Coral Bay Ecotours

Enjoy a leisure­ly cruise in style on board our spa­cious mul­ti-lev­el lux­u­ry cata­ma­ran Kai-Aura. Sit back, relax and take in the sights and scenery as we trav­el the short jour­ney to the whales’ playground.

The Hump­back whales migrate through Coral Bay from June to Octo­ber every year. Vis­it these incred­i­ble and inquis­i­tive mam­mals in their nat­ur­al envi­ron­ment play­ing, tail-slap­ping, breach­ing, wav­ing and slap­ping mas­sive pec­toral fins, rolling and even sleep­ing! Because the local waters are a safe haven for migrat­ing whales, we reg­u­lar­ly see rest­ing moth­ers and calves as they frol­ic in the calm waters of Bate­man’s Bay. Not only can you see the icon­ic Hump­back whales, but we also often encounter many oth­er marine ani­mals like tur­tles, dol­phins, dugongs and oth­er whale species such as Minke’s, South­ern rights, even Orca’s through­out the trip.

The tour departs runs for three hours. Our friend­ly and knowl­edge­able crew will look after you through­out the tour, offer­ing infor­ma­tion about the Ninga­loo Reef and its marine life. One com­pli­men­ta­ry cham­pagne and fin­ger food is pro­vid­ed and you can also byo.

Enquire now about the 3^rd year of the Hump­back In-water Inter­ac­tion tri­al for 2018!

For the first time ever on the Ninga­loo Reef! The Depart­ment of Parks and Wildlife have grant­ed spe­cial licens­es for a select few tour com­pa­nies, includ­ing Coral Bay Ecotours! 

These new licens­es pro­vide guests the oppor­tu­ni­ty for an in water inter­ac­tion with hump­back whales began 1^st August in 2016 con­tin­ued in 2017 and now being announced it run for a 3^rd year in 2018.

Coral Bay Eco­tours are very excit­ed to be part of the con­tin­u­a­tion of this tri­al. Join us to observe hump­back whales in their nat­ur­al envi­ron­ment. If con­di­tions are safe, and we are able to do so, guests may be able to expe­ri­ence an in water inter­ac­tion with these majes­tic ani­mals as well!

Hump­back whale sea­son in Coral Bay begins at the end of June and runs through to mid Octo­ber. Dur­ing this time it is esti­mat­ed around 30,000 whales pass through Ninga­loo Reef on their annu­al migra­tion, some­times stop­ping to rest, shel­ter, and play in the calm waters of Coral Bay. 

We are deal­ing with Moth­er Nature and ani­mal behav­ior. There­fore oppor­tu­ni­ties will vary from day to day. Noth­ing in nature is guar­an­teed, how­ev­er every effort will be made to ensure you have an amaz­ing day out. For each tour there is 14 swim­ming spots available.

If and when our trained guide deems it is safe to do so, swim­ming guests will enter the water at a safe dis­tance from the ani­mals either from the side or in front of the whales path. It is then all up to the whales and each inter­ac­tion will be on their terms. Hump­back whales can be curi­ous and may approach swim­mers, or they sim­ply may pass by. An in water inter­ac­tion is defined as being in the water with­in the exclu­sive con­tact zone.

Hump­back wildlife tour guest will not par­tic­i­pate in the swim­ming with hump­back whales how­ev­er, if there is not already 14 inter­ac­tion swim­mers you may upgrade on the boat. 

Hump­back inter­ac­tion observers will par­take in every­thing except get­ting in the water.

Wild Life Swim­mer will par­take in every­thing except swim­ming with humpback

There is no refund and no repeat offered. 

This full day action packed marine eco­tour adven­ture includes wet suits and snorkel equip­ment, fan­tas­tic food (morn­ing tea, full lunch and after­noon snacks), drinks (cof­fee, tea, milo and cordial).

The high­light of this fan­tas­tic marine eco­tour is the oppor­tu­ni­ty to swim with the awe inspir­ing man­ta ray, which the pro­fes­sion­al Eco tours staff will endeav­our to deliv­er, in what has become almost a dai­ly event in Coral Bay on the Ninga­loo Reef. Why not embrace this oppor­tu­ni­ty to go snor­kel­ing in Coral Bay with one of the largest winged crea­tures that inhab­it our ocean?

Our Ulti­mate Wildlife Expe­ri­ence — an amaz­ing day on board our state-of-the-art eco tour ves­sel, Kurni-Ku, with its large upper deck view­ing area makes it per­fect for observ­ing the trop­i­cal reef and all of its inhab­i­tants. On this six to sev­en hour adven­ture you have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to snorkel on the mag­nif­i­cent Ninga­loo coral reef, see­ing hun­dreds of types of reef fish and excit­ing aquat­ic life such as reef sharks, tur­tles, giant clams and octo­pus. The unique shal­low draft allows us to get to the very best snor­kel­ing sites that the spec­tac­u­lar Ninga­loo Reef has to offer!

Oth­er marine mam­mals that may be encoun­tered but not snorkeled with due to strict con­ser­va­tion efforts might include dol­phins, dugongs and hump­back whales (sea­son­al).

This tour in search of Man­ta Rays and oth­er marine life is offered dai­ly. While sight­ings can­not be guar­an­teed, research involve­ment allows us to expect to enjoy Man­ta Rays, Tur­tles and Reef sharks most days of the year.

Please advise if you do not want your image used from our tour on our social media.

• Spa­cious observer/​sun deck.
• Unique shal­low draft
• All weath­er pro­tec­tion, includ­ing huge shad­ed area.
• Com­fort­able cush­ioned seat­ing for all passengers.
• Easy access into the water.
• Spa­cious change room with toi­let facil­i­ties, hand basin, etc.

Eco­tour: License K. Bai­lye HQ68969CB

This full day action packed marine eco­tour adven­ture includes wet suits and snorkel equip­ment, fan­tas­tic food (morn­ing tea, full lunch and after­noon snacks), drinks (cof­fee, tea, milo and cordial).

The high­light of this fan­tas­tic marine eco­tour is the oppor­tu­ni­ty to swim with the awe inspir­ing man­ta ray, which the pro­fes­sion­al Eco tours staff will endeav­our to deliv­er, in what has become almost a dai­ly event in Coral Bay on the Ninga­loo Reef. Why not embrace this oppor­tu­ni­ty to go snor­kel­ing in Coral Bay with one of the largest winged crea­tures that inhab­it our ocean?

Our Ulti­mate Wildlife Expe­ri­ence — an amaz­ing day on board our state-of-the-art eco tour ves­sel, Kurni-Ku, with its large upper deck view­ing area makes it per­fect for observ­ing the trop­i­cal reef and all of its inhab­i­tants. On this five to six hour adven­ture you have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to snorkel on the mag­nif­i­cent Ninga­loo coral reef, see­ing hun­dreds of types of reef fish and excit­ing aquat­ic life such as reef sharks, tur­tles, giant clams and octo­pus. The unique shal­low draft allows us to get to the very best snor­kel­ing sites that the spec­tac­u­lar Ninga­loo Reef has to offer!

Oth­er marine mam­mals that may be encoun­tered but not snorkeled with due to strict con­ser­va­tion efforts might include dol­phins, dugongs and hump­back whales (sea­son­al).

This tour in search of Man­ta Rays and oth­er marine life is offered dai­ly. While sight­ings can­not be guar­an­teed, research involve­ment allows us to expect to enjoy Man­ta Rays, Tur­tles and Reef sharks most days of the year.

Please advise if you do not want your image used from our tour on our social media.

• Spa­cious observer/​sun deck.
• Unique shal­low draft
• All weath­er pro­tec­tion, includ­ing huge shad­ed area.
• Com­fort­able cush­ioned seat­ing for all passengers.
• Easy access into the water.
• Spa­cious change room with toi­let facil­i­ties, hand basin, etc.

Eco­tour: License K. Bai­lye HQ68969CB

This full day action packed marine eco­tour adven­ture includes wet suits and snorkel equip­ment, fan­tas­tic food (morn­ing tea, full lunch and after­noon snacks), drinks (cof­fee, tea, milo and cordial).

The high­light of this fan­tas­tic marine eco­tour is the oppor­tu­ni­ty to swim with the awe inspir­ing man­ta ray, which the pro­fes­sion­al Eco tours staff will endeav­our to deliv­er, in what has become almost a dai­ly event in Coral Bay on the Ninga­loo Reef. Why not embrace this oppor­tu­ni­ty to go snor­kel­ing in Coral Bay with one of the largest winged crea­tures that inhab­it our ocean?

Our Ulti­mate Wildlife Expe­ri­ence — an amaz­ing day on board our state-of-the-art eco tour ves­sel, Kurni-Ku, with its large upper deck view­ing area makes it per­fect for observ­ing the trop­i­cal reef and all of its inhab­i­tants. On this six to sev­en hour adven­ture you have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to snorkel on the mag­nif­i­cent Ninga­loo coral reef, see­ing hun­dreds of types of reef fish and excit­ing aquat­ic life such as reef sharks, tur­tles, giant clams and octo­pus. The unique shal­low draft allows us to get to the very best snor­kel­ing sites that the spec­tac­u­lar Ninga­loo Reef has to offer!

Oth­er marine mam­mals that may be encoun­tered but not snorkeled with due to strict con­ser­va­tion efforts might include dol­phins, dugongs and hump­back whales (sea­son­al).

This tour in search of Man­ta Rays and oth­er marine life is offered dai­ly. While sight­ings can­not be guar­an­teed, research involve­ment allows us to expect to enjoy Man­ta Rays, Tur­tles and Reef sharks most days of the year.

Please advise if you do not want your image used from our tour on our social media.

• Spa­cious observer/​sun deck.
• Unique shal­low draft
• All weath­er pro­tec­tion, includ­ing huge shad­ed area.
• Com­fort­able cush­ioned seat­ing for all passengers.
• Easy access into the water.
• Spa­cious change room with toi­let facil­i­ties, hand basin, etc.

Eco­tour: License K. Bai­lye HQ68969CB

Join our 8 to 9 hour Whale Shark Safari aboard Kai – Aura. Our ves­sel is designed for your com­fort with a large area of seat­ing and stand­ing both down­stairs and upstairs, and a 360-degree view from the wheel­house. It is the per­fect way to expe­ri­ence one of the few places in the world that these big beau­ti­ful whale sharks
choose to visit.

Your tour begins at 7:30 am at the Coral Bay Eco­tours office, fol­lowed by a short bus trans­fer to the jet­ty to board the ves­sel. Then we head out for your first reef snorkel expe­ri­ence in the beau­ti­ful coral gar­dens, where you may encounter numer­ous fish, reef sharks, and oth­er marine species.

After morn­ing tea, we begin our jour­ney to the out­er reef. By this time our spot­ter plane is already search­ing for our whale sharks and inform­ing us of any oth­er excit­ing marine life spot­ted along the way! We will do our best to allow you to expe­ri­ence as much wildlife as pos­si­ble dur­ing our tour. Once our spot­ter plane has found a whale shark, our boat will make its way there. Guests will be split into 2 groups of 10 and take turns to swim with the whale shark. To ensure that we don’t dis­turb its nat­ur­al habits, we are allowed a max­i­mum one hour of swim­ming time with the whale shark.

We stop along the way home for a sec­ond reef snorkel at a dif­fer­ent site. To fin­ish the day, we cel­e­brate with a glass of cham­pagne and fruit platter.

Our pho­tog­ra­ph­er will be tak­ing pho­tos and/​or video footage of your day; avail­able for pur­chase on a USB for an addi­tion­al cost at the end of the tour.

We Pro­vide: A full buf­fet lunch, morn­ing and after­noon tea, all snorkel equip­ment includ­ing long wet­suits, fresh drink­ing water, tea, cof­fee, sun­screen and toilet.

What you need to bring: Tow­el, hat, sun­screen, swim­suit, water bot­tle, warm clothing.

Please note: Although every effort is made to pro­vide you with the oppor­tu­ni­ty to see and inter­act with the wildlife, we can­not guar­an­tee nature. 

Whale Shark Tour: License K. Bai­lye HQ69375WSC

If company cancels tour for whatever reason a full refund is given.

In the event of tour cancellation by the passenger the following terms and conditions apply:

- Passenger provides more than 4 days' notice - 25% of total tour cost applies.

- Passenger Provides less than 4 days' notice - 100% of total tour cost applies

Due to the latest WA government mandates we now require that all patrons joining our tours (over the age of 16 years) are fully vaccinated against COVID19 unless medically exempt.