Whale Shark Season November to End January
From November to January Djibouti is one of the easiest places in the world to see whale sharks! These gentle giants come to feed on the high concentrations of plankton around Ras Eiro and Arta beach and you can swim and snorkel with them!
Whale sharks are, put simply, a shark the size of a whale and the biggest fish in the world! In Djibouti we can see whale sharks up to 8m (26ft) long with a mouth 1m (3ft) wide!
But never fear, despite their size whale sharks feed on the tiniest things in the sea, and their amiable and playful nature makes swimming and snorkeling with them an unforgettable experience.
Read our guidelines about interacting with Whalesharks HERE.
Due to the fact that whale sharks feed at the surface they are easy to see, even without getting wet! Whale shark encounters in the water normally take place in the first 5m (16ft) of water, so a snorkel and mask are all you need to enjoy this fantastic experience.
Discover Djibouti - An amazing adventure underwater and on land !
On our trip you will have a chance to snorkel with Whale Sharks for 45 - 60 minutes. Bring your camera or rent a GoPro with us, as this is truly an amazing experience.
During the season, regular trips are scheduled every friday and saturday. Water, Lunch, Snorkeling and / or Diving Equipment rental included.
Please check with us for availability for Private groups.
Price
Snorkeling $110 USD
Diving $160 USD (1 dive,certified divers only)
PLEASE BOOK IN ADVANCE AS TRIPS WILL SELL OUT QUICKLY !
Partnering with MCSS Seychelles since 2006
Djibouti Whale Shark Monitoring Project
This annual expedition continues the work that MCSS helped implement in 2006, when this aggregation of whale shark was first scientifically documented. The program has been continued successfully in each year since 2009.
The expedition is jointly organised with Dolphin Excursions, who operate the live-aboard, DECAN, a Djibouti NGO and Megaptera a French NGO, who MCSS helped to set up a whale shark monitoring program in Djibouti in 2003.
Three weeks of scientific expedition are planned to study whale sharks in the waters of the Gulf of Tadjoura, Djibouti. This is run as a participatory programme with up to 12 participants assisting the MCSS team in the collection of data on these sharks; this includes photo-identification, tissue sampling for DNA analysis, compilation of the data, photo-identification matching with previous years, etc.
You can help study whalesharks !
Report your whaleshark sightings on Wildbook.org and upload your photos !
The Wildbook for Whale Sharks photo-identification library is a visual database of whale shark (Rhincodon typus) encounters and of individually catalogued whale sharks. The library is maintained and used by marine biologists to collect and analyze whale shark sighting data to learn more about these amazing creatures. For more details go to Wildbook.org