Book your trip for 2024
STEP 2
Determine how many people
Our four-passenger boats let everyone swim with whales without taking turns. On our six-passenger boats, four people can swim with the whales at a time, while the other two wait from the boat.
Tonga law allows 4 pax in the water at a time.
Click on an option below to view trips:
6 Passenger Boat
5 Whale Swim Days
(From $3,500 USD)
- More Affordable
- Rotation System: 4 guests in the water (as per Tongan Regulations), 2 resting
- More time to rest (it’s a workout!)
- 33% more in-water whale time than 8 passenger boats
- Tours out of Flying Annie (Walkable to everything in town)
4 Passenger Boat
5 Whale Swim Days
(From $5,500 USD)
- More Expensive
- Only 4 person boat tours in Vava’u
- No Rotations- Always be in the action with the whales.
- Designed for photographers and whale lovers
- 100% of the time (No rotations with others)
- Tour out of Ocean Song or Flying Annie
determine length of stay
The more days you put in on the water, the higher your chances of having memorable, meaning encounters. If this has been your dream, we highly encourage you to do an 8 swim day trip. You are coming all this way, and nature needs time to try and deliver.
All groups are 6 passengares (pax), unless noted otherwise. Tonga law allows 4 pax in the water at a time.
- Approximately 1-3 amazing days
- Options for either 4 or 6 passenger boat
- Good option if you have less time
- Cheaper
- 5 Sea days to search and swim with whales
- Approximately 3-6 amazing days
- Only 6 passenger boat available
- Most expensive
- Best accomodation in Vava’u
- 8 Sea days to search and swim with whales
Information
Whale season in Vava’u is mid-July through October. Some days are sunny; some days are cloudy. The weather is warm, but you’ll want to bring a wind jacket to keep you comfortable on the boat. Water temperature is around 77 F (25 C).
Vava’u, in our opinion, is the best place in the world for in-water encounters with humpback whales. Only snorkeling is allowed with the whales as they don’t like divers’ bubbles, and it’s hard to keep up with whales on SCUBA. The topography of the islands allows us to work in most conditions, excluding intense weather days of course.
We will go out and swim with the whales in most conditions; the weather and seas don’t seem to affect the whales at all. We search for the whales in calm, sheltered bays, open sea — pretty much wherever the day takes us!
