In the areas around Mauritius you can observe dolphins in their natural habitat and even swim and snorkel with them. We have swum with dolphins in Egypt before and even dived with dolphins on Curacao in the Caribbean, which were unbelievably great experiences. That’s why we really wanted to do it again here in Mauritius 🙂
Table of contents
German-language tour with Roman Duda
There are many agencies in Mauritius that have swimming with dolphins in their program. It was important to us that we can be with the dolphins as early as possible, so that there are not so many boats at the time and, on the other hand, that there is no hunt for the dolphins. Our choice was made relatively quickly by Roman Duda, who offers different German-language tours in Mauritius. We had already read a lot of positive comments about him and his tours in different Mauritius groups on Facebook.
Roman came to Mauritius many years ago as an enthusiastic scuba diver and then built a diving center there. He now lives with his Mauritian wife and daughter in the north of Mauritius. He has various tours in the program, from private island tours to swimming with dolphins to boat tours. All tours of Roman and its cooperation partners are insured according to the legal requirements. Furthermore, Roman has all the necessary certificates and permits to offer these tourist activities. There are many providers who do not have this and still offer such tours for tourists. Most of the time, these are agencies that offer the tours more cost-effectively. You should be careful with whom you book such tours. If you would like to book a tour with Roman, you can contact him here.
Swimming with dolphins in Mauritius
Transfer & start of the tour in Tamarin Bay
We were picked up at 4.15 in the morning by a driver at our Hotel Constance Belle Mare Plage. There were already three other German couples on the bus with whom we did the tour together. It took us about 1.5 hours to get from the east coast of Mauritius to the small town of Tamarin, which is located on the west coast.
When we arrived at the public beach of Tamarin, Roman was already waiting for us. We were able to leave all our belongings in the small bus that we won’t need on the boat. We already had the bathing suits on, the camera in our hand and a towel as well. So it could start right 🙂 On the beach was already our boat, so it could start relatively punctually at just after 6 o’clock. The sun was already glittering on the water and accompanied us on the entire excursion. A fantastic start to the day!
Waiting for the Dolphins
We first drove in the direction of another boat, which was also on a dolphin tour. And behold, after a short time we spotted the first dolphin school from the boat. Here in Tamarin Bay live spinner dolphins (“Spinner Dolphins”) and bottlenose dolphins. The bottlenose dolphin is probably known to most, because this dolphin species is widespread in all oceans and became known by “flippers”. The spinner dolphins bear their name because of their acrobatic performances, as they make certain jumps in which they can rotate several times around their own axis. And that’s exactly what we could see perfectly. Madness!
Swim with dolphins
When the dolphins were spotted a little closer to our boat, we were able to jump into the water. Masks, snorkels and fins are on board and anyone who wants to go into the water could. We tried to follow the dolphins a few times, but it was very difficult because they were incredibly fast. Nevertheless, we have seen some. But it was unfortunately very a pity that the sea was very cloudy today. Due to heavy rains in recent days, sediments have been washed down from the mountains into the sea over the Tamarin River and the Riviere du Rempart, which have stirred up and clouded the water. So we could observe the dolphins very well from the boat, but in the water they were really very difficult to recognize.
What should you consider when taking dolphin tours?
We had also read a lot of critical comments about the dolphin tours in Mauritius in advance of our research. There was talk of real hate-hunting. Of course, this had already made us think. As much as we like to swim with dolphins, this should be as undisturbed as possible for the animals, because it is their habitat.
Gradually more and more boats came to the place where the dolphins were this morning. In total, there were already more than 10 boats after just one hour. When we returned to the shore at around 7.45 am, there were now about 20 boats on the way. We could see the same spectacle at another point during our hike to Mount Le Morne. So it is very good to be on the water early , as with Roman – so that you can avoid the masses a little bit. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, 30 or 40 other people were in the water together and all of them – as if stung by the tarantula – paddled off and swam after the dolphins. Actually crazy!
Unfortunately, many of the boats also leave their engines on all the time in order to be able to quickly chase after the dolphins. Unfortunately, it often degenerates into veritable hate-hunting. And that’s why we decided to go on a tour with Roman. He is very responsible and treats the animals with respect. The engine from our boat was out most of the time and we waited for the dolphins to get close to our boat. Of course, the chances are slightly lower that you have the perfect position to swim with the dolphins. But we thought that was perfectly fine. We prefer to see fewer dolphins than to chase them. And since the dolphins often change direction anyway, this is always a little gamble anyway 🙂
Roman, by the way, offers a kind of guarantee: if no dolphins are spotted during the tour, he offers a free repetition of the tour.
Breakfast with Mauritian specialties
When we were back on land we had the opportunity to take a shower at the “Tamarin Bay Surf School”, move and use the toilet. After everyone was done, we went to a nearby small shopping center and got a local breakfast. At a street food stand called “Roti Lacaz” we could taste various Mauritian specialties: Dholl Puri (a thin dough flatbread with vegetarian filling), Gateau fries (vegetarian, fried balls) and tamarind juice. Afterwards there was a coffee or tea and croissants in a small café. A nice conclusion to an eventful tour!
But today was not over. It wasn’t until 9 a.m. 🙂 Next we took the bus to the east coast of Mauritius for the start of Roman’s “Eastcoastdream”, a boat tour along the east coast. The article will be available on our blog shortly.
Our video of today’s day tour
Here you can get some impressions of our tour “Swimming with Dolphins” in Tamarin Bay and the subsequent boat tour “Eastcoastdream” along the east coast of Mauritius:
A map with all the sights of Mauritius
Here you will find a map in which we have drawn all the sights of Mauritius such as photo spots, waterfalls, famous beaches or activities:
All travelogues from Mauritius
Day 1: Mauritius – Travel Guide, Things to Do & Tourist Attractions (Travel Report)Day 1: Holidays in Mauritius – Travel Planning, Flight & Car Hire (Mauritius)
Day 1: The 5* Hotel Dinarobin Beachcomber Golf Resort & Spa (Mauritius)
Day 2: Le Morne Brabant – Hike to the top by your own (Mauritius)
Day 2: The Seven Colored Earth & Chamarel Waterfall (Mauritius)
Day 3: Black River Gorges National Park & the Grand Bassin (Mauritius)
Day 4: Constance Belle Mare Plage – The 5* Resort on the East Coast (Mauritius)
Day 5: Casela Nature Parks – World of Adventures (Mauritius)
Day 6: Diving on the West Coast of Mauritius with Pro Dive (Mauritius)
Day 6: The Church of Cap Malheureux & Port Louis (Mauritius)
Day 6: The Botanical Garden in Pamplemousses (Mauritius)
Day 7: Swim with dolphins in the Tamarin Bay (Mauritius)
Day 7: The island of Ile aux Cerfs & Snorkeling in the Blue Bay (Mauritius)
Day 7: The underwater waterfall off the coast of Le Morne (Mauritius)