task

Hi everyone i'm thinking of taking my little girl to the dolphin experience at bunbury has anyone been and is it ok for a 11yr old.
Is it worth the money or can i see dolphins close up anywhere else close to perth.
any surgestions will be welcome
cheers task

ohippy

I've never been but I know a few people who have. There's no guarantee of seeing the dolphins but it's fairly cheap. People advise to get there early.

Rockingham is supposed to be good too

Jayniebabes

We went with our 2 year old on the cruise at Bunbury and it was excellent - they do pretty much guarantee you will see them and we saw loads, they were right up to the boat and they swam next to us for ages, we got some great photos, blowing water up at us!!

We would have loved to swim with them but out little one is to little I think they said 9 years and above so you will be fine.

Definately worth the 30 bucks each - we were out about 1.5 hours

Enjoy!!

cedar cottage

Hi Task, You can go to see the dolphins at the rockingham foreshore, or pay and go and swim with them on Rockingham Dolphin Experience. If you are coming to Rockingham look us up, we have short term rentals and are about to open a Bed and Breakfast near safety bay foreshore, you can walk over to Penguin Island and experience the penguins as well. Our web page is www.cedarcottagewa.com Bunbury is good too, and then on to Busselton and Margaret River for wine sampling. Hope this helps, Suzette

Deb

We swan with the dolphins at Rockingham, my youngest is 11 and she loved it. I think it was called Rockingham Dolphins, you go out on the boat for about 3-4 hours and it was $150 each, but they supply you with snorkal training and wet suits. It was a great experience...

Simone

We did the boat trip in Bunbury (so not swimming) and saw heaps, even though it was winter. (and we were the only ones on the boat, it was a minimum of 4 people).
For a one-off thing I thought it was worth it. Now I know they are there, and where to look for them, if I want to try and see them from land ('The Cut', the entry into the inlet, where all the fishermen are). But with the boat you do get closer.

I've never looked into the Rockingham and Mandurah ones.

thribble

We did the "dolphin experience" about this time last year. I seem to remember it was $2 each for adults, or something equally ridiculously cheap. You all stand in a line in the water about knee deep and wait. The day we were there one came in to swim by, but you're not allowed anywhere near them. Kids are fine, no problem at any age.

I've also swum with dolphins twice, once in Cuba and once off the west coast of Ireland. That's a better experience, but obviously the cost is a lot lot more. Plus, when we were in Ireland, Fungie the Dolphin didn't really come and play with us, just swam around us (after all, he is a wild dolphin!!). There was a girl on the boat of somewhere between 8 - 13 (sorry, I don't have kids and can't work their ages out at all, complete mystery!) who cried all the way back because she was so disappointed about the experience, so I guess that's a risk.

I loved the feeling in the everglades when we suddenly realised that two were following our boat, just playing in the wake (it was quite a small fast boat with only about 15 on it). I guess going in the boat and seeing them is a better compromise - you'll see them more in their natural environment even if you don't get to swim with them.

So there you go. My dolphin experiences...

FluffyTheCampfireSlayer

We stepped onto the beach just slightly North of Rockingham Foreshore back in June last year.........the very first thing we saw was a dolphin 'frolicking' in the ocean not 3 foot from the shore line! Why pay? They are there to be seen for nowt! An amzing experience!

task

cheers for that, went to penguin island today its a good walk over, the kids enjoyed it and it was a laugh when the wife fell over and got soaked.
never seen any dolphins so we will head down to bunbury in feb.
thanks everyone for all the info.
task