Dolswim, Mauritius

5Alastair O 5:00 PM Sep 15, 2018

Loved it - really special
Early start saw us setting off on a high powered speed boat about 07.30, only 7 guests with 2 staff, really cosy environment with the ocean beckoning & the hunt for whales & dolphins before us. After 15 minutes a whole blowing was sighted some way off - the driver sped to a safe distance & watched a pair of female humpbacks for about 30 mins. They were so graceful as they arched & slid beneath the waves with the tail mockingly waving bye !! Generally they surfaced every 5 minutes or so & stayed visible for about a minute but the captain of the ship has to make ground to facilitate reasonably close viewing without concerning the whales - which he did very well. We then headed off to the spinner dolphins & took it in turns to swim with them, this was a short experience as these are wild dolphins, not a Disney experience ! Regardless watching 30 - 40 dolphins swim underneath you is very special !! Sadly other boats encroached so they disappeared sooner than I would have liked. We then headed towards the coral but got a further sighting of whales so the pilot spun the boat around & sped towards them. We were then treated to an amazing experience with the whales breaching repeatedly & turning on their side slapping the water with their very large fins - they really move some water !! Captain again respectful of the whales, allowed us all optimum photo opportunities - just amazing !! All in the crystal clear Indian Ocean with clear skies most of the morning & the amazing backdrop of the coastline of Le Morne. Finished with leisurely snorkelling on the coral reef, pleasant enough but frankly doesn't hold a candle to the Whales. Whales NOT guaranteed, they claim 50% success rate which was confirmed by taxi drivers & hotel staff - maybe we were lucky but that is an experience I would LOVE to repeat.

5Kamamerhs 5:00 PM Aug 29, 2018

Memorable Experience
We booked this from the UK prior to our holiday. I had reservations after reading the comments but thought that Dolswim acted very professionally and considerately throughout the trip. With the statistics for viewing Whales and Dolphins around 50/50 I was not optimistic but we ended up having a fantastic time. We travelled up the North Coast and we were lucky to see several young hump back whales and followed them at a respectful distance. You had to be lucky to catch them on camera or video but the crew were patient and enabled us to have several sitings with some closer to the boat which gave you a good idea of the size. We motored back down the coast to see/swim with dolphins. Again, the crew were respectful and there was no mad dash to compete with other boats and swimmers. Julien took swimmers into the water only 2 at a time rather than the crowds from other boats.My wife and daughter were amazed that he towed them both through the water to get views of the dolphins. I was not going to go in but as each person came out and said how fantastic it was I did. I was so pleased and Julien took my camera from me and took some great video footage. You don't actually swim with them, they were in a pod of 30+ way below you and then swim up to the surface before you get a closer view, it was very rhythmic and beautiful and goes down as one of my great holiday memories. The crew Fabien and Julien were very friendly but also very professional throughout. Drinks were available and snorkelling equipment but in hindsight wish we had brought our own full face masks.