Scuba Travel runs the Whaleshark Encounters itinerary during the whaleshark season October to January.

Embarkation
Elegante & Lucy depart from Djibouti City

Trip Duration
All of our Whaleshark Encounters trips run for 7 nights with 6 nights spent on board your liveaboard and 1 night in a hotel.

There are normally approx 16 dives over the course of the trip, including opportunities for night dives. The best whaleshark encounters are snorkelling, so some dives may be substituted for a snorkelling session instead.

Arrival
You will be met on arrival from your international flight and taken directly to the boat. This is a land transfer to the harbour and takes approx 30-40mins. Settle into your cabin, set up the dive gear and meet your fellow passengers. Depending on the group arrival times, you may depart from the harbour this evening or early the next.

Snorkelling with whalesharks
After a check dive, the first of your whaleshark snorkelling expeditions starts! Grab the rib and head out to one of their feeding areas. Watch out for their tail fins breaking the waves then grab your snorkel and in you go. The whalesharks are quite placid when feeding near the surface so you can get super close! If you want to duck down beneath them, a light weight belt is handy. In case they are not at the beach to the north there is a second spot to the south of the boat which is equally good for whalesharks. They tend to be close to the shore where the plankton is densest so watch out for the tell tale fins.

Dive sites
There are several excellent reef dives in Djibouti. Typically, volcanic rocks lead from the reef to deeper water - here you can find large grouper, morays and turtles resting. As you come shallower the reef starts with platoons of sergeant majors and glass fish. Le Dome, which is a good place to find turtles as you spiral up the reef. There are normally large amounts of twin spot snappers too. At Kite Surfer Bay, there are loads of splendid anemones here with clownfish and dominos darting about. The sandy bottom is also good for sting rays and blue spotted rays. At Ras Korali you can dive both the inside of the reef and outside. The corals are excellent here, especially above 12m. Plenty of butterfly fish, banner fish and fusiliers on both sites.

Dive le Petit Passage, a rip roaring drift. or head down the canyon to your max depth at Red Virgin. Here the hard corals are pristine and peppered with Christmas tree worms. Mobula can be seen at depth too if you are lucky. At the Ancient Pearlery where you can find large clams amid the stone mounds. The same vibrant hard corals are found in the shallows.

Lake Assal
Depending on your flight times, you will have the option for a day tour to Lake Assal (local surcharge) This naturally occurring lake is filled with salt water pushing up from the below the earth and is incredibly salty. Enjoy floating about effort free. You will then be taken to a hotel for the night

Disembarkation
At the end of your trip, you will be advised locally of your transfer time back to Djibouti airport.