Planning a trip?
Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Ningaloo Reef location page.
Overview
Snorkel-only encounter with whale sharks that aggregate along Ningaloo Reef from March to August. Spotter planes vector boats onto sharks; you slip in alongside them for a few minutes before they cruise on. Strictly regulated for shark welfare.
What you'll see
3 species curated- seasonalWhale sharkPeak: Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Jul
- seasonalManta ray
- seasonalHumpback whalePeak: Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- high confidenceWhale shark
- Last confirmed
- May 2026
- Recent records
- 412 within 25 km
- Cluster months
- Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul
Sources & methodology
How we summarise this
We aggregate confirmed occurrence records from GBIF and OBIS within a fixed radius of each dive site. Occurrence records confirm presence and reveal seasonality clustering, but they DO NOT measure per-dive probability — there is no eligible-effort denominator. We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.
Sources
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility — GBIF Secretariat
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System — IOC-UNESCO
- OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
- iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
- WoRMS — World Register of Marine Species — Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
- FishBase — FishBase Consortium
- Atlas of Living Australia — CSIRO / GBIF Australia
- REEF Volunteer Fish Survey — Reef Environmental Education Foundation
Conditions
| Month | Water | Visibility | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26–28 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Feb | 27–29 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Mar | 26–28 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Apr | 25–27 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| May | 23–25 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Jun | 21–23 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Jul | 20–22 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Aug | 20–22 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Sep | 21–23 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Oct | 22–24 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Nov | 24–26 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
| Dec | 25–27 °C | 15–25 m | mild |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Gear for this site
Beyond the basic kit- Snorkel skills — Encounter is snorkel-only by regulation — no SCUBA allowed near whale sharks here.
Next step
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