the HUMPBACK WHALES AND THEN I FOUND OUT YOU COULD SWIM WITH THEM FOR REALS BUT IM TO POOR SO ILL KEEP DREAMING AND WATCHING YOUR VIDEOS. THANK YOUUUUUUUUUU ❤❤❤🐋❤️❤️🐋🐋❤️🐋
It is all relative. Moorea can be pretty expensive if you stay in a 5* resort with a private boat for whales 😅 Tonga seems cheaper in my opinion as hotels options are all cheaper for good resorts compared to Moorea. For flights it also depends where you are coming from, i come from Singapore and i have to stop in Auckland to reach Tahiti whereas there are direct flight to Fiji at a cheaper price. For the number of people in Moorea, it depends on days. I spent time with whales where only our boat was there. But yeah this is luck. Also for Tonga, it depends if you stay in Vava’u or Ha’apai. Ha’apai is less crowded and you get more personal time with whales.
Hello Kristin ☺ Swimming with those mystical creatures would definitely be a magical experience 🐳🐳 It's nice that they have regulations to protect them. Such an awesome vlog! Safe travles!
Can you please let us know on which exact link you booked your whale swim in tahiti (or moorea)? We would love to swim with whales but can't find the right link, where we can see the actual prices for a tour like you did on tahiti (not a private tour for two, a tour with more people on the boat). This would be very helpful. Thank you!
Hi Kristen, can you free dive to get up close (appears so from your video). I was told by a company in Tonga you can only be under the surface (snorkelling).
Hi, thanks for the information! I am a bit confused tho. U said U got more of a variety in Tonga but then U also said U have less swim time because of the groups, like 20 mins. Did u have the variety over several days then or on the same tour? Is the tour set on a specific time with multiple entrys or do they end the tour as soon as every group had a turn?
I'd much rather have a crowd or group due to the potential of sharks. A shark won't try to attack a whole group, but they WILL pick off people who are alone IF they had a mind to. I know shark attacks are much rarer than people believe, but I wouldn't want to take the chance either way.
I took a trip with a group of freedivers to Tonga and it was awesome. As it was a small group we all had plenty of time in the water with the whales and got to see some other amazing diving spots while there. It wasn't on one of the main islands though and I don't know how frequently they run (trips are organised by Apnea Australia). Can't recommend it enough though if you ever wanted to do this sort of thing again through, and be with a group of people who aren't likely to kick you in the nose by accident! Not a super cheap trip (as you've noted whale swimming in Tonga isn't), but wonderful and I'm so happy I got to go.
Tonga whale swim is from mid July to early October.
The rule in Tonga is only 4 swimmers guide in the water at any one time per encounter.
Boats may share a Swimmable Whale - for 30 minutes in rotation.
This only happened once in a week of whale swims.
Some boats have 6 to 8 guests however only 4 in the whale encounter at any one time.
We had an awesome experience of hosts, small family owned resort, food & whales at Tonga Blue Lagoon Resort. Prices were reasonable. Highly recommended.
We came from Sydney + our friend from Bulgaria.
Thank you for sharing. Sadly I'm living on a fixed income so I will never ever have this dream come true but boyo boy this is all I dream about. Growing up in Palo Alto CA we had Humphrey the humpback come into the bay and stayed for a bit. That's when I fell in love with the HUMPBACK WHALES AND THEN I FOUND OUT YOU COULD SWIM WITH THEM FOR REALS BUT IM TO POOR SO ILL KEEP DREAMING AND WATCHING YOUR VIDEOS. THANK YOUUUUUUUUUU ❤❤❤🐋❤️❤️🐋🐋❤️🐋
Thank you for this video! I may go to Tahiti now instead of Tonga!
Have fun!
It is all relative.
Moorea can be pretty expensive if you stay in a 5* resort with a private boat for whales 😅
Tonga seems cheaper in my opinion as hotels options are all cheaper for good resorts compared to Moorea. For flights it also depends where you are coming from, i come from Singapore and i have to stop in Auckland to reach Tahiti whereas there are direct flight to Fiji at a cheaper price. For the number of people in Moorea, it depends on days. I spent time with whales where only our boat was there. But yeah this is luck.
Also for Tonga, it depends if you stay in Vava’u or Ha’apai. Ha’apai is less crowded and you get more personal time with whales.
I'm gonna do this someday
Hello Kristin ☺ Swimming with those mystical creatures would definitely be a magical experience 🐳🐳 It's nice that they have regulations to protect them. Such an awesome vlog! Safe travles!
Absolutely! Thank you so much. :)
@@Bemytravelmuse you're most welcome ☺☺
Awesome nice footage you always do great vlogs thank you 👍😊
Aww thank you!
Can you please let us know on which exact link you booked your whale swim in tahiti (or moorea)? We would love to swim with whales but can't find the right link, where we can see the actual prices for a tour like you did on tahiti (not a private tour for two, a tour with more people on the boat). This would be very helpful. Thank you!
very helpful vlog, thank you :)
Thank you! Were all your whale swims from moreau in the French Polynesia?
Hi Kristen, can you free dive to get up close (appears so from your video). I was told by a company in Tonga you can only be under the surface (snorkelling).
The rules may have changed since I went. It was allowed but not with babies.
I'm Tongan from Tongatapu Island groups lived in Auckland 'Eua Island close to Tonga Trench also diving with whales 🐋 🙏
Awesome! I heard good things about that area.
Hi, thanks for the information! I am a bit confused tho. U said U got more of a variety in Tonga but then U also said U have less swim time because of the groups, like 20 mins. Did u have the variety over several days then or on the same tour? Is the tour set on a specific time with multiple entrys or do they end the tour as soon as every group had a turn?
In both cases I was there for a week swimming with whales daily 😊 so lots of opportunities to see things. That’s definitely how I recommend doing it!
Vava’u Tonga 🇹🇴 seems difficult to get to. Can you tell what route you took to get there? If you remember. Thx
You have to fly into the main island first, then take a prop plane out to Vava’u
You are my role model, but still i dont have any courage yet to living my life like you
You can do it!
I'd much rather have a crowd or group due to the potential of sharks. A shark won't try to attack a whole group, but they WILL pick off people who are alone IF they had a mind to. I know shark attacks are much rarer than people believe, but I wouldn't want to take the chance either way.
Auuaa😂😂😂😂
you said tonga wrong but thats ok
It's t-oh-nga right
@@Bemytravelmuse yes :)