Thank you to the crew for doing their best to give us a good experience; however, this is more of an expensive dolphin watching cruise than swim. Lovely concept,... read more crew were knowledgeable, helpful and patient. They were kind to take free photos for us and bring around fruit/sea sick tablets etc.
I liked the talk on dolphin facts on the way out. The equipment was of good quality as well and I liked the harness which I have heard other tours don’t have.
However, we only had one, three-minute swim for $660. It was awesome but over by the time you got the hang of it and then found out it was your only turn.
I didn’t realise the swims could be just a few minutes long and just one go in a four hour experience. If I had known this prior, I truthfully wouldn’t have booked and spent so much money - it was a real treat for us.
Once onboard, the crew continuously explained that each swim is different and each day is different with so many factors out of their control, which is true of course but perhaps could be better managed.
Most of the time was spent searching for the dolphins, perhaps if they had a spotter go ahead to find them and locate more than one pod, there would be more time for swimming. The company explained this would not be financially viable but would certainly give customers a better experience for the hefty price tag.
Surprisingly, after contacting the organisers I was told our experience was actually “a successful day” and it was up to customers to “contact us before booking to ask how the activity works, how long the whole thing takes, how much time is spent in the water, etc”.
I thoroughly read the website information which one would reasonably expect to explain the above and still did not learn how short the swim was until onboard. Would encourage more transparency around this information and to make it publically available.
Glad to see a company working towards a tourist activity that it better for the animals.
Great trip! The crew was awesome and the dolphins were stunning!! Nelson Bay is such a beautiful area and Dolphin Swim Australia are a cracking company. Highly recommend. 