Whale watch vavau pioneered swimming with the humpback whales obtaining the first license from the tongan government in 1993. Swim with whales in the wild and maybe look a humpback in the eye. This began the evolution of the very successful whale swim and whale watch industry in vavau. A vavau holiday home is your home away from home our holiday homes are all situated on the picturesque port of refuge harbour in beautiful vavau. This is not your ordinary whale watching tour off your local coast, this is much more. Home location diving trips whale swimming padi dive courses campingtrips gallery other links. Effects of whalebased tourism in vavau, kingdom of tonga plos. The waters in front of our resort are on the seasonal migration path of the humpback whales and these magnificent mammals can often be seen with their. We also offer amazing dive spots for those keen scuba divers when visiting vavau tonga. Pacific ocean, vavau, tonga, tonga whale swimming at.
Swim with whales in tonga dolphin pacific diving and. We are a san francisco based travel agency that works with local companies in vavau,tonga to provide the best experiences for our clients. Vavau, in our opinion, is the best place in the world for inwater encounters with humpback whales. Keith has twenty four years experience fishing the waters of vavau and can offer a professional and happy charter to both experienced. All vessels both private and commercial, underpower or undersail, operating within the vavau group during whalewatching season must take care to remain outside a 300m radius of a sighted whale. Learn about the cruise port of vavau, tonga islands. This is one of the few places in the world where you can actually get in the water and swim with whales in the wild. Divingswimming with great white sharks filmed for the first time carcharias the great white 2000 duration. Whats the difference between whale watching in haapai and vavau. Hundreds of whales stop at haapai each year between july and october and as haapai is further south geographically many whales wishing to travel to vavau have to pass through haapai first anyway.
The whale watching tours take place in the open water. Whale swimming at vavau tonga, all the whale swim companies pick you up by boat from your resort. Swimming with humpback whales in tonga vavau archipelago. Tonga and the dominican republic, i was told, are two of the most well known. Here, is where you find vavau island which is a hot spot for humpback whale action. Swimming with wild humpback whales in tongas vavau archipelago. Scheduled international services to vavau from fiji happen every wednesday and saturday during the whale season with fiji airways. Swimming with whales in vavau tonga treasure island tonga.
When keith, the ownerskipper, first noticed humpback whales breaching and lazing in vavau waters, he decided to add whale watching to his license. All vessels both private and commercial, underpower or undersail, operating within the vavau group during whale watching season must take care to remain outside a 300m radius of a sighted whale. Vavau, tonga islands cruise port, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Humpback whale megaptera novaeangliae vavau, tonga tonga is one of the very few places you can actually snorkel within close proximity to whales. Let mv ashlee g and mv kalo take you on the experience of a lifetime, whale watchingswimming in the beautiful waters of the vavau islands, tonga. Whale swim beluga have an experience you will never forget swimming with the worlds largest mammal. If a vessel finds itself within a 300m radius of a whale, the vessel must slow to 4 knots until 300m away. Watch for humpback whale spouts, spyhopping and breaching while enjoying an educational briefing from an informed local guide. The beautiful harbour opposite the main town of neiafu known as the port of refuge harbour is a common destination for yachties sailing the south pacific. Vavau is where whale swimming all began and is still the destination of choice for the majority of travellers to tonga. Home our boat the whales the islands whale swimming contact general vaka vave whale swim charter. The protected waters close to the sea cliffs and islands provide an ideal environment for the birth of each years. They were the first to be issued a sport fishing and whale watching licence and as such have pioneered sport fishing in vavau. Our tours are carried out under strict guidelines with fully qualified and certified personnel to ensure minimal impact on these beautiful mammals.
Swim with the whales in tonga with dolphin pacific diving. The island resorts are situated in the outer islands away from the main islands of vavau. Tonga is one of the only places in the world where you can snorkel with whales up close. Whale watching and swimming with humpback whales the tongan beach resort is in the enviable position of being able to offer unique whale watching experiences to our guests. Whales in the wild swimming with humpback whales in vava. Whales, whales, whales whale swim vavaumv ashlee g. We got incredibly lucky and managed to swim with whales and dolphins on the first day, the first mother and calf of the season. Swimming with whales vavau islands tonga best time to visit. Geologically they are similar to niue, with very little reef and very deep. Holds current government survey certificate and all necessary licences required to operate in tonga.
Apparently there are only a few places in the world where there are tourist services providing a swim with whales experience. Up to 90 days of daily highs, lows, and precipitation chances. Swimming with wild humpback whales in tongas vavau. Being the longest running whale watching company in vavau you should think that they were also the best, but we were very disappointed. We had just five days on the water and four of them were just too windy and the whales were very shy. Get your 3day weather forecast for neiafu, vavau, tonga. We carry out whale swim ecotours in the pristine waters around vavau where the majestic humpback whales come every year to mate and calf. Whale season in vavau is midjuly through to midoctober. Sightings cant be guaranteed and the swell can be pretty high. Whale watch operators in tonga are aware of the delicate balance which must be maintained between viewing and harrassing the whales so they have developed a code of conduct to help insure this population of humpback whales continues to find a safe and peaceful haven in the kingdom of tonga. Vavau is a group of more than 50 islands in tonga, about 150 miles north of tongatapu. They are either raised coral limestone or coral atolls. Each home has its own dock for swimming and pick up for diving, fishing, whale swimming or just taking time out to relax in comfort and peace. Below is a list of whale watch tour operators, recommended by travellers.
Activities in vavau, vavau islands, tonga, south pacific offer visitors activities such as sailing and sail charters, diving, deep sea fishing and whale watching. View mother whales basking with their newborn calves it is not guaranteed because we are subject to the pattern of migratory whales, additionally this is the beginning of the season in vavau. We went out with them for two consecutive days, and there were several things we reacted on. The 10 best vavau islands hotels where to stay in vava. After reading trip advisor we decided to go with whale watch vavau run by alan bowe, to swim with the whales. We had our first purpose designed boat, phoenix, built in new zealand and shipped to the kingdom early that year. The season is obviously right for meeting the whales up close, but since i have a bit of a time constraint id like to ask you people if there are any other decent possibilities of whale swimming departing fro tongatapu itself or some other islet nearby.
Whale watch vavau neiafu 2020 all you need to know. These gentle giants, grace the waters of vavau during the winter months of july to october. There were some real highlights in the trip such as hearing the whales sing, following a pod and snorkelling in the swallows cave but be prepared for rude comments over the two way with a female from base camp such as when we asked for wet suits our size this is all i could. Water temperature is around 24c 75 f to 26c 79f later in the season. Unlike toothed whales, such as dolphins and sperm whales, the baleen whales do not echolocate, instead they make vocal calls between each other including the mighty song of the humpback whale.
Vavau is the best place in tonga to go whale swimming with the gental giants of the pacific ocean. Fiftysix surveys took place during the 2016 and 2017 whale breeding seasons aboard dedicated research and tour vessels. Whale watch vavau neiafu 2020 all you need to know before. Effects of whalebased tourism in vavau, kingdom of tonga ncbi. The weather is warm, but youll want to bring a wind jacket to keep you comfortable on the boat. The whale watching expeditions do not go very far, a few meters from the port and still very.
It has the best and most beautiful powered sand beach in all of tonga and is truly a south pacific offshore private island dream destination. Vavau offers a range of accommodation, but if you want to do it style and get the full experience. Humpback whales migrate past tonga during the season from the last week of july thru to the end of october. The whales come from antarctica toward the end of june. Find 2020, 2021 and 2022 cruise itineraries to vavau, tonga islands or view sample excursions and things to do in vavau, tonga islands. Every year from july to november the whales complete their migration from the cold feeding waters south of new zealand and australia, to the warmer tropical waters of tonga where they give birth to calves and perform courtship readying themselves for the next season. Reef resort vavau offers bungalowstyle accommodations directly opposite the japanese coral garden, a popular snorkeling spot. The early days were a real learning curve as there was nowhere else in the world we could seek advice. Vavau offers protected waters and the main breeding grounds for humpbacks in tonga. Know whats coming with accuweathers extended daily forecasts for neiafu, vavau, tonga. The beautiful, sheltered, islands of vavau are the rendezvous point for the annual migration of humpback whales escaping the harsh antarctic winter. When they come up to the warmer south pacific water to breed, it is an amazing experience. As noted earlier, we are in the northern end of tonga, specifically the vavau group of islands. Treasure island resort is located on eueiki island in the northern island group of vavau, tonga and is open all year around.
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