Swimming with dolphins in Mauritius: avoid

This is the excursion we shouldn’t have done in Mauritius.

We did it with The Friendly Dodo, but from what I saw, it’s the same with most agencies.

Departure at 6 a.m. (even though the sun rises at 7 a.m. in August). Why? Because there’s only one well-known spot where the dolphins are, and all the agencies race to get there first. For 45 to 60 minutes, it’s just straight-line navigation to the spot. No one’s looking for dolphins—we’re just speeding there in silence, full throttle. Once we arrive, there are already 5-6 boats. The dolphins are there, sure. The boats fight for the best position, cutting off the dolphins’ path, and then—go, go, go—everyone jumps in. Not a single instruction is given on how to approach the dolphins respectfully. Result: everyone jumps in at the same time from 3 boats, creating a huge splash, and rushes toward the dolphins. Outcome: faced with this chaos, the dolphins dive, and you can’t see them from the boat anymore. The swimmers who are right in their path might see them pass below for a few seconds at best. Everyone climbs back onto the boats, and as soon as the dolphins resurface, the same cycle starts all over again. After 5 or 6 jumps like this (3 of which I didn’t even see the dolphins), it’s back to the port the same way we came. Not a single explanation is given during the entire excursion about the dolphins themselves or how to approach them. Safety-wise, I didn’t feel comfortable either with all the boats fighting for position. I bumped into another boat (no pain) while swimming, and I wasn’t reassured about the propellers. With all this circus, my daughters didn’t even want to get in the water. The problem is, when you stay on the boat, you don’t get much out of it either—because as soon as the dolphins resurface, everyone jumps in haphazardly and scares them off again. Having done the same kind of outing in Réunion, I can confirm it’s nothing like this (much better organized and ultimately much more rewarding in Réunion).

Under these conditions, this is an activity we never should’ve done! !

I wonder what dolphins think of all this commercial hustle and bustle around them, whether it's in Mauritius or elsewhere?

Maybe they’ll soon start doing like the Barcelonans and hold up signs: Tourists go home! 😕

Having already done the same type of outing in Réunion, I can confirm that it’s nothing like it (much better supervised and ultimately much more qualitative in Réunion).

Under these conditions, this is an activity we never should have done !

No more in Réunion than in Mauritius! :(

B

Same here, definitely don’t do it in Zanzibar either. More like 15 boats than 6, by the way. We asked to cancel straight away when we saw the lack of respect for the animals and the appalling conditions they were kept in. I’m still mad at myself for even booking it, even though the dive club had warned me.

Thanks for sharing your experience, Christophe. After reading several accounts like yours, we decided not to go—even if we had to hear, "What?! 😮 You didn’t go see the dolphins in Mauritius?" "Nope, I’m telling you, they’re much happier without us." 😔. Christelle

Hey,

Whooooo 😱, you didn’t go see the dolphins in Mauritius?

Nah, we preferred diving with sharks instead! 😏 https://bluewaterdivingcentre.com/fr/faune-et-flore/les-requins/le-bassin-aux-requins I swear we didn’t pet them ‘cause it’s strictly forbidden ;)

Thanks for sharing your experience, Christophe. Thanks to several testimonials like yours, we decided not to go, even if we had to hear "What?!?! 😮 You didn’t go see the dolphins in Mauritius?" "Nope, I assure you they’re much happier without us." 😌. Christelle

"What?!?! You went to Mauritius?" 😮 Christelle’s getting all fancy now! 😉

Okay, this forum is getting out of hand! You can't pet lions in South Africa anymore, can't swim with dolphins in Mauritius, I won't even mention penguins in the Arctic!! Or was it the other way around with penguins—I can't remember how that works anymore. What's the point of vacations then?!!!!

Joking, of course—thanks, Christophe, for raising the alarm. That said, I wouldn’t have done it anyway.

PS: If anyone’s interested, I’ve got some tips on turtles and sharks in Cape Verde 😕 But you’ll have to wait for the travel journal 😉

"Christelle’s getting all fancy now!" Haha, you know me well, Bruno! The plan was to visit Rodrigues, but since we were in the area, we also checked out Mauritius Cricri and Lulu-style 😄. And it was definitely surprising, given all the preconceptions we had about the place! It wasn’t the trip of a lifetime, but we really enjoyed it 😊.