Ocean Safari in Cabo San Lucas
Whales, Mobula Rays, Dolphins & Orcas
Tour Overview
If you're looking for an adventure that surpasses the average ecotour and dives head first into the sea, our Ocean Safari was created just for you!
This immersive snorkeling and freediving boat is open to everyone, as long as you're willing to get wet to connect with some of the ocean's largest marine life : Humpback whales, mobula rays, dolphins and even orcas,
Each tour is unique as anything can happen on this underwater safari, but one thing is for sure – prepare to be wowed by nature's show and the beautiful creatures that chose to interact with us.
Tours Details
Ocean Safari Day Trip
$250 USD
Per person - Tax not included
Tour details
- Duration 6 to 8 hours *
- Departure 8 AM
- Maximum 6 people
* Depending on weather conditions and wildlife activity
Contact us for bigger groups or PRIVATE CHARTERS
When to participate
- From November to July
Where & Meeting point
- Cabo San Lucas or San Jose del Cabo,
- The starting point may vary depending on the season and the animals we are looking
for. - The exact meeting point will be communicated to you after booking.
- Meeting directly at the boat 30 minutes before the scheduled trip.
Who can participate
- Open to everyone, beginners, experienced and professional divers.
- Previous snorkeling experience and basic swimming skills required.
- Minimum age 10 years old
Included
- Snorkel equipment
- Snacks
- Water and soft drinks
- Photos and videos
What to Bring
- Biodegradable sunscreen
- Sunglasses
- Towel
- Drybag
- Warm clothes (from December to April)
- Seasickness pills (recommended 45 min before departure)
- Camera or phone to take pictures and videos
Day Trip Highlight
The Ocean Safari takes you in search of big animals, which graze Los Cabos' deep blue. Along with different species of whales, dolphins, sea lions, rays, sea turtles, you will get the thrill of an ocean explorer, swimming amongst wild and free marine life.
As an ecotour business focused on sustainable practices, our highest priority is to respect the ocean and her life, never chasing the animals, forcing interactions, or leaving an impact on these essential marine ecosystems. This conscientious approach to tourism allows for some of the best encounters with small groups where you can connect with marine life on a personal level.
The distance traveled during your tour varies with weather, conditions, and other tour boats, but our ultimate goal is to give you the best experience possible, loaded with all the ocean has to offer.
During your tour, you will gain a deeper understanding of the underwater world and a respect for its conservation and protection. After all, just like oceanographer Sylvia Earle says, we can only love what we understand, and our hope is to offer tours that garners a deep admiration for our ocean.
Reviews & Testimonials
What You Will See during your Ocean Safari
Enjoy close-up adventure with pelagic marine life in Cabo San Lucas. While we have an abundance of diversity in marine life in Baja California several of the species are season-specific.
Located off the coast of Los Cabos, you will have the chance to encounter humpback whales, mobula rays, dolphins and even orcas, if you're lucky, among a wide array of other wildlife, depending on the season you choose to join us.
If you're looking for the best shot to see your favorite animal, you'll want to visit us during their peak months.
Refer to our Wildlife Calendar for seasonality of our key species or read below our species description.
Humpback Whales
November to April
If you're keen to do some whale watching in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California is the perfect place as it's a breeding ground for humpbacks, where they come to mate and give birth. Their size ranges between 12 to 16 meters (39-52 feet) with a weight of approximately 36 tons!
These gentle giants are some of our ocean's biggest mammals, and even when they are just born as calves, they measure between 3 and 5 meters, and weigh a little less than a ton.
Humpbacks migrate over incredibly long distances, sometimes swimming more than 8,000 km to complete their journey. Interestingly, humpbacks often attract other species as natural protectors, specifically from hunting orcas. This means if you see a humpback, there is a good chance of seeing other kinds of whales or dolphins in the area.
Humpbacks tend to be a fan-favorite amongst our guests, which brings many people to the area just to experience the whale migration and see their acrobatic display. While Mexican law prohibits swimming with these animals, these whales can be incredibly curious, and often get close enough to the boat to be heard and even filmed underwater while still onboard.
Mobula Rays
May to August
From May to August, you can see the notorious jumping mobula rays during our Ocean Safari with peak times for sighting during the summer months of June and July.
Speaking from our customer’s point of view, getting to swim with a mobula – sometimes with a fever of hundreds of rays at once – is truly a breathtaking phenomenon that you will never forget.
Mobula rays aggregate by the thousands around Cabo San Lucas and the Sea of Cortez, making the area one of the largest mobula ray migration spots in the world. Also in season during late spring and summer are the Munk’s devil ray, closely related to the manta ray. If you'd like to see a mobula in Cabo, be sure to come during their fairly long season. Picture floating amidst a sea of rays as far as you can see – we can assure you this is a can't-miss ocean experience if you're coming to Baja California.
Dolphins
All year round
Dolphins are easily the most loved animal of the sea, known for their playful personalities and free spirit. In Baja, you get the unique opportunity to swim with dolphins in the wild and get to encounter pods of them all year round. Lucky for us, dolphins must come to the surface to breathe, plus have no off season, so they are a top-sighted animal on all of our tours.
We have two primary dolphin species in Cabo San Lucas: the bottlenose dolphin and the common dolphin. Bottlenose are highly sociable animals, living in pods of about 10 to 20 individuals (they can occasionally gather in groups of 1,000 or more), with a lifespan of up to 50 years, a maximum height of 4 m (13 ft) and an average weight of 300 kg (660 lbs), whereas the common dolphin is smaller, 2,5 m (8 ft) in size and up to 200 kg (400 lb). They can form superpods, huge groups sometimes comprising thousands of individuals! Their color pattern looks a bit different with dark black topsides and white underbellies with light gray or yellow streaks down their sides.
Other species of dolphin that we see are: spinner, pantropical spotted, Risso’s and Pacific white-sided dolphins.
Orcas
All year round
Last but certainly not least, Cabo is a hotspot for the infamous orcas, popularly known as killer whales. These powerful apex predators can be seen cruising around the peninsula all year, making Baja a surprise location to spot orcas – our personal favorite local species.
This makes for less crowded and completely surreal experiences as you may get to swim one on one with these animals. The Orcinus orca averages at 6 m (20 ft) long and 4,5 tons (9,000 lb), so it’s no wonder these creatures gained their namesake as the predator of other whales.
They are unpredictable and can appear anywhere at any time, with no specific season or location. We never know in advance when they will show up, but when they do, our guests who are keen are sometimes allowed to enter the water to get a closer look underwater, depending on the guide's read of the animal’s behavior to ensure security conditions are met. Be sure to book your Ocean Safari adventure for the chance to see orcas in the wild!
Who is this Ocean Safari tour for?
Please keep in mind that this tour is made for all ocean lovers – from wild adventurers to photographers, nature enthusiasts, ocean professionals, and families with group sizes of no more than six people per boat, guaranteeing an intimate, personalized experience.
You certainly do not need to be a professional freediver to join us, although we recommend prior snorkeling experience, comfortability in open water, and swimming basics to make for the best trip for everyone on your tour. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
Why Choose Us ?
Baja Shark Experience is a team of professional marine experts, leading ocean safari and shark encounter trips in Cabo San Lucas and Baja California since 2016. As a leader in ecotourism in this region, you can rest assured that you're in good hands with some of Mexico's most knowledgeable guides, paired with a desire to preserve the ocean life we're able to explore.
Our entire team is passionate about our blue planet and showing Cabo's visitors our local hotspots away from the crowds.
While it may be a bold choice to take an active stance to support the wellbeing of wildlife over tourism’s profit, we take the time and effort to do tours right by nature. The safety of the animals and our guests is taken very seriously, shown by our commitment to sharing the importance of our ocean with our guests, pairing tourism with awareness to protect these wild spaces. Unfortunately, many of the species found in our region face rising stress toward endangerment, so it is vital we work together to mitigate these challenges.