Is it ever truly harmless to slip into turquoise waters and come face-to-face with a wild dolphin — or does that bucket-list moment come at a cost we’d rather not see?
Few wildlife encounters divide opinion quite like swimming with dolphins. For some travellers, it’s the ultimate natural high: a chance to share the sea with one of the planet’s most intelligent and charismatic creatures. For others, it’s a troubling example of tourism edging too close to interference.
Whale and Dolphin Conservation, which is against such tours (particularly if they involve feeding), says that repeated disturbance can lead to pods abandoning feeding and breeding areas, and that there is a risk of injury from propellers.
However, ethical tour operator Responsible Travel, which runs trips to swim with dolphins in the Azores, but also with humpback whales in the South Pacific and orcas in Norway, says its guides follow strict codes of conduct (slow boats when dolphins are spotted; allow a maximum of 20 minutes with them; never encircle or divide a group) and works with the World Cetacean Alliance to improve its policies.
