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Before learning you can go on a whale swim in Tonga, I wasn’t even sure I knew where Tonga was on the map. Now I can tell you all about the 3 main island chains and the best local dish to try (‘Ota ‘Ika). Why? Because I spent over 2 weeks in the Kingdom having my fair share of adventures and travel mishaps.
As for going on a whale swim in Tonga? Yep, I did that. TWICE.
If you’re planning your own trip to Tonga and are swimming (pun intended) in questions about the whales, here’s 10 things you need to know.
While my other articles answer all the practical questions about Tonga travel, this blog post is all about my actual experience and what you can expect when you hop in the water with the gentle giants of the sea.
So let’s get into it shall we! I chose to whale watch/swim on 2 different island chains, so I’ll cover a bit about the difference between the two and what my experience was like on each.
And yes, I do think this experience changed me…
The 3 main island chains in the Kingdom of Tonga are Vava’u, Ha’apai and Tongatapu. You can swim with whales from any of the 3 chains! We did a whale swim on the island of ‘Eua in the Tongatapu chain, as well as the island of Foa in Ha’apai.
If you’re trying to decide between swimming with whales in the Tongatapu chain or Ha’apai chain, I’ll give a few quick notes about each and then share my experience with these majestic giants!
These are not facts, just my observations from 1 whale swim in Tonga at each location.
Around ‘Eua the whales are often hanging out just outside the harbor, so it takes all of 5 minutes to start seeing them up close.
The water visibility was amazing, about 90ft and the water was a sparkling ethereal blue (great for snorkeling!). The boat we went on was a bit hard to get back onto, not great if you have mobility issues. There are only 2 whale operators so you’ll never have multiple boats contending for the same set of whales. For me personally this feels a bit more ethical than having a dozen boats out prowling.
On Ha’apai the whales tend to congregate a bit further out from where you’ll load on the boat. Our operator was the resort Matafonua and their boat was modern with a sturdy ladder to use. The water visibility was still great, about 40 ft, but the water was a bit darker and murkier. Things are spread out in Ha’apai so while there are several tour operators we didn’t see any other company the day we went out, likely because they left from another island.
Now that we’ve done a bit of quick differences in conditions, let’s get into the good stuff…
Whale Swim on 'Eua
I am so grateful we chose to whale swim in Tonga with Kikos Whale Swim! They were amazing for many reasons: hospitality, welcomeness and respect for the whales. Our whale swim started the night before with a presentation about the swim and a gear try on. I really appreciated this presentation because it showed the forethought of wanting us to know exactly what to expect and how to respectfully swim with whales.
We had an early start the next day. I was so excited I could barely sleep the night before! I’ve spent so much time viewing whales from the surface at my job in Alaska, I couldn’t wait to get in the water and see what they do under the surface.
I learned quickly that there are a lot of false starts when you’re attempting to get in the water with a 45ft animal that can easily swim away from you at 6knts.
We had a ton of surface activity (breaching, pectoral fin slaps, tail slaps and spouts) around us, but every time we motored the boat over the whales would vanish.
I intentionally didn’t wear a watch because I’m always monitoring the time and I wanted to be free of that during our whale swim in Tonga.
My guess is that we spent about 2 hours searching for whales that would stick around and let us get in with them. I’ll be honest, I really started to come to terms with that fact that it might not happen. Despite that, I remained optimistic! I kept scanning the horizon and alerting our captain Senni to any spouts. It was a rocky and choppy day out there, there were 5 of us guests and 2 guides and a couple people were chumming the water.
But we stayed vigilant! You’ve got to stick with it! And finally, it looked like a whale was cruising by slow enough that we could hop in. I had been sitting there ready to go, so as soon as I got the green light I hopped in the water. Okay fine I crashed into the water… I did a backwards divers entrance which I was NOT supposed to do… opps!
I turned in the water and there, just 30 feet away, was one lone humpback taking a breath at the surface.
I will never forget that one singular moment.
Wow. That is what a humpback really looks like. Not just a quick glimpse of the back or fin, but the whole body.
She swam off before anyone else could get a look.
And just like that my first time swimming in the same waters as a whale had passed. It was truly magical. I can only describe it as deeply peaceful.
I maneuvered up the ladder (a literal ladder secured to the station and plopped in the water) in the rocky seas. Back on the boat we looked for our next potential swimming companions. We got in with a mom and a calf briefly. It was amazing even though it was fleeting. The calf was hiding behind mom before they swam down deep.
Next we got in with 4 adults!
We could see the 4 whales swimming below the boat and in all the excitement I botched my slide in entry and sort of slipped in, right over top of a whale! We just floated there as 4 large individuals glided away beneath us. I was looking right down their blow holes! We got to watch them surface and then swim off.
The excitement was high on the boat after that! But unfortunately not for everybody. Some people were a bit too sea sick to continue so we dropped them off at the wharf. “Do you want to continue?” Asked captain Senni. Ummm… YES PLEASE! Nate and I went back out with another guest and a guide.
After some cruising up and down the coast, we found 2 adults just milling around. We hopped in and hoped they would stick around. We saw them briefly when we first got in and then they swam a bit further away. Aki our guide motioned for us to follow and he started swimming after them. I certainly wasn’t expecting this, but I went all in trying to keep up with 2 humpback whales.
And then Aki’s hand shot straight up. He found them. As I approached (swimming as quietly as possible) I saw the outline of a huge tail 30 feet below.
Holy smokes. The whales were just milling about in 60 feet of water, and as I got closer their bodies came into view. This just took my breath away. We got to watch them from the surface as they did their thing. “So this is what they do when they’re underwater for 7-10 minutes!” I thought.
They weren’t even really swimming, just hanging about it seemed. One of them was in a sort of headstand position. We watched for a long time, all linked arm and arm. Eventually they start to make their way to the surface.
Oh. I thought. OH. They are coming to the surface. WE are on the surface! Gosh I hope that whale knows where it’s going. I watched two giant backs effortlessly rise up from the sea. They swam at a 45° angle and broke the surface to breathe just 20 feet in front of us. I could see the folds of its ventral pleats (the bit below the jaw that expands) and looked into its eye. Calling this animal an it feels so wrong after that.
The whales went back down, we watched them descend with a few powerful pumps of their tails. We were able to keep up with them long enough to see one more surfacing from further away, and then they were off. We thanked them, we thanked the ocean, we whooped and hollered.
Just before climbing back up the ladder I asked if I could dive below to listen to the ocean. I went down about 20 feet and my eyes widened, I could hear them singing, it was the perfect goodbye.
Whale Swim in Ha'apai
One week later, we were suiting for our second whale swim in Tonga. This time in the island chain Ha’apai. We were going with the tour operators and lodge Matafonua.
Ha’apai’s sandy beaches and flat island is a total contrast to the volcanic and steep ‘Eua. But that wouldn’t matter when we got in the water, it would be all about the whales.
This time we had no powerpoint presentation or long safety briefing, although that could have been because everyone in the boat was a repeat swimmer. We went out with a lovely family of 5 and their guide who had swum with a mom and calf the day prior. Fingers crossed that would be us! Because there were 8 of us on the boat, we were divided into 2 swimming groups to adhere to the rule of only 4 guests in the water at a time.
We were on a sleek catamaran with a real swim ladder attached to the stern. Our guide was the owner’s daughter, she’s been swimming with whales her whole life. The search began.
After cruising around for an hour, we finally spotted some adults sleeping at the surface. When we slowly pulled into the area, most of them headed off. One mom and calf stuck around. This calf was FRESH, seriously it was so, SO tiny, probably just 10-12 feet long. He was shorter than his mom’s pectoral fin!
I felt a pang of jealousy as group 1 got to slide into the water. Patience I told myself, as the four of us in group 2 waited on the boat. Group 1 got a great viewing before the whales got too far away to keep up with. They loaded on the boat, we repositioned and then it was our turn. We slid in and swam over.
Oh my gosh!! I saw the white underside of a fluke down about 30 feet through the murk – “she’s over here!” I called out. We came upon mom and calf while they were investigating the bottom. White whale dandruff floated in the water. Then they came up, took a breath and were off. The baby working hard to keep up with mom.
“That was amazing!” we all gushed back on the boat. The calf was so tiny! My guess is that he was just a week or two old.
The mom and calf were still in the area, so once we found them just relaxing again, group 1 hopped back in the water. We felt pretty lucky on the boat because from out of the water we saw the coolest thing. The mom was resting on the surface and the baby swam up onto her rostrum (her elongated head!)!! He just took a little rest up there! It was amazing to behavior witness! How’s that for a whale swim in Tonga!
Word to the wise, one of the people in group 1 had their phone in a waterproof phone wristband that slipped off and was lost to the depths. Don’t bring anything that doesn’t float!
Once group 1 returned (phoneless) we repositioned and then got in the water a second time with this mom and baby. It was only about 45 seconds of viewing, but I couldn’t get enough of watching this little baby!
Then we had a long time searching for “swimmable” whales. We watched a lot of surface activity and cruised the coast for more than an hour. The sun was looking low in the sky and I was positive we were gonna call it a day.
There was a lot of breaching way out in the distance, so we made one last effort to go investigate. We cruised over and discovered a young calf (not as small as the first) having an absolutely ball swimming and breaching around mom. “Wow!!” we all exclaimed as she breached near the boat.
“Group 1 get ready!” We were all a little (pleasantly) surprised that the whale swim was still on. Group 1 totally lucked out and got in right as the baby cruised by the boat. They swam with her for a minute before she sped up and did more acrobatics in the distance. I had my fingers crossed that I could still get in.
As the captain slowly drove along, the baby came right up beside us and breached 10 feet from us! I was riding high on the bow and had the perfect view of her underside as she flopped into the water.
The calf was a little ways away (mom was nowhere in sight, probably enjoying some alone time down below) when we hopped in. I felt good being a bit further because this baby was, after all, breaching. From our position in the water we saw her swimming along under the surface, she turned upright and – BREACH!
I got to see a breach happen from underwater! I couldn’t believe it!! She did it once more and then swam low and back up and all around, opening her mouth once underwater. We watched the ventral pleats expand. This one last whale was the perfect end to our whale swimming experience in Tonga.
And then it was time to get out. We thanked the whales and cruised back towards the island. I watch the whales in the sunset the whole time, mom had resurfaced and they were both breaching as if to say goodbye. Or good riddance, who knows.
Was My Whale Swim in Tonga Life Changing?
I am not one to over exaggerate emotions – I genuinely feel different after swimming with whales in Tonga.
There was something so deeply peaceful about watching these graceful and gentle animals in their natural state. I feel like they let us into their world.
After my first whale swim I was so relaxed and carefree back the the guesthouse. Not concerned with what we were gonna do tomorrow or what time dinner was like I usually would be. I just felt tranquil. I’ve been holding on to that ever since we got back from our trip.
So I hope this write up of my life changing experience gives you the nudge you need to get down to Tonga and get in the water!
Bree is a travel writer who specializes in adventure travel – from backpacking guides to ocean escapades!. She has worked in marine based tourism in Alaska and in ocean outdoor education on Catalina Island. She is currently living with her partner in New Zealand where she is working and backpacking.
Ahoy! I’m Bree and I’ve started this blog to help you plan your next great outdoor adventure. With a background in marine science, I’ve got an aptitude for all things ocean, but you’ll find land based adventures here too! Everything you see here is based on my own travel experience and paid for myself. I hope you stick around!
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Great article Bree.
Thank you
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