So to be honest I was a little leery but swimming with the dolphins has been on my bucket list for countless years and I was so excited to finally be able to afford to do it. We booked our dolphin encounter through Island Routes prior to arriving at Beaches Negril but you could have booked your excursion right at the booking desk at the resort.
Why You Should Book a Dolphin Excursion at Beaches Negril
My husband was not overly enthused about going, as we have had some pretty poor luck with some excursions during past vacations. But this was an experience I wanted to have for my daughter and I so off we went!
There was an air conditioned van that showed up to take us to Dolphin Cove that we shared with another lovely couple from our resort. The ride was a bit long (about an hour) but what awaited us was so much fun once the leeriness settled!
When we arrived we checked in at the front desk and they gave us bands for our dolphin encounter.
We then followed a sandy path down to meet the camels, donkey and ostrich. My daughter and I shared a camel ride (additional cost) with a lovely worker who told us all about the camel and the other animals they had their at dolphin cove. My daughter loved it even though she claimed otherwise! We then fed a donkey and an ostrich. This mom was not going anywhere near the ostrich but my daughter had no worries.
Finally our time came to go swim with the dolphins. There were so many trainers there as well as a photographer to catch every moment for you. We all had life vests an in to the beautiful warm water we went. We were given instructions and then we all were able to touch, feel, kiss and hold the dolphin. I was so excited. These animals are simply beautiful and they are so smart. Looking into their eyes gave me a sense of calm. It was an amazing experience.
Next we moved on to a large enclosure where there was another dolphin and here we were able to swim with them. The dolphins gently pulled us as we were holding onto their fins. My daughter even gave it a try by herself but I don’t think she was strong enough to hold on the whole way. But as luck would have it the instructor let her experience the swim with my husband and she was ecstatic.
The whole experience was amazing and very well could have ended then but we had stingrays to see and touch. We were led to another beach that had stingrays that you could touch and feed but at this point the rain was coming down and I was a little afraid of these guys so we dried off and went to pick up our photos and wait for our driver to come and get us. All in all a wonderful excursion that was well worth the money spent.
