How to go Snorkeling with Dolphins in Puerto Escondido
Imagine jumping into the Pacific Ocean and suddenly being surrounded by hundreds of playful spinner dolphins. The sound of their clicks and whistles echo in your ears, and they keep their distance, but want to be noticed by you as they swim by quickly, jumping and spinning as they go.
This was me on my last trip to Puerto Escondido, in utter awe of the graceful creatures swimming beneath and beside me. It was one of my favorite snorkeling experiences of all time! In this article I’m sharing all about snorkeling with dolphins in Puerto Escondido and how you can do it, too!
Reserve Your SPOT in Advance:
- 🛥️Award-winning Puerto Escondido Dolphin Tour: This 3-hour tour is led by a local ecotourism company—we loooooved it!
About Dolphin Watching in Puerto Escondido
The Pacific Ocean off the coast of Puerto Escondido is home to massive pods of spinner dolphins year-round. Just a few offshore you can see encounter hundreds (sometimes even over a thousand) dolphins.
Local tour boats take you out to the pods, giving you a chance to watch the dolphins swim playfully beside your boat, and if you’d like, jump in the water with them!
When we did this tour, we were surrounded by a thousand spinner dolphins, but this area is also home to bottlenose dolphins, long beaked dolphins, pink dolphins, sea turtles, mobula rays, and seasonally, gray whales and humpback whales.
🐬 A note on ethical animal tourism: Never touch, follow, or crowd marine life. And ideally, opt for an eco-tourism tour like this one!
What to Expect on a Puerto Escondido Dolphin Tour
Most dolphin tours depart from Playa Principal in Puerto Escondido around sunrise and last for 2-3 hours. But trust me, this is so worth the early wake up call!
We were picked up near our hotel in La Punta and brought to the Playa Principal, where we climbed up into on a small speed boat which took us a few miles off the coast.
As our boat approach the pod, dolphins began swimming and jumping alongside the boat playfully. It felt like they were escorting and welcoming us human visitors into their habitat.
Then, we got the chance to get in the water (which is optional!). The water was quite clear, so I could see groups of dolphins swimming 15-20 feet beneath me, and others swimming by at my level. And all the while I could hear their songs underwater!
The company provided snorkel gear, but I always prefer to use my own. I love my Cressi snorkel mask, and use a special neoprene mask strap that protects my hair. I also love my waterproof GoPro for photo (but the photos in this post were taken with an older GoPro before I got my new one!)
Puerto Escondido Dolphin Tours FAQs
How many dolphins will you see?
According to Capital Edgar from Eco Adventures, you can expect to see up to a thousand dolphins at once (which is what happened to us!) In the worst case, you may see as little as five.
When is the best time to go dolphin watching in Puerto Escondido?
You can see dolphins all year round, but Captain Edgar from Eco Adventures says that he tends to see the most dolphins in January and February. We did this in March and as I mentioned, saw nearly a thousand!
Is the water cold?
Surprisingly, the water wasn’t very cold in March! I found it similar to the ocean temperatures in Hawaii, maybe even a little warmer. You shouldn’t need a wetsuit regardless of the time of year.
