Dolphin Watching in Bais
The thrill of seeing animals in their natural habitat is what drives people to take nature walks or watch Animal Planet. In the Philippines, visitors can get close to some of the most playful, intelligent animals without disturbing them from their natural environment. Dolphin watching, one of the most popular attractions of Bais, allows people to experience dolphins as they live out their life in the ocean, instead of seeing them trapped in a tank as they would in an aquarium.
The Dolphins of Bais
Bais is about 45 kilometers north of Dumaguete. traveling to Bais takes approximately 1 hour. The best time to see those amazing creatures is in the morning hours just after sunrise. There are several dolphin watching tour operators to choose from in Bais. Most only operate between March and October, because during other months of the year weather conditions obscure the dolphins and are difficult to boat through.
April and May are the busiest months, while September and October sees some of the calmest conditions in the Tañon Strait between Negros and Cebu. Visitors should always call ahead for reservations, ideally a month before they wish to tour, because spots on the boats fill up quickly in the summer. Sometimes visitors can hire privately owned boats if unable to get a reservation for one of the tours. However, the private operators need to be registered with Bais Tourism Office.
Dolphins in Bais – A Great Experience
Most dolphin watching tours in Bais have qualified dolphin spotter to show tourists when dolphins come to visit the boat. Since dolphins are naturally curious, they enjoy examining the boats. Pods of dolphins may play in the nearby area, leaping out of the water and swimming under and around the boat, sometimes for up to an hour. Clear water makes it easy to see the dolphins. The boat ride itself is leisurely and slow so the dolphins are not frightened or injured. Visitors can expect to see pantropical spotted dolphins, which have spotted backs, and bottlenose dolphins.
Although many visitors want to swim with the dolphins or to feed them, both actions are prohibited. Dolphins are wild animals, which makes them majestic and beautiful, but also makes them unpredictable. While dolphins in other areas are used to humans swimming with them, dolphins in Bais have not been trained that way.Swimming with the dolphins could injure them or frighten them into injuring the swimmer.
Feeding the dolphins is prohibited because locals do not want them to depend on humans. Many dolphin watching tours stop at other attractions in the area, such as the mangrove forest or the Manjuyod Sandbar. For visitors looking for a relaxing, sunny day on the water enjoying the antics of peaceful animals in their natural habitat, there is no better activity than a dolphin watching tour in Bais.
