Sep 1, 2024
Thanks for the experience - Very early we woke up with the Guide notice to get the whale shark swimming, an incredible and unforgettable experience, thank you to the boys and the agency for giving us confidence and safety
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aug 29, 2024
Excellent Tour - This was an excellent experience. My wife (68) and I (75) had never went snorkle diving before but diving with whale sharks was on our bucket list. Weather and water conditions cooperated and the captain found the whale sharks feeding exactly where they expected. We had 3 turns in the water with the whale sharks and it was amazing! After the whale shark encounter we moved to a second location and had about 20 minutes to snorkel over a small reef. Plenty of fish, but didn't spot any turtles or nurse sharks that frequent the reef. We cruised into a mangrove area where we saw many birds...egrets, herons, pelicans and a few flamingos. Then food at a secluded beach with bathrooms, tables and a small bar. Well worth the money!!! Alex was our guide and we cannot praise him enough. Besides being a wealth of knowledge he assisted my wife on each dive so she could enjoy the close encounter. Excellent! We cannot forget the captain, he provided an enjoyable boat ride and coordinated extremely well with Alex to get us in position to "chase" the whale sharks. Their boss, Jose, personally assisted with finalizing our booking after a glitch in the system canceled our tour! All around great experience. Highly recommend!
Review provided by Viator
Aug 4, 2024
Recommend - We swam with whale sharks it was great
Very very good organization and super nice with children
We had a fabulous lunch and great snorkling
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 11, 2024
Recommended only for adventurers - We did a whale shark tour with Chris and it was amazing! He was very excited and made sure we all had a great time. He was also very considerate of the animals’ welfare in making sure we didn’t get too close to the whale sharks that would disrupt them. We saw some rays and small sharks during the snorkeling and ate an amazing fresh ceviche. I would definitely recommend it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 2, 2024
Great Experience - Amazing experience, I recommend you to go. The sharks are magnificent and the tour is also an awesome experience, you will see other animals as well.
Gustavo was our Guide, with a solid background and knowledge about the animals. Great communicator as well.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 13, 2024
Great experience - I had the wale shark tour with this team and Gostavo and I pretty much enjoyed it!! You need to be clear on what you want, it's a 2 hours boat ride each way and a bit of time searching for a wale. This is not n issue or anything negative, it is part of this and if you enjoy swimming with this beautiful massive creatures, then these guys make sure you get a good swim!! I did 2 swims with the shark and it was memorable
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 13, 2024
The great whale shark - I've been waiting to take this trip literally for years and it didn't disappoint! The sea was rough but our captain was great, they found the whale sharks and made sure we got a great look at them. Our guide was knowledgeable about the wildlife and the local area. The ceviche was also very good! Thank you for an unforgettable day
Recommended
Xtremholbox
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 13, 2024
Recommended - My partner and I loved this experience! We both swam with 2 of the whale sharks which was absolutely amazing. The guide was so lovely and friendly. He made us feel very comfortable and I was very excited to be able to share this experience with him. He really added to the whole experience and we loved him.
We will definitely return next year.
The tour includes everything, breakfast, coffee, lunch, ceviche, snorkeling equipment, you just have to bring repellent and if you have your equipment, much better 😍😍😍
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 13, 2024
Something very surprising, excellent service from the XTREME HOLBOX team - Can I leave more than 5 stars? They made the entire trip and experience unforgettable! From start to finish communication was excellent. Please understand that whale sharks are wild, but if you are lucky enough to see them, the captain will spot you and the guide will swim with you alongside these beauties. The trip is a little difficult even with fabulous weather, but it is worth every bounce. Lunch and snorkeling (huge rays everywhere) topped off an incredible experience. We feel safe, cared for and respectful of wildlife with XTREME HOLBOXI can't recommend it enough!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jan 21, 2024
Horrible - pure horror! - -- Feedback in English below --
-- Deutsch / German --
Horrible - pure horror!
I normally never write reviews, but here I just have to warn and give feedback.
So everything that follows is my personal opinion/experience!
Note: Since I was on Holbox about 12 years ago, I am also making comparisons to earlier times!
What happened: Five of us booked a private boat (20,000 pesos) for the whale shark tour.
We had to pick up early so that we could get to the whale sharks before all the other boats. That was the general conditions.
Procedure:
Before the start/when the tour was sold, we were told a lot about the tour, content, etc. - on the boat, completely new rules were suddenly added that seemed completely arbitrary. For example, that the animals had to be protected and that you were only allowed in the water if there were at least 5 whale sharks. Completely absurd when you read older reviews and realize that dozens of boats roar out there every day and let people loose on one whale shark - with combustion engines, by the way (because sunscreen is completely banned for the sake of the environment - another "rule"). What irony.
So that's a total fail there.
The worst thing, however, is this:
I am a licensed captain myself and the most important thing at sea is that the health, safety and well-being of the crew and passengers comes first.
In this case, we had the most reckless person I have ever met as "captain".
Steering into a thunderstorm at full speed, crashing/flying the boat at full speed in waves that were far too strong and high, and even when we passengers regularly "fell off" our seats, we had no qualms about adjusting the speed to the conditions - despite clear instructions from us.
If these operators had any decency, they would have had to cancel the tour long ago. With the waves, they would NEVER have allowed anyone to go into the water, that would be extremely dangerous and negligent, but they didn't - it's all about money.
The end result was that 3 of us got seasick, in one case so severe that the body went into shock and started a real fight for survival! We even had to convince the guides that we wanted to cancel the tour, which was met with total incomprehension at first.
You can see that I can't say anything positive about the operator or the tour.
I can only advise you: Please keep your hands off it - as much as the attraction of swimming with the whale sharks may be - it's pure rip-off and it's just not worth it anymore. And no one should risk their life so carelessly by putting their responsibility in such hands. The trip to possible whale shark spots takes at least 2 hours!!
Holbox only lives on its reputation/name - apart from the beautiful beach (you can get that elsewhere and much cheaper) nothing of the glory of the old days remains. Everything is designed purely for commercial purposes (and rip-offs) - a horrendous development. A good documentary offers much better added value here!
-- English --
Horrible - pure horror!
I usually never write reviews, but here I just have to warn and give feedback.
Everything written below is based on my own opinion and experience.
Note: As I have already been to Holbox around 12 years ago, I am also comparing the impressions from now with the impressions 12 years ago!
What happened: 5 of us booked a private boat (20,000 pesos) for the whale shark tour.
Pickup was supposed to be early to be at the whale sharks spot before all the other boats.
Procedure:
Before the start / When the tour was sold, we were told a lot about the tour, schedule, etc. - on the boat, suddenly, completely new rules were added, which seemed purely random. For example, in order to protect the animals there have to be at least 5 whale sharks to be allowed to swim with them. Completely absurd when you read older reviews and realise that there are dozens of boats going out every day and let people swim with only 1 whale shark - with internal combustion engines, by the way (as a matter of environmental protection, suncream is completely forbidden - also such a new "rule"). How ironic.
At that point, it was turning out to be a fail already.
The worst thing, however, is this:
I am a licensed captain myself and the most important thing at sea is that the health, safety and welfare of the crew and passengers come first.
In this case, we had as "captain" probably the most reckless person I have ever experienced.
Navigating at full throttle into a thunderstorm and then still staying with full throttle even there are far too strong and high waves for the boat. As a result the boat banged/flied into the waves and even once "falling down" passengers from the seats our captain had no intention to adjust the speed to the conditions - despite clear announcements from our side. If these organizers had just a spark of decency, they would have had to cancel the tour hours ago. The waves and the wind were way too strong to even allow anyone to swim in the water, that would be highly dangerous and negligent – so you see, it's all about money. They simply do not care about their customers’ health, safety or welfare. Sad - terrible - I am at a loss for words.
At the end 3 of us got the sea-sickness, in one case even so violently that even shock rigidity and the true fight for survival was initiated by the body! We even had to convince the guides that we wanted to stop/cancel the tour, which was met with total incomprehension at the first moment.
As a summary, you can see, there is nothing positive about the tour nor the guides. I can only recommend to you: Stay away from this provider/tour - as much as the attraction to swim with the whale sharks may be - this is pure commercial interest and it is simply not worth it. Moreover, no one should risk his/her life so easily by placing his/her life into such careless hands of that provider. From my point of view: Today, Holbox lives only from its reputation/name - apart from the beautiful beach (you can have it elsewhere too and much cheaper) nothing is left of the glory of the old days. Everything is purely designed for commercial purposes (and rip-off) - a horrendous development (I travelled to Holbox 15 years ago and have experienced the comparison by myself).
Review provided by Tripadvisor