Frequently Asked Question

This is a great question and one that is weather and wildlife dependant. We start the day by picking you up from your accommodation in Exmouth township (see list of pickup locations and times under the transfer question). 

You’ll find a rough itinerary listed under each tour but please note the average finish time of our Whale Shark Swimming & Adventure Day and our Life on Ningaloo tour is 2:00 pm. You will usually be back to your accommodation sometime between 2:30 – 3:30 but this may vary and be later if wildlife is further afield.

It’s important to note that weather can play a role in when the tour starts and how long the tour finishes. 

Ningaloo Reef has something to offer all year round, but the absolute best weather months (in our opinion) are mid March, May, June, September and October. In these months the water is warm, weather patterns are consistent and it’s not too busy.  The end of March/April (Easter) and July holiday periods are also beautiful but can also be extremely busy, making it more difficult for you to secure the tours of your choice. If you are thinking of visiting in these months please do book as far in advance as possible to avoid disappointment. November and December is turtle mating season and they are everywhere! We’ve aimed our tours around the seasonal peak periods for each wildlife featured. Have a nose around our tour tab for full details on what to expect when. The summer months (January to March) can be quite hot in the northwest of Australia but offer terrific fishing and snorkelling opportunities.

No. Our licence conditions and respect for wildlife and their stress levels, as well as your safety, means that you must keep a certain distance from both Whale Sharks (minimum 3 metres) and Humpback Whale (30 metres).  If the wildlife is accepting of your presence, you will still be able to swim fairly close.

Whale Sharks are filter feeders and mainly feed on plankton and krill which is found in abundance around Ningaloo Reef during coral spawning, while Humpback Whales’ diet mainly consists of small fish. Neither have any teeth and do not see humans as food.

However, these fish and mammals all weigh several tonnes each and Humpbacks, in particular, can display boisterous behaviour, particularly during mating season.  Minimum distances are in place to protect both wildlife and our tour participants.

Interacting with wildlife will always have an element of risk involved. Our job as tour operators is to mitigate this risk whenever possible. We have found our touring over the years to be safe.

The first thing Live Ningaloo does is to limit our group size. There are many reasons smaller groups are great. The experience is more personalised, the crew can be more attentive throughout the day and it’s a more enjoyable experience because we have more time to tend to the details.

Another reason we limit the size is so we can maintain a single swimming group that is uber important because it gives you more time in the water enjoying wildlife but also reduces pressure on our crew to produce multiple times for several groups.

The reality is the first encounter is usually the best with wildlife. Our single swimming group gets that first encounter every time and this single swimming group tactic allows us to produce something consistently with wildlife for our guests without become a nuisance to wildlife.

Many factors contribute to successful and safe swims. Ways we further mitigate the risks are:

• Spotter planes – we discuss animal behaviour with our spotter plane and we also use that spotter plan to help guide us to the best place to see wildlife. There is a waiting period where we and a spotter plane study and monitor the humpback whales body language to determine their behaviour.
• Animal behaviour – are they displaying passive or non-passive behaviour? Are they surface active? Where are their peck fins? Are they blowing bubbles? Are their movements erratic? Are they changing direction, and do they seem in distress? Have other boats interacted with them and how many times?
• Visibility – This is one of the most important factors. If we don’t believe visibility is good enough to conduct a tour, we simply don’t place people in the water for a tour.
• Sea state – In rougher conditions animals can be more unpredictable and be more surface active. There are many factors that contribute to the sea state. We utilise several weather tools which help us determine and predict weather patterns leading up to tour dates but sometimes you can only make the call when you are out on the water. The conditions do not need to be perfect to be safe, but there are combinations which we feel are better and we stick with those combinations.

Bottom line is we feel safety of our guests and the species we interact with is paramount and we err on the side of caution and will not compromise safety for a tour.

Humpback whale swimming is one of our favourite things to do here and we consider it a safe and bucket list experience in WA.

The humpback whale operators have worked closely with Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) to develop a framework that focuses on the safety of swimmers and the protection of the whales as the highest priority.

Whale Sharks are sharks – in fact, they are the world’s largest fish.  In contrast, Humpbacks are whales – mammals who nurse their young with milk.

Whale Sharks and the other animals that inhabit Ningaloo Reef are completely wild and can at times be unpredictable. We cannot guarantee that guests will see a Whale Shark on your tour, therefore we have a no sighting policy. You can view details within our Terms on Conditions.

We will be journeying onto the open ocean to follow Whale Sharks or Humpback Whales that have been spotted by our spotter plane, so some swell may be experienced. Considered preparing with anti-seasickness medication as recommended by your pharmacist or physician so you can make the most of your day.

We recommend taking any anti-nausea medication just before we collect you for your complimentary transfer to the boat ramp so that by the time we arrive at the boat 30 minutes later the medication has started to act. 

We recommend that all swimming participants are confident swimmers, and comfortable with snorkelling and freestyle stroke in the open ocean for up to 60 minutes at a time.  You will be supplied with wet suits and flippers for your swim. If you don’t feel confident in your skills, you don’t need to miss out.

You can join our tours as an observer and enjoy spotting Whale Sharks and Humpback Whales from the safety of our vessel or participate in our new Humpback Whale Watching Tour.

We can also provide flotation devices for those who aren’t as confident in the water or suffer from any movement restrictions but still want to swim – please enquire about our arrangement when you book.

We do provide return transfers from Exmouth township. You’ll have the option to choose where you are staying in town when you book your reservation and it will be on your confirmation once you book. We depart from Tantabiddi Boat Ramp. If you do not require a transfer, you’ll need to meet us there, boots on jetty at 8:30am sharp. The full pick up list is below, the time slots are a gauge. Please allow for a 10-minute buffer.

Ningaloo Bed & Breakfast 7:35am
Manta Rays 7:45am
Exmouth Escape Resort 7:50am
RAC 7:50am
Ningaloo ‘Exmouth’ Visitor Centre 7:50am
Ningaloo Caravan & Holiday Resort 7:50am
Ningaloo Lodge 7:55am
Potshot 7:55am
Ningaloo Lighthouse Caravan Park 8:10am *** Note this establishment is closed until further notice.
Yardie Creek Homestead 8:25am

Note: If you are staying in a holiday rental home in Exmouth, select ‘other’ and add the address when you book. We’ll retrieve you at 8:00am

Starting in 2020 we will also add South Mandu car park (inside the national park, also the location of Sal Salis, Ningaloo Reef pick up) at 8:00am for an extra fee of $100 per person.

Please let us know of your dietary restrictions at the time of booking, and we will do our best to cater to your needs.

Bring your bathers; sun protection including sunglasses, a hat and sunscreen.  You will also want to bring a towel and a warm top or jacket in case of wind chill. If you require any medication, including sea sickness tablets, please bring this with you.

We are unable to dispense any form of medication on board the vessel.  Please note, our professional onboard photographer will be taking complimentary photos of you on your Whale Shark and/or Humpback Whale swimming adventures, so there is no need to bring your own camera unless you want to.

All digital photos of you will be made available via Dropbox after your tour, at no additional charge.

If you are comparing Whale Shark swimming tours on Ningaloo Reef, you will find our tours are more expensive than others offered. We are the only company specialising in a more personalised tour experience.

We offer a maximum of 10 places on our tours, the lowest of all operators.  Why is this important?  Government guidelines specialise that a maximum of 10 people at a time can swim with Whale Sharks. Having a group of this size means that you get much more time in the water and don’t need to ‘sit out’ while we rotate groups on the tour.  

The intimate size of our tour groups also means that we can tailor the experience to each of our guests and you get a much higher degree of attention from us and rapport with your fellow guests.

We are fortunate to be a part of an amazing industry – we are considered the leaders and Exmouth WA is considered the best place to swim with whale sharks and the only place where you may see humpback whales and whale sharks in the same time period. The truth is, all of the Whale Shark tour operators work together on tour day.

The spotter plane pilots work with the captains of the boats and all of the captains work together, sometimes even sharing wildlife with each other throughout the day. No tour operator wants you to leave the Ningaloo Reef less than happy with your tour. We want to support the other amazing operators because it’s the right thing to do. Having said that, we do think we run the best tour, the difference between us and everyone else coming down to numbers.

We chose to take fewer people on our tours although we have the same license as everyone else. We have made our decision based on our ethos of sustainability. It’s better for the wildlife we interact with, the people on tour with us, and our staff to offer small group tours.

At Live Ningaloo, all our commercial decisions are based on sustainability and helping educate our guests to support this unique environment. In its current state, prawn fishing is the most unsustainable fishing in the area and is sadly responsible for much of the reef destruction in the Exmouth Gulf.

Until prawn farming becomes more sustainable, Live Ningaloo chooses not to support this industry. We promise to instead serve you a range of delicious food from sustainable, local sources.