Swim with Whales in Tonga - What does it take to get a 'really good swim'?

There are a lot of videos and photos of whale encounters on the internet but these only represent the highlights of a tour. If you're thinking of going to Tonga, we thought it would be useful for to know, what to expect and how long it takes to get one of those life-changing moments!

For four years, we collected data on: number of hours on the water; distance covered; number of pods encountered (and number of animals in each); and duration of encounter. The data also demonstrates our commitment to whale welfare (which is submitted each year to the South Pacific Whale Research Consortium).

Not many (if any) operators do this and because we have these data, we know what it takes and can show you.

Year	Days on water	Encounters	Hours with whales	Distance km	Encounters/day
2015	19	88	36	1543	4.6
2016	34	212	81	2528	6.2
2017	15	87	34	1196	5.8
2018	10	72	25	917	7.2

The results are quite consistent. In the 2018 season we had a remarkably good year, mostly because the weather was flat calm the majority of the time.

Encounters per day

We average between 4.6-7.2 encounters per day. This doesn't mean it's the same every day or every week. in 2017, the whale encounters per day ranged from 1 - 11 and were below 4 a day for a third of the days.

So how many encounters to get a 'really good swim'? Of all the 'encounters' only a proportion result in a 'swim' and many of these are fly-bys. If we consider a 'really good swim' as 40 minutes or more, it's about 25% of our encounters.

But this varies year on year. You need four encounters a day, on average, to get a swim but some days we get more, some days fewer. It takes 2-3 days to get one of those 90 minute swims 'of a lifetime' - usually about twice per trip.

Conclusion

To get a 'really good swim' you need at least two and a half days ... sometimes more, sometimes less.

This is why we put together our peak-season trips to run for 8 days with 5 full days on the water. With a small group at the right time of year, you have maximum chance of one of those epic encounters.

There are a lot of images and videos online showing spectacular whale swims and that's what we endeavour to get for all our clients but this is just the best of what people show you.

If you choose to go with a day trip, you may not get the swim you expect.
Day trips put extra pressure on skippers and guides to deliver on expectations.
Day trips put extra pressure on whales.
Swims with sub-adult whales often result in long encounters.

Our approach to whale swim tourism employs the world’s best practice which was developed using personal experience and the latest scientific research.

Our highly experienced skipper and guides will ensure that the impact of our activities on whales is minimised through the use of a precautionary approach as well as avoiding sensitive cow/calf pairs.