Swimming with dolphins is one of those experiences that will stay with you for the rest of your life.
There are a number of programmes around the world where you can swim with dolphins. You can play with them, feed them, watch them under the water and feel their speed and incredible strength.
Perhaps the most famous swim with dolphins experience is at Discovery Cove in Orlando, Florida where you can experience the thrill of swimming with bottlenose dolphins in their very own lagoon away from the crowds and queues.
Children must be aged six or over to take part in the dolphin swim at Discovery Cove and children 13 and under must be accompanied by an adult guest within the park.
We've a fantastic alternative for you if you are going to Florida on holiday. The One Day Everglades And Dolphin Swim Adventure sees you depart Orlando early in the morning and travel to the Florida Everglades National Park, the largest remaining swampland in the world. On arrival, you will be taken on an exciting airboat ride in search of local local wildlife including alligators and turtles. Once back on dry land, head to an alligator and snake handling show where you get the chance to learn, hold, feel, and get your pictures taken with these amazing animals.
Then it's off to the tropical Florida Keys for the second part of you adventure. After a poolside lunch, you will enter the dolphin facility for one of the best dolphin swim experiences anywhere in the world. Unlike other dolphin swim programmes that limit the interaction to a shallow water encounter, this dolphin swim experience takes place in a natural ocean water lagoon that is around 15 feet deep. During your ONE on ONE dolphin swim you get to experience a whole host of behaviors including dorsal tow pulls, belly rubs, toe pushes, handshakes, and the best of all a dolphin kiss!
Many centres that promote the conservation and protection of marine mammals worldwide offer a dolphin swim experience and create an enriching and stimulating environment for both the marine mammals and the customers.
One such centre is based just off the coast of Kaikoura, in New Zealand. The Dolphin Encounter Kaikoura Experience, lets you swim with playful, acrobatic Dusky Dolphins in their natural environment and you may be lucky enough to see other marine life - the endangered Hector’s Dolphin, New Zealand’s smallest and rarest dolphin, has been spotted in the area, as has the world’s largest dolphin, the Orca (or killer whale).
There are also a number of marine parks which allow you an up-close and personal experience with friendly dolphins.
Ocean World Adventure Park in the Dominican Republic boasts the largest man made dolphin habitat in the world. In the Swim With The Dolphin experience, those lucky enough to take part get to meet these amazing sea creatures face to face and hand to fin. Then they are carried through the water between two dolphins in a 'dorsal fin' tow.
At the same centre, there is also the Dolphin Encounter Programme. Although not a swim experience, you stand in waist-deep water to feed the dolphins and even share some charming kisses and hugs.
In Mauritius, on the Sail the Dolphin Coast Experience, you can enjoy a day of sailing, swimming and sun worship as your luxury catamaran gently cruises along the beautiful West Coast in search of the school of dolphins that call this area home.
If you are unable to swim, programmes exist which allow you to feed, kiss and touch the dolphins from solid ground. Those wishing to get in the water with them should be able to swim.
Marineland Mallorca has a dolphin show that has been rated as one of the best Bottlenose Dolphin exhibitions in the world. You can upgrade your ticket to include the Dolphin School where you can touch and meet the dolphins and help to teach them new tricks. The park also features sea lions, stingrays, penguis, tropical birds and much more and is a must for all animal lovers!
There are no swim with dolphin experiences in the UK, but you can see them in the wild off our coast by taking a boat trip to known dolphin colonies around the British Isles. Sometimes they appear, other times they don't, but it's always an adventure being on the open sea! Around the UK there are Dolphin And Whale Spotting Boat Trips operating from Cornwall, Wales and the North of Scotland.
It's important to remember that these dolphins are wild animals. Although they may allow us to get very close to them, their actions can be unpredictable.
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