Swimming with Whale Sharks in Oslob, Cebu, Philippines

Swimming with the whale sharks in Oslob is a very popular attraction not only in Cebu, Philippines but all over the world. Oslob is a small coastal town, now world-famous because of the whale sharks...the largest fish on earth.

We made sure to include this in one of our vacation itineraries. So the whole gang is excited to not only see them up close and personal but also to swim with them!

Our whale shark tour was arranged by the hotel where we were staying. The driver picked us up at 4am because it is a 1.5 to 2 hours drive to Oslob, plus we have to register and attend a compulsory short briefing before boarding the boat. And feeding time with the whales is only from 6 am to 12 pm.

There is a limited number of boats going to the feeding area and each one with 10-person capacity. You cannot just rent your own boat and go directly. We have to wait for our turn in the cottages/sheds along the shore.

We didn't wait long for our turn to board the boat. We were taken to the feeding area which is about 200 meters from the shore.

To lure the sharks, our tour guide dropped the shrimp. It's fascinating how the whale shark ate...opened its mouth moved forward and swallowed everything in its path.

The boatman told us when he saw whale sharks coming toward us, to get down and swim with them. We were told to continue to hold on to the boat's outrigger but if we wanted to go and swim a little further, we can but only for a short time and distance. Make sure though that it is easy to reach the outrigger at any time.

It was scary when we saw them approaching, they are so massive but they glided calmly through the water. It was truly a mesmerizing sight.

There is an ethical debate about this industry. Although there is a huge impact on the town of Oslob, in terms of the funds generated, environmentalists contend that there might be malnutrition due to the lack in diversity of their natural diets, behavior change as sharks have associated boats and people with food and actively go near them and spend more time at the surface making them more prone to diseases. But studies have shown it to be inconclusive.

Cebu on the other hand is trying to mitigate measures without losing its source of economy. There is a limit on the number of boats allowed in the feeding area, and a compulsory briefing before boarding the boat on the dos and don'ts in swimming with the whales:

• Don’t come within 5 meters of the whale sharks or touch them.
• Don’t wear any sunscreen or lotions when you’re swimming, as the residue of these lotions can be harmful to the whale sharks.
• Don’t swim more than 5 meters away from your boat and you should be able to touch the boat at all times.

A certain percentage of the profits go to local authorities and use the funds to employ sea wardens to protect the whale sharks and coral reefs.

Even as the rest of us just stayed on the boat watching these 'gentle giants' feed, swim, and play with the braver ones amongst us, we all agreed that this was an experience of a lifetime. This one's for the books!

​