Lovina Dolphin Watching — Attraction in Bali

This is just another money grabbing scheme where they expoit the animals to make some money. What seemed like a magical experience turned out to be a swarm of boats chasing down dolphins. It was a race of boats trying to be the closest to the dolphins for a quick photo. They did not seem to care for the wellbeing of the dolphins at all and one boat actually went directly over a bunch of dolphins almost hitting them. Despite our faces of shocked, he merely smiled with no remorse and continued on. It could have been a nice experience if we simply watched from a distance rather than ram directly into them chasing them away. The amount of boats speeding around also makes the fumes of the petrol unbearbale and made me feel quite nautious. They will also charge you to use their toilets, toilets that are absolutely atrocious, there was feces and pee all over and there was no flush. As always, you also get the marketers trying to sell you their souvenirs and are incredibly rude and persistent no matter how many times we say no. We barely got one foot off the boat and she was already yelling at us to buy things as if its an obligation to buy. An experience that seemed magical ended up being a complete nightmare. While the snorkelling was fun, and the water was clear, you can still see all the rubbish and bottles that has been dumped into the water. I would not recommend this activity, as it would be encouraging the cruel behavoiur to these poor marine animals. While the experience as a whole was shocking, the boat rider that we were assigned to was lovely. He was the only one who kept their distance and was accomodating to our needs. I wish i knew his name to give...

!!! Beware of the situation !!!

You have to understand how this dolphin exploitation business works.

The boat owners have no idea if the dolphins will be visible or not; do not believe their lies about "100% sure" and "refund in case of no show ». While on the Lovina bay, they look at each other and try to find the spot where the poor dolphins will be. We did not have the opportunity to see them - maybe it is better to leave them alone by the way… - but it seems that all the boats fall on them once spotted which scares them and makes them run away, hence the difficulty of « chasing » them.

The boat owners will always make you bear the responsibility in case of non-visibility. In our case, the weather was very bad & rainy and the sea particularly rough with lots of strong waves. It was particularly unpleasant after almost 3 hours, even dangerous at some time, especially with young childrens. Thus, they give the impression of not mastering the conditions of the outing at all and of not caring about the danger, money being much more important than anything else, including the dolphins or your comfort.

Ketuk is no exception to the rule, he is there to take the money and nothing else. He offers bad service, not even able to provide you with a bottle of water. He put the pressure even before arrival and quickly asks you to pay before even leaving because he knows very well that seeing dolphins is a lottery. Then, upon returning, he disappears very quickly like a coward.

I provide screenshots to prove that this site is his and the veracity of...

So thankful to Ketut for providing me and my group a very magical experience! We started the trip at 6am, watching the sunrise and the bioluminescent plankton on the way to see the dolphins. Ketut was diligent and knowledgeable about the area and brought us to a calmer, less crowded area so we could have a better look at the dolphins (which you will 100% see!). Swimming and looking at the dolphins was a truly beautiful experience, there were so many. Though to other tourists please be mindful of the jellyfish in the sea (we avoided them as best as we could as Ketut brought us to a clearer area without jellyfish for us to swim).

We had heard about these boats chasing the Dolphins, which was something we were worried about however Ketut was very careful and I felt did not pressure or rush into the wildlife which we appreciated. We ended the tour at a gorgeous coral reef for snorkeling.

About the location itself; the sea is quite clear however on the way to see the Dolphins there is quite a bit of litter on the ocean though we can tell that they are doing their best to keep it clean and the litter is definitely not from our tour boat. For those who wish to swim with the dolphins do prepare for the sea lice that will itch your skin however they are not present at the coral reefs.

So glad I booked with Ketut, he made sure we had a very fulfilling and fun trip....