Oslob Whaleshark with Sumilon Island

We did Oslob Whaleshark and Sumilon island tours and all 10 of us (different ages) had a grand time experiencing God's beautiful gifts. Sumilon Island is exquisite and the Butandings are truly magnificent. I just hope they minimize the number of boats that set out at a time so that it doesn't look very crowded from the shore and the whalesharks can swim more freely.

Wir waren im April 2018 auf den Philippinen und ich habe die Tour mit den Walhaien gebucht. Leider gleicht es eine riesen Massenveranstaltung, bei der 8-10 Boote mit jeweils rund 10 Leuten drauf ca. 50 Meter rausfahren und eine Gruppe angefütterte Walhaie regelrecht zu umzingeln. Oben sitzt Einer der Bootsführer im Boot und wirft Futter ins Wasser und alle Mann schnorcheln wie gestört um die Tiere rum. Ich muss sagen es war schon ein Erlebnis als Taucher so nah an die Tiere zu kommen, aber letztendlich ist es doch Tierquälerei. Auf der anderen Seite fragt man sich wo kann ich solche Tiere sonst zu Gesicht bekommen und man ertappt sich bei dem Ganzen mit zu machen. Die Bilder und Videos der Tiere sind schon ein riesen Erlebnis, aber mein Appell an die Gruppen, lasst die Tiere bitte frei schwimmen und bitte nicht anfassen, das zählt an und für sich für Alles unter Wasser, schauen ja anfassen nein.

I was in Cebu for work from late April to Mid-May. I took a one day trip to Oslob and Sumilon. I booked the tour with Southwind Travel and Tours. They pick up at hotel and bring you back. I was the only one on the trip so i had the guide, Rachel and the driver all to myself! They were both awesome. Cebu to Oslob is about 2.5 hours in the morning. You get there around 7am. Put on the life jacket and away you go. Six tourists to a boat. Two guides. They paddle you out to the Whaleshark feeding area, where a 'feeder' is throwing food over the sides of his canoe. The Whaleshark comes up, opens its huge mouth and inhales. You have stairs off the small boat to ease yourself into the water and you can swim right up to the Whaleshark, you cannot, or SHOULD NOT touch them. You can get pretty close as they just ignore you. It is an impressive creature! Good experience. Great for all ages. But keep in mind, "Whaleshark Tourism" is big business and there can be lots of people, I was lucky on the day i was there, it was only half packed i was told. Still when you look underwater you see scuba divers swimming around along with some pretty colorful fish. The whole experience last about 30 minutes. Water looks like its 30-40 feet deep and you are 50 yards from shore. There can be 10 or so people with you in the water at any given time. No everyone jumps in. You can take off the life jacket if you want. Then its onto Sumilon Island. Small Island, ten minute drive from Oslob. There is a small pier with a Tourist station (with bathroom) owned by the Bluewater Resort on Sumilon. Southwind Travel has an agreement with them to use the facilities. Its a 15 minutes boat ride to the Island. Great place. On the south side of the Island you have a sand bar with very gentle waves and very shallow water. Great for all ages. That is where most people hang out. I stayed practically all day on the north side where there is a marine preserve. Very nice snorkeling, lots of very colorful fish (some huge ones and some eel fish too) and sea life, including the odd 2.5 foot shark. The waves can be rough on this side. Lots of bolders, rocks. The tour included lunch at the Resort. It was a very good buffet I might add. The snorkeling beach has little tiki huts with elevated floors (no sand on your towels!!!!) and hammocks. You spend four hours or so there. Its not too busy, so you can just relax. Around 1:30 pm we headed home. Took the boat to shore. The ride home was close to 4 hours. All in all, a very great day trip and I could see myself staying a couple of days at the Bluewater Resort as it looked very nice.