Donsol
Whale Sharks That Are Found Rather Than Fed The Honest Alternative To Oslob, And It Guarantees Nothing · Donsol, Sorsogon
DONSOL IS WHERE WHALE SHARKS COME TO FEED ON PLANKTON IN THE SHALLOWS, and the whole point of the place is what it refuses to do. THE BOATS GO OUT AND LOOK FOR THEM. NOBODY FEEDS THEM, NOBODY GUARANTEES ANYTHING, AND SOME DAYS YOU SEE NOTHING AT ALL. That is the deliberate contrast with OSLOB IN CEBU, where the sharks are hand-fed daily to keep them resident and sightings are certain - a practice that is widely criticised for changing the animals' behaviour and migration. DONSOL'S RULES ARE STRICT: A LIMITED NUMBER OF SWIMMERS PER SHARK, NO TOUCHING, NO FLASH, NO SCUBA, and a Butanding Interaction Officer on every boat who enforces them. THE SEASON RUNS ROUGHLY DECEMBER TO MAY AND PEAKS AROUND FEBRUARY TO APRIL. The Ogod river firefly cruise at night is the other reason to stay. Stay two or three days rather than one: a blank morning is a normal outcome here and a second boat trip transforms the odds, which is the price of not feeding the animals.
Donsol, Sorsogon, Bicol, Donsol, Sorsogon, Philippines
DONSOL IS ROUGHLY AN HOUR BY ROAD FROM LEGAZPI, which has an airport with flights from Manila and Cebu. INTERACTIONS ARE BOOKED AT THE VISITOR CENTRE ON THE MORNING and run in BOAT GROUPS WITH AN ASSIGNED BUTANDING INTERACTION OFFICER; a BRIEFING IS COMPULSORY before anyone goes out. THE RULES ARE ENFORCED: a limited number of swimmers per shark, NO TOUCHING, NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY, NO SCUBA, and no chasing. BOATS GO OUT IN THE MORNING and there is NO GUARANTEE OF A SIGHTING - this is the whole design and refunds do not work that way. THE SEASON IS ROUGHLY DECEMBER TO MAY, PEAKING FEBRUARY TO APRIL; outside it there is nothing to see. THE OGOD RIVER FIREFLY CRUISE runs after dark. Trips are cancelled in rough weather.