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swimming with dolphins



rospants

off to ronan in the park!
Jul 11, 2005
2,059
brighton
Am going to Orlando in a few weeks and i really want to swim with dolphins. Can any of you recommend a place where they've been to or heard about??

Thanks!
 




Beach Hut

Brighton Bhuna Boy
Jul 5, 2003
72,324
Living In a Box
Next door to Seaworld but £145 each I believe
 






Mendoza

NSC's Most Stalked
Next door to Seaworld but £145 each I believe

I paid that in Cancun, but I became one of the trainers for a day at their Dolphinarium type thing. I got a basic lesson in their biology and make up, I got to feed them, as well as being taught the signals for their moves. I then got a couple of hours to train with them in the pool, before being a guest trainer in the evening show.

Well worth it. The trainer girl was FIT, I got to spend about 5 hours in the tank with the dolphins, as well as getting a dolphin trainer t-shirt which was a HIT with the ladeeez on the flight home
 




Gazwag

5 millionth post poster
Mar 4, 2004
30,739
Bexhill-on-Sea
Next door to Seaworld but £145 each I believe

I would say that is a hopeful price, I'm sure we paid something like that four years ago when the £1 was nearly 2$

Edit: In fact its just short of £200 a person with todays exchange rate - $289
 


DIFFBROOK

Really Up the Junction
Feb 3, 2005
2,267
Yorkshire
Remember a dolphinarium is still a cage. Alternatively, if you have time why not travel down to Key Largo and go scuba diving. They take you out miles and you scuba over the last coral reef in the US. You can see all sorts of things, fish and sharks. I saw staring at me a Baracuda which frightened the life out of me................but it was still worth it. Fun, thrills and danger all wrapped up in one
 








The Spanish

Well-known member
Aug 12, 2008
6,478
P
Hmmm....not sure about this swimming with dolphins thing at all. Can elucidate, but somehow it makes me uncomfortable.

i remember there was a bit of trouble with fungi in Dingle Bay as someone tried to nonce him off. It is a bit suspect and just above bungee jumping in the 101 Tedious Unimaginative Western Holiday Pursuits Before You Die list.

I felt sorry for the fuckers when I was a kid at the dolphinarium when they were forced to sing happy birthday to some spoilt kid. Leave the fuckers alone. You dont get many dolphins going 'oh my ambition is to walk round bluewater with a human'.
 


Bozza

You can change this
Helpful Moderator
Jul 4, 2003
57,311
Back in Sussex
As others have said, Discovery Cove is the place in Orlando. It's a part of the Sea World group.

It's quite a pricey thing, but you're not just paying for the dolphin swim, you have the whole day in DC, food (and possibly drinks) included and they have various other things in there for you to do as well as your 1-to-1 swim with a dolphin. Capacity is very limited and, by all accounts, it's quite a relaxing day.

In 12 or so trips to Orlando I've never done it however - as above I'm not comfortable with the concept of dolphins pushing tourists around for fish. I've been lucky enough to 'swim with dolphins' in the sea off the coast of Zanzibar. I put it in quotes as I wasn't really swimming with them of course - I just happened to be in the sea with them. They weren't restricted about where they could go and only hung about for as long as they wanted to. Still incredibly exhilarating though.
 




Bozza

You can change this
Helpful Moderator
Jul 4, 2003
57,311
Back in Sussex
Great time of year to be going to Orlando however - nice weather and low crowds. Where are you staying and what are your plans?
 


clippedgull

Hotdogs, extra onions
Aug 11, 2003
20,789
Near Ducks, Geese, and Seagulls
Am going to Orlando in a few weeks and i really want to swim with dolphins. Can any of you recommend a place where they've been to or heard about??

Thanks!

Thought you was harder than that!

How about swimming with man eating sharks, as a lady you should be OK :D

But have a nice time, Orlando/Kennedy Space Centre is my favourite combo. Space shuttle launches are fab!
 


Mr Blobby

New member
Jul 14, 2003
2,632
In a cave
Something I would never want to do, swim with an animal that is basically caged in. Having seen Dolphins in the wild and the speed and distance they travel then the small pools they have is just unacceptable!

One of the highlights of our trip to Baja last February was seeing a pod of over 1,000 dolphins following our boat, it was just mind blowingly fantastic.

When we did get a chace for a swim we did end up being surround by Sea Lions, who came and swam around us and under us, but that is in there environment, not caged in and when they got board they swam off.
 




Djmiles

Barndoor Holroyd
Dec 1, 2005
12,064
Kitchener, Canada
Discovery cove is fantastic, highly recommended.
 


rospants

off to ronan in the park!
Jul 11, 2005
2,059
brighton
Great time of year to be going to Orlando however - nice weather and low crowds. Where are you staying and what are your plans?

Going mainly for the nascar in feb, so going to the budweiser shootout and Dayona 500. Will be staying in Daytona mainly
 


rospants

off to ronan in the park!
Jul 11, 2005
2,059
brighton
Thought you was harder than that!

How about swimming with man eating sharks, as a lady you should be OK :D

But have a nice time, Orlando/Kennedy Space Centre is my favourite combo. Space shuttle launches are fab!

very funny Alan!

Hopefully should be going to Kennedy, not really bothered about Disney though, i hate queueing!
 


countrygull

Active member
Jul 22, 2003
1,114
Horsham
Going mainly for the nascar in feb, so going to the budweiser shootout and Dayona 500. Will be staying in Daytona mainly

If you can extend your stay for a few days, treat yourself to Naples: perfect time of year and the dolphins play about 50 yards offshore. You can then sit on the beach to enjoy the most sumptuous sunsets with lots of like-minded people. Truly an extraordinary experience.
 




supaseagull

Well-known member
Feb 19, 2004
9,614
The United Kingdom of Mile Oak
If you're going through a tour operator like Virgin, you should be able to get into Discovery Cove. However, as Gazwag said, you may be too late.

If you can't get to do that, then try to get on an Airboat ride, combined with a day trip to Naples...When I went in 97, I did this and it was one of the best days of my life!
 


Skint Gull

New member
Jul 27, 2003
2,980
Watchin the boats go by
You will not find somewhere to swim with Dolphins (other than as Bozza said by chance in the wild) for less that £150 to £200. If you do i'm sure the conditions the Dolphins are being kept will be appauling, as others have said with Discovery Cove you are paying for the relaxed environment they keep them in rather than somewhere that tries to squeeze as many punters in as possible for as little as possible.

My Bro and his wife did it in Orlando a few years back and it was the highlight of their holiday
 


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