Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Whale swimming only on Vava'u? How about 'Eua and Tongatapu? Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Tonga
Bgt 23:43 UTC 30 Jul 2017 | Dear friends! I'm planning a trip in September through seven South Pacific nations including Tonga. When in Tonga, I very much would like to swim with whales. When browsing the internet it seems like most of this is going on in the vicinity of Vava'u island several hours north of the capital island of Tongatapu. And much of what is on offer seems to be multi-day-packages. The season is obviously right for meeting the whales up close, BUT since I have a bit of a time constraint I'd like to ask you people if there are any other decent possibilities of whale swimming departing fro Tongatapu itself or some other islet nearby? If so, please let me know what you thought of it and which company that you used, I MIGHT still go to Vava'u BUT would really prefer a day-trip for the whale encounters. Can anyone recommend a reliable outfit there that provides this service? Lastly, if you went to Vava'u, did you use a direct flight from Tongatapu or did you access Vava'u from Fiji? Best regards Bgt - 177 countries visited (and still counting) |
mknoke 07:25 UTC 31 Jul 2017 | The reason for multi-day packages is that on any particular day, even in season, you are not guaranteed "success". So it makes sense to try multiple days. Though I am pretty sure you can book just one day if you ask around. There is no way to swim with whales from Tongatapu. | 1
Caballodemar 15:04 UTC 03 Aug 2017 | Hello Bgt, I am heading to 'Eua and plan to do whale swimming there paying per the day. I believe this is possible but per the other post you may want to allow a couple of day trips to view the whales in case you do not see on first or second trip. I will wait to see when I arrive which operator, I think there are only one or two in 'Eua? I am not sure about not seeing whales from Tongatapu? I thought there were day trips but I think there is a better chance of seeing them (and less tourists) from 'Eua or Vava'u so you may as well save your money for 'Eua or Vava'u if you are planning to visit these places. I am flying to Vava'u from 'Eua with Real Tonga; I think they have added some new flights recently? a new partnership? to fly between Vava'u and Fiji so check their site out. Happy Travels:) Caballodemar | 2
Bgt 14:42 UTC 25 Sep 2017 | Dear all! I'm happy to share with you that I a few days ago successfully went whale watching from Nuku'alofa on Tongatapu Island! I went with Deep Blue Diving and we sighted hunpback whales 8-10 times and swam with them 5 times. I'd say we even were within 10-20 m of the whales at times. Sometimes a lone whale was seen, sometimes 2-3 whales together - adults or calves I paid 300 Tonga pa'anga for this full day trip and lunch as well as snorkeling gear was included. Everything was very professionally handled and super nice. They do have an office on Eua as well as trips from there I met other people that went with them on other dates and also were successful Best regards Bgt | 3
Thorn Tree 01:00 UTC 26 Sep 2018 | This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you. | 4