One of the trips we went to on our recent holiday to Cancun. Before leaving, everyone who had been had said you must go and do the dolphin trip.
This review is not about the rights or wrongs of wild animals being held in captivity but about the experience itself. What I will say is that the dolphins are kept in a natural environment so they cannot either escape and predators cannot get in. They are extremely well looked after, cared for with deep affection by the handlers and stimulated and to my untrained eye appear very content.
Dolphin Discovery is based at Puerto Aventuras, Riviera Maya, around 50 miles South of Cancun, which meant around an hours mini bus trip which is included in the price and you are picked up from your hotel. The trip is very expensive at US$180 per person, adults and children alike (although you can go in and watch but not participate for free). Straight away you are thinking this better be good because for two adults and two kids it could blow a huge hole in your spending budget. My first impression was that this was way overpriced. At this stage I had no idea what the trip was all about other than swimming with dolphins and just the day before you could do this at Cancun Aquarium for about $70 so I was very suspicious that we were either being ripped off or that it would be an experience of a lifetime.
First impressions are a little strange because you just arrive there and it is just like a small marina with shops & cafes, jettys and boats but then opens up into a large lake with an island in the middle. First though we had to check in and it was a good job the mini bus driver was with us as reception was no where near the entrance with no signs. Because we had pre paid and had a voucher, registration was easy and we were given a wrist band denoting the trip you were on and the time slot. We were then told to "turn left" and everything would be there. Again, this was very confusing as there were no signs and we had to repeatedly ask staff where to go and we got there eventually.
It turns out that not only had we booked for the dolphins but also to swim and interact with sea lions and manatees and that is why our trip was so much more expensive. There is basically a shopping list of experiences and we had opted (or been strong armed by the tour rep) into the most expensive one!! Just goes to show you need to do your research beforehand! Ours was named Sea Life Discovery Plus. This is mainly for 8 year olds and above but they did have some events going on that babies could experience. However, you cannot participate if your are pregnant - effects the dolphins sonar or something!
It all seemed a little more organized from that point and we were met by a guide who then took us to meet our dolphins! This was based on the island looking back out to the side so everyone got a great view and we were itching to get involved. It is round about this point that a huge grin appears on your face and believe me it doesn't disappear until well after you have left! The dolphin encounter was absolutely superb and you are up close and personal and it is then you realize why it is so expensive. You are constantly photographed either kissing or being kissed by the dolphins (two of them), being pulled along by the dorsal fins or being pushed straight out of the water by them. At speed! You are in the water with them constantly and it is magical. And your grin grows bigger by the minute!! In total you are with the dolphins for around 75 minutes. It is clear that the trainers have a very special relationship with them and to get so close to them enables you to see how intelligent these beautiful creatures are. Just to be near them and stroke them and be looking at their permanent grins makes you totally relaxed and I would find it nigh on impossible for anyone not to enjoy this experience.
Before you can catch your breath we were then whisked to the manatee pool (although the staff did this mid way through the dolphin video as they had forgotten we were doing the manatees and sea lion also) where there are two adults and a baby manatee. Even the baby was huge but these are endangered creatures and whilst not the most beautiful thing to look at with their whiskers and huge frame they are gentle giants and clearly very intelligent. We then had a sea lion come in to perform some tricks and shake hands with everyone. We could then snorkel with the manatees and get up really close to them and you realize what a graceful beast it really is. You could also hand feed them lettuce which is their main diet. Despite their massive size at no time do you feel threatened or overwhelmed. It is a very serene experience.
Once it was all over you can go and view the videos of your day and look at photos that have been taken which are all laid out for you. If you are not careful, this is when it gets really expensive. The DVDs were US$59 each (one for dolphins and one for manatees/sea lion) - why they can't put everything on one DVD I do not know but this is just an excuse to rip you off so be warned. At a slight prompting they agreed the DVDs at $59 for the two and then wanted between $12-$16 for some 8X10 photos. The photos were OK but amateurish and it was clear the price had been bumped up to play with your heart strings given you had experienced a fantastic day and wanted to take home a souvenir. What really annoyed me was that one of the staff members got very aggressive in his marketing techniques ("If every single member of your group buys a photo you can have the second one half price" etc etc). When he asked one of our group why they didn't want to buy any he took great exception to the response "because they're crap", which whilst not diplomatic was spot on. As a result of his attitude and the prices they sold significantly less than they would do if the prices were cheaper. My advice to anyone going is do not pay the asking price here. Haggle to a price you are happy to pay. There is also nothing stopping you buying a DVD as a group and chipping in. Whilst the DVD is a great reminder they actually run for about 15 minutes in total so they are terrible value for money but something you will go and watch for many years.
This is a very expensive, relatively short trip and you really need to decide if you are going to go on it before you get to Mexico and budget accordingly. Otherwise you will see adverts for it everywhere and everyone will be talking about it and the kids will make you feel guilty.
Is it worth the money? After the event I was delighted to have gone, loved every minute of it and didn't begrudge a penny but it is still very expensive for what is a half day trip. I suppose based on this then yes, it probably was worth the money and I did not hear one bit of negative feedback from our party all day. However, it is a unique experience and if I went again I would probably just do the dolphin bit which would cut the price down significantly.
The various areas you need to get to are not sign posted and is generally very disorganised which is surprising given the volume of visitors they must get so be prepared to ask where to go and when. After you have experienced the interactivity though you soon forget about this because it is an experience you will probably never forget. Even the El Bandito photo salesman won't be able to take the grin off your face.
