Dolphin Tour Lovina — Attraction in Pulau Bali

DON'T GET RIPPED OFF – OR BETTER YET, STAY AWAY!

I had an absolutely terrible experience here, and after two months of traveling in Indonesia (primarily Bali), this is the only negative review I've felt compelled to write.

Firstly, be aware that the price for swimming with dolphins is around 150k IDR. Keep reading, and you'll see that some people may try to charge you even 1 million!

I was simply strolling along the beach, inquiring about prices, as I've found it's the best way to gauge the range of services available. I was offered a private ride to see the dolphins for 250k (just me on the boat). However, I had plenty of time, so I continued walking and politely declined the offers, searching for a group of people to join so I could potentially lower the price. Eventually, I found one. The guy (named Dzahle or something similar) initially quoted high prices, but when he noticed I was walking away after declining, he swiftly changed his tune. He offered to let me join the couple he was taking for only 150k, promising the same experience as them but with the condition that I shouldn't disclose my price to the couple. I agreed, and everything seemed fine at first.

However, when we reached the spot with the dolphins, it wasn't a pleasant sight at all. Imagine 50 motorboats chasing a small group of dolphins (and this happens every day). You enter the water and hope that the boat driver can get close enough for you to catch a glimpse without colliding with other boats. If I had known there would be so many boats, I would have definitely reconsidered the trip.

On the way back, we were supposed to stop by the shore for a short snorkeling session. However, when I tried to jump into the water, Dzahle informed me that it wasn't included in my "package." I was already wearing my swimming goggles and ready to dive in, so I was puzzled. Clearly, he just wanted more money. He demanded an additional 100k just for the privilege of jumping into the water, despite previously assuring me that I would have the same experience as the couple. He also mentioned that he was charging the other guys 1 million and that I should consider myself lucky. This infuriated me – not only was he overcharging naive tourists who hadn't checked the actual prices, but he was also trying to squeeze more money out of me just for a simple swim. I decided to remain on the boat and forgo snorkeling, which obviously angered him. He began taunting me, calling me names, and even challenged me to fight him to prove I wasn't a pus*y (he was the stereotypical muscle-bound guy with little intellect). He only stopped when the couple returned to the boat, and suddenly, he was back to being a "nice guy."

Upon reaching the shore, I approached a man whom I believed was in charge there, intending to file a complaint about being harassed on the boat for no reason (I had paid the agreed-upon price in advance). Unfortunately, he was of no help. Suddenly, I felt a kick from behind, and unsurprisingly, it was the same individual from the boat, who was clearly devoid of rational thinking. I reiterated that I had no intention of fighting him, but he persisted in physically assaulting me. I had to flee to the nearest restaurant, where a burly European man was sitting. Only after seeking assistance there did other guys from the boat company come and dragged Dzahle away (until then they were just looking and I almost felt like they're having fun).

I've attached a photo of the guy, although it may be a bit difficult to identify due to the sun's position. In any case, I strongly recommend spending your money elsewhere – go snorkeling and enjoy the beautiful corals and turtles for free without bothering...

At the end of September 2024 we booked the tour "Swimming with dolphins" followed by "Snorkeling on the reef" with the friendly captain and owner "Putu" of "ap tours lovina". Despite the understandably higher price, we opted for the private tour over a group tour, which we would definitely recommend!!! You are very flexible with your time and have a much longer time in the water with the dolphins than if you book a group tour and have to take turns. As soon as you see and hear the dolphins underwater, the price no longer plays a role :) We were picked up by boat at 6 a.m. from the beach at our hotel and everything was perfectly organized and easily coordinated via Whatsapp. The big advantage of this tour is that you don't hunt the dolphins with 100 or 200 boats like other providers do, and you go to another place where we only saw around 10 boats. We found the tour to be very respectful of the dolphins and at no time intrusive or like hunting, as one would read elsewhere. We saw a beautiful sunrise and lots of dolphins next to our boat for a very long time and were able to swim with the dolphins several times. A GoPro is recommended for filming underwater. While we were in the water, Putu took very nice videos of us and then sent them to us via Whatsapp. Snorkeling afterwards was also a lot of fun and we saw lots of colorful fish. Putu brought coffee, tea and fried bananas for breakfast! For us, this tour was the highlight of our Bali tour and we would thoroughly recommend a tour with Putu and ap tours! Next time we went to Bali we would definitely book this tour...

One of my life goal is watching wild dolphins in lovina. And yes… goal achieved ..yaayy. It was my best decision to choose Pak Edi (thanks to tripadvisor where i got his name and number) among other tour guides i met on beach who also offer me the dolphin tour. At first i was a bit surprised on the price they offered (which a bit lower than the price i got from pak edi). But during the tour, i know that the price gap has provide us a priceless experience, which i believe different with those with lower price) Pak edi work with his heart, he provide quality in serving his guests. While others keep chasing the dolphins (which i believe really threaten those dolphins 😢), pak edi did it differently. His patience, experience and strategy resulting unbelievable , breathtaking and amazing dolphins view very close to our boat. Those dolphins swim very calm.. as if they were not afraid at all with our existence. It was totally worth the price . We found 2 types of dolphin during the tour in large amount.

Pak edi also bring us to a nice snorkeling spot. Overall… we really enjoy the dolphin tour with pak edi and definitely will do it again one day.

Just in case anyone want to do the dolphin tour, he can be contacted by whatsapp at...