It takes about an hour and a half to reach the whale sharks, but the ride is worth it. Unfortunately, it’s not a private experience. Even with a 6:30 am hotel pickup, we weren’t the first boat on the scene. By the time we had arrived, there were already a dozen boats in the area. By the time you reach their feeding area, you can no longer see land in any direction. As you get close, though, the boats all converge on a single spot so if you aren’t first it isn’t hard to locate the whale sharks.
Notice the second whale shark swimming away from the camera at the beginning of the video.