Whale Swim Adventures
During late August and early September, 2012, I joined eight other people swimming with Humpback Whales in Vavaú in the Kingdom of Tonga, one of only 3 places in the world where you can get in the water with these beautiful creatures.
This video is a compilation of videos from a number of the people on that trip.
The music, apart from my own very bad version of the theme from Gilligan's Island, is performed by local people on the island of Utungake, part of the Vavaú group of islands. I recorded these with their permission.
I hope you enjoy the sights and sounds as much as I did.
WhaleSwim Vava'u Tonga
Swimming with Humpback Whales in Vava'u Tonga - Whale Swim Adventures - Video taken on my GoPro Hero 3+
Tonga WhaleSwim
Swim with humpback whales, Vava'u, Tonga, October 2012
Humpback Whale swim Adventure
Eua Island, Tonga (Sept 2014)
Episode 27: Vava'u Group, Tonga
Episode 27: On our Transpacific Crossing, we spent almost a month exploring the Vava'u Group in Tonga in our 35' Beneteau Oceanis Sailboat. Here are some of the highlights.
Tonga, vava'u adventure
A snippet of things to do at Tonga,
(Thanks to Tongan Expeditions - Lisa, Gary and Al, for the diving and whale watching experience!)
Song credit - Alesso - Heroes
Swimming with Humpback Whales in Tonga!
Swimming with humpback whales in Vava'u, Tonga with Nadia Aly
September 2018
Awesome Whale Swim in Tonga
Swimming with humpback whales in Vava'u, Tonga. A group from Awesome Scuba spent a week diving and whale watching in Tonga during July 2010. Amazing sights up close to the whales topped off an amazing week. Join the dive revolution - AwesomeScuba.co.nz.
Haighy's Tonga adventure - Honeymoon part 2
Honeymoon part 2. 8 days in Tonga, looking for humpback whales. Time split between Tongatapu where we saw them from the bar at Kaleti beach resort (just lucky!) and Vava'u where you can snorkel with them. We only found one pair to snorkel with (for no more than 5 mins) in 3 days of looking. We stayed at Lucky's beach houses in Vava'u.
My Trip to Tonga 2018
Swimming with Humpback Whales in Tonga
whale swim tonga
july 2019
What Not To Bring | Vava'u, Tonga | Humpback Swims
In this video I explain what you should not bring on your whale swim adventure, and a few suggestions on what you should bring.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Swimming with whales in Vava'u Tonga
Honeymoon 2008 - Humpback whales
Swimming with Whales - Tonga
Swimming with whales in Vava'u Tonga.
Kingdom of Tonga
Swimming with whales in Vava'u, paradise.
Swimming with WHALES in TONGA
WANNA DO THE SAME (but in French Polynesia)? Join me next September: eepurl.com/dEXn2r
Swimming, snorkeling and freediving with whales and dolphins in Tonga.
Swimming with whales in the wild and open has been a long-time dream of mine. The whales usually start to show up in late July to early August and stay until mid-October. It’s hard to pick a sweet spot within that timeframe as any week has the potential to have tons of whale sightings, or not. Some days will be packed with whale swims while others might only have one or none. Humpback whales are wild animals and since the boats don’t feed or coax them into interactions, there are never any guarantees.
We definitely got lucky, though! Seven of us headed out on a speed boat off of the island of Vava’u, Tonga, and we were one of only 10-15 boats out on the water that day, and each of the six days that we spent swimming with the whales. We hung out with a mother whale with calfs, singing male whales, and witnessed a couple of heat runs, led by a female in heat and involving several male whales all vying for a chance to mate with her. Not only did we swim with several whales, but four dolphins as well! The trip finished with a beautiful swim in a crystal clear cave full of tiny, glittering fish.
I’m forever changed after this experience. CLICK HERE to read more about my experience and how you can book, prepare and get the most out of your trip:
Partial footage credits: Matt Reichel and Karim Iliya of Dance With Whales
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Vava'u, Tonga
Vava'u is a northern group of islands in the Kingdom of Tonga.
For more information visit:
Mystic Sands | Vava'u, Tonga // S1E4
In this episode, I walk you through Mystic Sands in Tonga. This is my new accommodation venue moving forward for my Humpback Whale trips.
Let me know if you have any questions!
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Whale Swim Tonga: Underwater Photography 2017
The result of two weeks spent swimming with whales in The Kingdom of Tonga. It's such a spectacular place. I simply can't recommend the experience enough!!!!
These are some of the best moments of my life.