Whale Shark Diving Indonesia: An Otherworldly Experience

Whale Shark diving Indonesia is one of the most popular options among various exciting marine experiences during your holiday in Indonesia. Learn more about this travel itinerary.

Whale Shark Season in Indonesia

Thankfully, the Whale Shark season in Indonesia at Sumbawa comes out all year round, with the most frequent period from July to November. Such circumstance coincides perfectly with the Ebi season, which is among the favorite food of whale sharks. You’ll spot them moving around several points in Saleh Bay, including Moyo Island and Gili Dua.

Whale Sharks Indonesia in Sumbawa

Seeing the whale sharks in Sumbawa is extremely easy to the point. You can just knock on the boat’s body and wait not that long for the colossal shadow to appear on the surface of the water. The whale shark Indonesia of Sumbawa has gray and white spots with a full mouth and loves small shrimp.

Here’s how the cute nature of the Sumbawa whale sharks attracts tourists’ attention, mainly to visit Labuhan Jambu Village of the Tarano District. As one of the villages in the coastal area of ​​Saleh Bay, the majority of the villagers work as fishermen.

The majestic yet soft-hearted creatures of the whale shark in Indonesia have never failed to attract more curious marine explorers from around the world. As an exotic place with thousands of hidden gems, Indonesia is the ideal place to meet whale sharks. Some of the most visited places for this activity include Derawan, Nabire, Gorontalo, and Sumbawa.

This article will focus more on the whale sharks in Sumbawa, an island in Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) —adjacent to world-renowned Lombok as well as Sumba and Flores.

Helpful Tips to Enhance your Diving Experience

Swimming alongside Whale Sharks makes for a memorable experience. The fact that they have existed for millions of years also contributes to their grandness among tourists—very rarely can you see sharks so large.

The first tip for swimming with whale sharks: keep noise to a minimum. As you plunge into the water, try to enter slowly feet-first, and not jump from the boat. The same goes for the way you dive underwater: keep the fins under the water surface to reduce splash. Doing all of these prevents startling the whale sharks.

Next, observe all you want when a massive whale shark is swimming close but never touching them. Even the slightest touch from you can sort of “stress” them and cause them to float away in an instant.

On the other hand, you should know that touching the skin of whale sharks poses an alarming threat. Most marine species are covered in a mucus layer protecting their bodies from parasites and bacteria. Contact with that layer exposes us to toxins instead—considering that we’re also the “foreign material” to these creatures. So, look, but don’t touch!

Keep A Distance

Furthermore, no matter how soft and harmless they are, always keep your distance by maintaining at least 3 to 4 meters away. Don’t panic if they swim fast directly towards you. Remain calm and get into a group if you still feel insecure.

While underwater photography devices or strobes are highly familiar when it comes to diving, please refrain from using one of them since excessive flash photography can also stress them up and hurt their vision.

All in all, the necessary information above is what you need to equip yourself with the whale shark in Indonesia, particularly in Sumbawa. Once you have booked the exciting tour, it’s undoubtedly an unforgettable journey to add to your memory album! Check Our Tour Itinerary