We enjoyed Dolphin Discovery! We had a fun and relaxing trip to Cancun, and this was a great addition. We took the ferry to Isla Mujeres, and took a bus to get here. It seems like maybe we got lucky with timing, but we just walked in and booked a package. They push hard to add on a photo package. I said no thanks. They ended up dropping the price some and bumped us up to the VIP package. They can definitly neogiate on price! Swimming with the dolpins and manatees was very cool. We also really enjoyed snorkeling with the sharks and sting rays. The package was nice. The buffet food was fine enough. I'm glad we came here. We had a fun easy day on Isla Mujeres! read more

The photos and descriptions make it seem like you'll be snorkeling in an enclosure with a handler and their dolphin. They even sell upgraded experiences for longer times and two dolphins. The truth is they run 2 encounters per day and you'll be there with 50+ other tourists. There's a big upsell at the beginning as they try to persuade you to buy a photo package and/or upgrade to the Garrafon VIP package if you bought a combo ticket. (Be aware that ferry to Garrafon is $15/person extra vs a cheap cab ride.) There's no pre-encounter video or briefing explaining their mission or the experience. They don't even make the effort group the gringos together so that the handler can speak in English - and 40 minutes is a long time to wonder what they're saying in Spanish. It seems that you're grouped by which package you paid for, but we paid for the single dolphin experience and ended up in a group with two. They split you into a half dozen groups and then station you around the perimeter of the enclosure. The handler then leads you down to a submerged metal platform (trust me - you'll want reef shoes for this!) to stand in a line. They provide some commentary about dolphins and then swim the animal back and forth to allow everyone to pet it. Each person will then have 3 interactions: fin/handshake, nose-to-hand targeting and a dolphin kiss. If you didn't buy the photo package, they'll make another attempt to sell you this. You can hang out around their pool in lounge chairs and even grab lunch (depending on the ticket type you bought). It's an OK experience if you have kids or really love dolphins - just not a fantasy experience. read more

Dolphin connection is not as listed- no snorkeling with sea lion or manatee; life jacket not fit correctly to terrible photos; recvd goggles to look at dolphon twirl; did not receive manatee photos purchased; everything is an upsell; faciity and staff are very nice- just wanted an honest portrayal of experience read more

I wanted my husband to experience something new, and upon reading different options for what we could do while in Cancun, i chose this. I got the Royal Swim VIP package, which included access to a "VIP" area up above the main area with a pool, lockers, and buffet. Other than paying taxes, the ferry from Playa Longosta was included too. My husband and I were fortunate enough to get the pool to ourselves before our swim with dolphins, which made the experience nice, but the pool overall was very small and narrow. Great view however. The buffet was decent too, food wasn't stellar but also not terrible. The main attraction was the experience with the dolphins. Somehow it was only my husband and I with the trainer; no one else was a part of our group. That made the whole experience even better for us as we got a more personalized experience. The interaction with the dolphins was amazing. He gave us tons of information about them and the foot tow and dorsal fin ride was fantastic. We also were able to later go and feed the manatees some lettuce on the other side of the park. Another cool experience as well. This place absolutely does not allow you to take your own photos with any of the marine animals during interactions; this is so they can push you to buy their photos, which are extremely overpriced in both dollars and pesos! My husband and I opted to not spend nearly $200 on them and were just happy with the interaction with both dolphins and manatees. After we were done with our event, there was little to nothing else to do there unless you left the park and explored Isla Mujeres. There are two ferries to take you back to Cancun, and the wait was boring. The experience was definitely amazing, but be aware that they will charge an arm and a leg for you to get photographic proof of your experiences. read more

The Dolphin Discovery experience on Isla Mujeres, though not unique to Cancun or Mexico, was amazing (once we were in the water) and I would do it again. If I did it again I would think twice about getting robbed blind by their photo package though! There are absolutely no photos outside of their service and they will charge you an arm and a leg to get even a single photo (over $40 for one print). They will also try to upsell you the 'family' package if you have any pictures taken with more than a single person in them (dolphins don't count). It was very disappointing to pay for the photo package and to have the salesperson then tell us that it didn't include every photo that was taken. The three of us had 6 additional photos with us as a group and my partner and I together and those were not included in the photo package. However, I'm glad we paid for the photo package because they turned out super great and will commemorate the first time I got to interact with dolphins. I would choose the foot push over a dorsal tow for experiences if I had to as it was very unique and we got to touch the dolphins quite a bit during the interaction part of the experience. The dorsal tow is much like touching the dolphin but you get a face full of water while you're doing it. The kiss was the cutest interaction. Hug/handshake you could take or leave as it is similar to touching the dolphin but is for a specific photo moment. Just being in the water with the dolphin and trainer was an exciting experience. We bought the Royal VIP swim package with photos and it included the following amenities along with our six interactions: pool, Wi-Fi, lifejackets, drinks, buffet, showers, and lockers. We bought the Royal VIP swim package with photos and it included the following amenities along with our six interactions: pool, Wi-Fi, lifejackets, drinks, buffet, showers, and lockers. We were unsure where to check in and how to use the facilities and of the three people we asked for assistance we were not overly helpful and even gave us incorrect information, making us miss the time slot for the manatee interaction.  One family near us was separated because they had paid for different packages. Customer service was some of the worst I've experienced but the trainer, the dolphins, and the interactions were stellar. read more

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Such an amazing experience! Interacting with the dolphins was very special and fun. The whole family enjoyed this moment. The activity lasted 40 minutes, and during this time, we couldn't take our eyes off the dolphins. They are very fun and cute animals. Prices are very reasonable, but when it comes to getting the pictures, it gets a little complicated because prices aren't reasonable. However, if you go in a group, you can divide the full amount among everyone. We were a group of four, so the whole package that included all pictures was $200. We ended up paying $50 per person, which, in my opinion, is not bad. Special thanks to Lily, the trainer, and Garland, the star of the show. He was only seven years old, so pretty much a baby dolphin. Book this activity--you won't regret it. read more

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Bad experience. We had purchased the package that included doing some extra activities with the dolphins. I believe it was the adventure package. On the day of, we were told that we wouldn't be able to do those activities because of new laws and regulations. We were not given any type of refund whatsoever. After petting the Dolphins we felt stranded with nothing to do. The lunch buffet was horrible. Bland pasta, boiled hot dogs without the buns, boxed mashed potatoes etc. Not worth it. Spend your money elsewhere. read more

We came because our snorkel on island was cancelled because of weather.. we were allowed to swim with manatee or with nurse sharks.. when we arrived lots of small groups were having time with dolphins which is a real cool experience. For us that would be extra so we went to a spot where we could eat at a pretty decent buffet and have drinks. It was nice and had lots of shaded tables. There was a pool we could use too while we were there. The staff was very nice and helpful.. spoke English as well as Spanish.. there were dressing rooms and lockers to use.. this excursion was all because of our hotels relationship with this place and I was very grateful for the hospitality.. I'd definitely go back and do something with them .. great bunch of people and animals were loved and well taken care of read more

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In a nutshell, if you enjoy a whole lot of puzzle solving and figuring things out for yourself then you probably won't be as disappointed as we were. The staff had a whole lot DGAF energy. Poor customer service. They ship you to an Island allowing you the freedom to explore and figure things out for yourself. Something that bothered us the most: * Boarded at 9am sharp in Playa Tortugas and docked us off at Playa Langosta. We ended up having to pay for taxi back to Playa Tortugas where our car was parked. Why would any excursion do that? Imagine our frustration. Don't get me wrong. Isle Mujeres is beautiful and definitely a worthy sight to see. When we finally figured it out we were able to zipline over the beautiful reef, snorkel in crystal clear water, and lounge in the cabanas. It was private enough where we didn't have to fight for spaces. Free lockers. No wait for the lunch buffet (free as well). Not a big fan of captive animals, so didn't do dolphin discovery, but Royal Garrafon is an experience that was included with our Go Cancun City Pass. read more

Dolphin Discovery Isla Mujeres - Dolphin Discovery - Tours Near Me - Isla Mujeres, ROO

They're still stealing from the lockers They stole 500 pesos but left the 40 dollars I had in cash. Food was mediocre. read more

Horrible. Bamboozled at the hotel. We wanted to swim with manatees and paid for the package. The next day a driver arrived for us and he was late as hell. Then it was Mr Toads Wild Ride to the dock because the boat was gonna leave without us. We arrive and wait in a GIANT line in the blazing sun. It was so late they just crammed everyone onto one of the three boats. The began discussing wrist bands which we didn't have. Eventually we got some and then more confusion to follow. We arrived at the isla. It's beautiful. We waited around until our time to swim with the manatees. We were told to go back to the pool area and they would come and get us in 5 minutes. Twenty minutes later no one came to get us so we went back. Well the hippie girl is in the water with a group and we are told to wait. Then more confusion as they had us walking back and forth in the blazing sun from one group to the next. I finally let them know how pissed I was in Spanish. They sent us back to the hippie and we got in. We were allowed to feed the manatee but they said we can't have pictures taken. They claimed we didn't buy that package. What is the damn point then? Infuriated at this point but trying not to go to Mexican jail with my kids in tow. We go eat at the buffet. The food is no bueno. I was hungry and just couldn't eat it. Our waiter Abel was so kind and attentive and even offered to help us secure a taxi to drive us around. BEWARE!!!! We agreed and there is a whole conga line waiting to snag tourists and drive them around. Poor Abel was trying to fetch us a good driver and an argument ensued in the middle of the damn street. We get into the car with this man since he's "next" and holy shit was that the worst decision ever! His damn AC wasn't working! We rode in a god damn sauna the whole way. He never even apologized and was pretending not to wipe the damn gallons of sweat off his forehead. It was horrible! If these guys show up with the windows down even a bit, DONT ride! RUN! Beware of the sight seeing areas too because they charge for using the restroom, walking along certain paths, etc. We got back from the sauna on wheels and had the opportunity to ride the early boat back and we couldn't get off that Island fast enough. The water is beautiful, Conchita the manatee was amazing and Abel is a saint but damn I won't ever go back. read more

Such an amazing experience with the family. We booked our flight and hotel through Sunwing. We had to take a ferry to the island, which was covered in the cost. When we got there, there offered packages for activities. We decided to swim with the dolphins on this beautiful island. They have many different prices packages. You can swim with the dolphins, watch the dolphins, snorkeling, sea lions, manatees, etc. They have eating areas and swimming pools as well, when you are done swimming with the dolphin. This is also a great place for the adults to hang out. My mom and aunt decided to go to the little city area to shop. There is a boat that takes you snorkeling and drops off parents or kids to the shopping center if they did not purchase that part of the package. After this, we were dropped off at the dolphin area. Everyone parts ways depending on what they purchased. My younger cousins got the dolphin interaction where they stand and touch them, and the sea lion section. We were able to actually do activities with the dolphins. We learned about what they do and how to interact with them. We did a belly ride, boogie push, hug, hand target, handshake, and kiss. Photos are not included with the price. The price of photos can be expensive. It was unfortunate that you could not pay for everyone's together. Each person had some of the same photos with the group acivity, but had their own photo for certain activities. They had pack deals, which we ended up getting. All the photos are downloaded and sent to you on an app. It was hard to get service though. Once you are done with the activities, eating, and swimming in the pools, you can go to the city area. There were hotels, a large beach, boats, shopping centers, restaurants, old cars, booths/stands selling souvenirs, etc. It was exciting. We met up with my aunt there. They were swimming at the beach. When it is time to go, you make your way back to the ferry which takes you back to Cancun Riu. read more

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What an experience! We did the VIP Dolphin Swim Experience and it was worth every penny! There is also a VIP lounge upstairs to enjoy A/C

We had an incredible time at Dolphin Discovery. From the introductory snorkeling excursion to the gorgeous, open-bar boatride to Isla Mujeres, we had the perfect start to the day. On Isla Mujeres for free time, we had a delightful snack at a beachside restaurant with a great view of the sea, pelicans, and frigstebirds. Once we got to Dolphin Discovery and into the water with trainer Richie and dolphins Azteca & Citalli, we literally could not stop smiling. We opted for the "Royal Swim" package and were treated to two types of rides with the dolphins, one where you grip the dorsal fins for the dolphins to pull you through the water; the other in which you float on the water while the dolphins somehow come up under your feet and lift you onto them so you are standing fully upright?! It was a completely mindblowing and incredible experience, and Christian got some incredible photos for us to remember it by. Christian even snuck us in to give the manatees a quick pat and snack (thank you, Lis!) - a lifelong dream for me! Once back on land, our package got us access to the VIP lounge, with a yummy lunch buffet, a nearly empty air-conditioned dining room with stunning sea and dolphin views, and best of all - mi amor, Rigoberto. He truly treated us like royalty and kept our drinks full the entire time we were there, even whipping up a surprise Miami Vice to break up our pina coladas. All in all, a truly amazing and unforgettable day. read more

We booked with resort credit & went to Dolphin Discovery. There's a $10 per person "port fee" The Grand shuttle picked us up at 940am & took us to the beach. This is a public beach with lots of ppl traffic. Before boarding the ferry you have the option to select a dolphin packages up to VIP. We kept the basic which includes, Dolphin encounter in the water. You're not swimming free. Thats why I will refer as Dolphin Encounter. The pictures are $50 for kids $70 for adults. We settled for only the kids. Our 15yr is considered an adult so our estimate was $120. The trip includes the Dolphin encounter, an all you can eat buffet & bar. Lockers & towels (with ID). A trip by sea to Isla Mujeras shopping strip. There are other excursions like stingrays encounters & snorkeling. We chose Isla Mujeras. The Dolphin encounter was amazing! Being our first time & seeing the smile on my kids my $100 budget secretly went up to $200... The picture packaged started at $260 (3x$70 + 1x $50). We stuck to just the kids $120. The salesperson then said $165 of our best 12... she then said ALL 121 pictures including my husband & I for $165 plus 4 prints. We were sold. The pictures are amazing! All in all the trip was worth every cent. For a family of 4 = $51.25 per person This is the breakdown we came up with: Port Fee $40 Pictures $165 (120 digital plus 4 prints) Total $205 Includes: Dolphin encounter Shuttle to the beach All you can eat buffet Trip by sea to Isla Mujeras (all you drink) Experience: Priceless In our opinion the Dolphin Encounter alone is worth more than $50 and my husband & I had our share drinks. They also have soda, lemonade & ice tea. We LOVED it. The staff are helpful & knowledgeable. My husband misplaced his transition glasses & someone turned them in. Big plus! The food has a lot of variety; nachos, salads, pasta, ceviche, chicken wings, hot dogs & desserts. But theres a crowd so don't wait last minute to eat, at least 30-45min wait. The only downfall is the crowd in the public beach. No time to use the bathroom or showers. Before you get off the ferry use the restroom. It would be an extra perk if there were private amenities since we paid & should be able to use the restroom. Or better yet The Grand shuttle should open the restroom in the bus. Big help especially if you have little ones (or one too many drinks) & a 30 min ride back. read more

Dolphin Discovery Isla Mujeres - Me & Angelica the teenage Dolphin - Tours Near Me - Isla Mujeres, ROO

I went here on a basically free pass with my resort credit. When I arrived by ferry and then renting my golf cart they immediately slam you and talk you into upgrading your package. It was worth it to upgrade to the royal package which have access have access to better bathrooms lockers food and bar, longer time with dolphins and smaller groups. Beyond that I avoided the constant bombardment of upsells. Picture cost are outrageous. Keep saying NOOO... if you really want some they WILL come down A LOT. Don't be afraid to haggle at this place but also don't be afraid to just say NO and walk away. The dolphin experience once it got going was a great experience and the animals seem to be well taken care of and happy. The establishment is fairly nice and defiantly worth the experience. I just don't like the hidden fees and the overpriced photography gimmick. read more

Dolphin Discovery Isla Mujeres - Tours Near Me - Isla Mujeres, ROO

I've been wanting to swim with dolphins for so long and I FINALLY got to do it here!!!! It was a really fun experience but I don't think I'd do it again because it felt a little tedious.. I purchased the basic dolphin encounter package and spent about a minute or two playing with my dolphin and taking pictures with it. Getting in the water, following directions, waiting for your turn, watching the dolphin do tricks, all lasted about an hour. The experience itself was worth it but what's a special experience without photos? The photos are expensive and this is how this business makes money. They don't let you take any type of camera into the water and the only way you can capture tangible memories here is to buy the photos that the photographer takes for you during the encounter. They have different packages which include either printed photos or a CD and they charge you per person. One printed photo costs $35 USD, two printed photos (same person) are $45, and three printed photos (same person) are $50. A CD for one person costs $60. I was debating on purchasing two or three printed photos, but since the price difference was just $5 between two or three photos, I decided to purchase three for $50 USD. I think it's pretty ridiculous how much it costs but I was on vacation and didn't want to regret not getting the pictures. read more

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I was super excited for this experience, the main check in at the ferry failed to give me my wrist band for manatee swim and I didn't know we needed one so when I inquired once we got to dolphin discovery the man became irritated and said where's your wrist band and refused to help me so we missed the swim. Staff Very limited English. Always trying to upsell and get more money. No one explained what we were supposed to do or allowed to do....unorganized and confusing. Photo package 260$! Dolphins are beautiful. Clean. read more

We were staying at Le Blanc resort and used our resort credit for the La Isla Mujeres excursion. Our hotel shuttle dropped us at the marina where we showed our voucher coupon to the agent. We had to pay a $10 per person dock fee which increased from $8 per person. Oh well, we just paid it and got wristbands to board the boat. CANCUN TO DOLPHIN DISCOVERY BOAT *** The boat came 30 minutes later and we found a table to sit at. The boat ride was pretty rocky but my wife pointed out we were in open waters. Several people lost their drinks on the floor. Also, it was difficult to walk across to the bar to get your free drinks. In the morning, the bar served water, pineapple juice, and orange juice. For the downtown afternoon smaller boat, the bar included beer and soda too. Also, the return boat to Cancun was the same downtown smaller boat which made it easy to claim the nicer booth seats. DOLPHIN DISCOVERY *** The actual amusement park is really where you spend time with dolphins, manatees, and sea lions for extra charge. My wife and I had browsed around and thought about getting towels to swim. However, there is a deposit of your hotel key/driver's license so that they know you will return back the towels. I said forget it for all that hassle. We thought there was beach access which there is not. There are kiddie and adult pools which only caught attention of the kids. I saw maybe 1-2 adults try the adult pool but it didn't look too appealing. We just laid in the hammocks for a little to rest before our downtown boat arrived. TURTLE FARM BICYCLE TOUR ***** We wanted to go to the Turtle Farm which was a free bike ride with their guide. We had Raul and his assistant help us to ride bikes to the Turtle Farm. My wife was a little nervous so Raul was patient to give us more time. Afterwards, we visited for almost 30 minutes before returning back. The turtle farm has a $3 per person fee which was reasonable plus we were able to get photos from our guides' help. There was a local snack stand where I got a chilled coconut with straw. I split it with my wife for 50 pesos which was reasonable. FOOD **** For the buffet lunch, we ate after visiting the Turtle Farm. The selection was reasonable and probably the next highlight besides the Turtle Farm. I got a nice portion of fish and chicken too as well as vegetables. In addition to local cuisine, you can also partake on burgers and french fries. The drinks were interesting and had the strawberry fruit drink. Overall, we found it good and seating was adequate for everyone. The hours are really flexible from 12:30 to 4:00 PM. DOWNTOWN BOAT TOUR ** The actual boat ride is only 10 minutes which gets you to their local port outside of downtown. Once you disembark, there is a flurry of activity of local merchants trying to sell you souvenirs. We walked up and down the street and finally settled on getting some ice cream to rest our feet. There are local stores but most everything looks the same being made from China for the masses. The 1.5 hour free time was a little boring and finding how to get back on boat was confusing. We used the platform B to get back on our small boat. However, there were other ships for other customers which wasn't explained well. Still, it was worth to explore since Dolphin Discovery was limited since we didn't want to experience any dolphin, manatee, or sea lion swims. read more

Dolphin Discovery dolphin swim adventure experience was a magnificent experience! Very enjoyable 1 hour encounter with the dolphin and you get to touch, swim, kiss, feel, and wave commands at the Dolphin as per instruction of the instructor ! Very well trained. I give it a 1 star rating cause the gift shop and process of buying photos is absolutely terrible. For those buying - make sure you download all of the photos there. If you use the app, you can't use the code after (garbage app) as if it's only active for 1 hour. They also say to check your junk mail within 24 hours - nothing has come through. Now I'll struggle with paying expensive 200+ USD for photos that will be hard to retrieve. Improve your customer experience, dolphin discovery. Also - you should have an ENGLISH version of the transactions (ALL TRANSACTIONS) including when you need to put in a pin - cause I had no idea when a pin should be entered in the machine and my card almost declined (apparently my fault). Now for the Español version: ... read more

Honestly, what a truly great experience. Everything about the experience, from the people I met to the trainer who assisted and of course the two dolphins!!! Booked the swim package where you got to do the a few extra swims followed by the kiss dance etc. Smart and well trained, beautiful creatures. Glad I decided to do this. You can tell everyone really enjoyed their time. Full of laughter and awws. The trainer was so patient with everyone especially with a small group who didn't speak English nor Spanish and had a small kid. The trainer was very patient and didn't take away from the other people while she made sure the small group got to have the same experience! Only downside which I won't take away from the experience were the pictures. First off, you'd expect if you book the pictures in advanced, have it written down on your bands, the photographer acknowledges, you'd assume they'd focus on you or at least take better pictures. Sadly, not true. Furthermore, if I knew you could have paid for the package after the event...after seeing the pictures, I would have done that. Now mind you, some of the captures were great, but you definitely will notice that the "paid" already customers weren't prioritized. So warning: you can pay for pictures after your encounter/swim!!! Other than that, like I said...truly an amazing experience and I am glad I got to do it. read more

Had a great experience here swimming with dolphins! We took a catamaran from Cancun to the island. The weather was spectacular! There are quite a few people there so it can take a while to get to your turn. You can check out the facility and visit the gift shop or enjoy drinks in the sand on lounge chairs under the trees. We had an amazing experience. My group was a Spanish only speaking group but they do have guides that speak English. I was a bit surprised at the price of the photos. But purchased them anyway as it was a dream of mine and I had to have it in photos!! read more

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Do not do this trip if you are American. I booked this trip for my fiancé an I. We were robbed by "Sandra" once we showed up to check In with our itinerary info. She said if we don't pay her $100 us. We could not go on the boat. She said this was the tax An would not offer or allow a receipt for this. When I tried to speak with a manager, Sandra claimed that she was a manager. Feeling intimidated an like we had no other option. We chose to give Sandra what she wanted. I will never use Expedia or possibly go to Cancun again. I tried to believe this was going to be a good experience. Tried to give Mexico a chance But thanks to Sandra at the dolphin experience at check in, my fiancé an I were violated by this Mexican worker. Save time and money. Go anywhere else in the world. Don't fall into the same trap we did. Ps. We did not let this ruin our trip. We still went and ate after with some drinks! read more

Dolphin Discovery Isla Mujeres - Tours Near Me - Isla Mujeres, ROO

Such a wonderful experience. We got a package to play with the dolphins for 20 or 30 minutes. At the end when we went to look at the pics they were trying to say we had our camera on and taking pics of the screen. We told them we weren't taking pics and they still didn't believe us, we showed them the screen and the lady grabbed our phone from our hands only to see we had not taken pics of the screen. By the way a photo package is over $120 US. read more

We had an amazing time during our stayed, but at the end our day, Monday July 11, 2022 our locker 128 was opened by someone with a key and my Apple Watch was STOLEN. The employee responsible for the keys didn't care to look at the cameras to see what was going on. BE AWARE OF THIS, request a Manager and don't make the mistake of not asking for upper management. It's crazy to pay such a high price to come here and they don't keep our belongings safe. read more

Luis the server at dolphin discovery was so attentive and so polite our experience with him literally made our stay because of him! never once was pushy just super sweet and humble. I would 10/10 recommend him And Dolphin discovery! read more

Dolphin Discovery Isla Mujeres - Tours Near Me - Isla Mujeres, ROO

Scamm I would give 0 stars do not get the picture package!!! They charged us 180$ and we could download the pics in 24 hours that's what they told us bur now back home and trying many time to contact them they don't give us new code it says this code not valid . You can't take pictures either. Glad we paid with credit card so adter multiple times it's not working and we will dispute with our credit card company. What a bullshit is that our son was so happy to get the picture but nope .not going to happen . read more

Our family stayed at Moon Palace and used our resort credits to experience the Dolphin Ultimate tour at Isla Mujeres, a package that includes activities such as a boogie board push, kiss, handshake, belly ride, and more activities with the dolphins. Our group consisted of less than 10 people and the whole dolphin interaction lasted a little more than an hour. It was so exciting to actually touch and interact with the dolphins and we learned so much about these beautiful sea creatures! Plus, it was a gorgeous day out in Isla Mujeres to top it off! The photos came out very nicely and it was great to see that the photographer did not catch anyone else in the background, so our pictures came out truly wonderfully. Even though the price was a bit steep ($180 for two people including a CD and book), I think it was still worth it to purchase them as souvenirs so that we can always look back at the photos and relive the memories! The CD came out instantly and the hardcover photo book was delivered to our hotel the next day. The facility itself was very big. The showers, lockers, and one of the bathrooms were pretty clean. The staff was very communicative and efficient. The lunch buffet had burgers, meats, hot dogs, salad, pasta, nachos, desserts and unlimited drinks! Ultimately, we are so happy with our choice to experience Dolphin Discovery and would come back any day to see the dolphins again. read more

Dolphin Discovery Isla Mujeres - Carlos the dolphin and his friend! - Tours Near Me - Isla Mujeres, ROO

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I was vibrating with excitement on the ferry going to Dolphin Discovery this morning and it did not disappoint! I LOVED IT! We did the Royal Swim Plus which included dolphins, sea lions & manatees. That was an AWESOME experience! Even my sister, whom I only forced to join had a grand time! Although food is not really what you're after, I need to mention that the vip seafood & mexican buffets were lacking, in my opinion. I was expecting more delicious fare. I hope they improve on that. read more

I am only reviewing their customer service as I was not able to experience swimming with dolphins due to cancelling our trip because of Covid-19. I cancelled our reservation in mid March of 2020 and was told I would receive a full refund in 20-30 days. I was even e-mail by them to confirm the refund. Fast forward almost 3 months and I still have not received my refund after numerous phone calls and e-mails to them. I keep being told that the refunds are taking longer due to the banking systems being short staffed due to Coronavirus. This is totally bogus though as I received numerous refunds from other excursions we had booked in a timely manner. I would not recommend this company to anyone and would definitely not pay for this activity in advance. read more

Complete scam. There is no customer value. You are viewed simply as money$$$. Our hotel provided a transportation company Otium that charged us for the dolphin discovery trip $160 per person from playa to Isla mujeres. Whats included. 1 hour with these poor captive dolphins. We were told they were not locked up but they are. We werre informed of an additional $30 per person x 5 for transportation and dock fees so $650 is now $800. Once we arrived at the dock we were told we cannot use our cameras and can only get pictures through dolphin discovery at $70 ppx5 $350. Now $1150 in. Were at the vip which is far from. So run down, leave playa at 7am get to cancun 8am get ripped off take ferry to Isla arrive 10am swim w dolphins done 1130 sit in a gross VIP ferry leaves 330 and 530 but since transportation was prepaid we could not leave at 330. Had to wait until 530. Otium and dolphin discovery would not speak to each other to update our time and neither cared. They know you're stuck got you by the balls unless you fork over an additional $200 to get from cancun to playa. Make sure to ask every question as nothing is fully disclosed in the brochure or by the otium help desk. Im disappointed in the hotel for being associated and connecting us with otium who then have nothing to do except collect middleman fees. Waste if a day and i feel terrible for the dolphins. Hope this review provides some guidance for everyone else. read more

Dolphin Discovery Isla Mujeres - Vip and buffet with hotdogs and burgers that taste like hotdogs - Tours Near Me - Isla Mujeres, ROO

This whole place is a scam. You pay for a package to "swim" with the dolphins. You only get to TOUCH the dolphins unless, you pay for the VIP package which every single worker you encounter are trying to sell you... The buffet is straight up 5th grade cafeteria food, UNLESS you pay for the VIP package. I sure hope the salad does not get me sick.... IF your second language is English. DO NOT get mad at your guests if YOU do not know what your are saying! Their manatee exhibit was a Sea Lion. Guess they don't think the guests would know one from the other? Also, when you go to "touch" the dolphins you CANNOT bring your phone with you for pictures. That is because they want to sell you $60 photo packages, yay! I really wanted this to be fun.... read more

We visited Cancun during the last week of September, and the weather was nearly perfect. Yes there were plenty of hot days, but at the same time enough cloud coverage that helped cool things down. Some brief rain sprinkles, but for the most part, we weren't going to let the weather dampen our last few days here in Cancun. And especially planning for Isla Mujeres and riding with dolphins! At our resort, we set up the ferry ride and purchased our tour tickets for the exploration of Isla Mujeres as well as the Dolphin Discovery experience. This was my first time riding with dolphins, so I was pretty excited. Highlights to take note of: ~ Whomever set up your tickets, should provide you with a time slot to swim with dolphins. They'll announce it over the very loud speakers. They even mentioned it prior to getting off the boat. ~ Once you get there, the island has an Information booth and Starbucks if needed. ~ You pretty much, arrive and take your clothes off in the open air locker area. There's no men or women side, just pick up a locker key from the staff and put your stuff away. ~ Rooms to change in the back, and on the side they've got plenty of showers where you can rinse off. ~ There's an all you can eat area, as well as an air conditioned bar. The buffet had a variety of both Mexican and American food. Was OK in my opinion, but nothing fancy. The bar had the monitors playing music videos. ~ When it's your turn to swim, you head down the docks, try on a life vest, and listen to the dolphin swimming rules given by the staff. ~ I'm not the greatest swimmer, but our instructor/trainer totally helped us out on what to do and what tricks to perform next. ~ With the tricks, we held the dolphins, shook fins, kissed them, and even had them lift us up in the air. Talk about an exhilarating feeling! Other highlights: ~ Watching the excitement on kids faces when they play with them for the first time. Believe me I felt like a kid. ~ They've also have feeding pens where the manatees live. ~ A few sea lions playing and sunbathing as well. ~ The return ferry ride practically turns into a party boat haha! But only on the upper deck. This is an activity you can do from the moment you wake up until the late afternoon. Ya eat, explore the island, buy some souvenirs, swim with dolphins. Go back to the hotel and enjoy a nice dinner. I'll be back to do it again someday! read more

the VIP is worth it. It is a small group of 4-6 so if that is your family it's private! You have one on one experiences with a sea lion, a manatee, and the dolphins. Photos are extra just plan to buy them it's cheaper than individual and you won't be able to use your cell phone. You are not rushed and we were in the water for almost 3 hours between all 3. Now, this was a tough thing for me I have mixed feelings on the capturing of dolphins, the reason I chose this particular place was they have animals who were injured in the wild that cannot return, their own breeding program so many of these animals were not captured and they are not kept in aquarium tanks but in an ocean. Their paddocks are very large and they are kept in their family units not separated. For example, the manatee was the father and daughter. The private experience is well worth the money. I was able to really talk to the trainers and ask a lot of questions about the training, it's interesting how similar the curriculum is to most dog trainers but I am veering off the path of this post. After the swim there are a variety of buffets that are included, that being said the food is not great lol there are not very many fresh options. Depending on your resort request a bag lunch. My husband ate the calamari and now has major regrets. read more

Dolphin Discovery Isla Mujeres - Dora - Tours Near Me - Isla Mujeres, ROO

We did the royal swim for our family for Christmas this year. 1st of all. It was a lot of fun and nice that we had lunch included. Unfortunately we had a couple issues. One being the purchase of photos. It was crowded and took us a long time to get checked out. The boat we were supposed to take to garrafon park left before the time that we were told. We went to get on 10 minutes after 12. It was to depart at 12:30. It was gone. Already left us. Which was infuriating because now we had to take a taxi to the park and we had just spent a lot of money for the photo package. Thankfully they gave us a taxi pass and covered our ride. However we did miss out on the boat ride. Also. We bought the "I swam with Simbad and Vale shirts for my girls as a souvenir. First wash the print is completely ruined. We dried them on low heat also in the dryer. I don't recommend the shirts. I will post a photo. Both of my girls were really disappointed. read more

There's a few different packages. We went with the swim with dolphins package. It was $130 a person, however the agency gave us $30 off another event/tour we wanted to do (not sure if everyone does this. I believe there are cheaper ones where you just pet the dolphins. It started off pretty good. There wasn't a very long wait time to get in the water and you could see the dolphins swimming around chasing the guy walking around with the bait bucket. They split you up into different groups so the activity order may be different depending what group you're in. Once we finally got in the water it started off strong, they had us swim out to the middle of the pool so the could dolphins jump over us. Then they had us one by one lay flat on the water and had two dolphins swim up behind us and push you into the air by your feet. It was a really cool experience and almost worth the price by itself. After that things start to slow down. They have the dolphin swim around you so you can pet them. They show you different hand signals and then have you give the dolphin signals. It seems more to set up picture take opportunities than anything else. Now, the pictures. For just a cd of the pictures they took was $164. There were other packages that went up to more than $300. I was honestly so outraged at the prices I almost didn't buy them, but what are you going to do, not buy the pictures? I said something about the price and the girl made it sound like they were expensive because they have to care for the dolphins. Isn't that what I paid for with my admission? Now I can only imagine the man hours it takes to teach those dolphins to do what they do, but that should be covered in the admission, not blindsiding people as they're getting ready to walk out the door. All in all I'm glad I did it, but I would never do it again. Just be prepared, you're not paying $100 a person, you're going to be paying closer to $400 for 2 people for about an hours worth of activities. read more

We had the best time with Dolphin Discovery! Sea Life Discovery Package is a must! Worth paying a little extra to experience interaction with the cutest sea lion ever and manatees (who you also get to feed!). Dolphins are truly amazing and are so well trained and so much fun! Ricardo was the dolphin guide and he made it an unforgettable program for the whole group. We had so much fun and got so much positive energy out of it! Sandra, the girl who helps to coordinate things by the restaurants/lockers area is so kind and helpful. Thank you the Dolphin Discovery team for working so hard to help create special times and memories!!!! You all are a true 5 star team!!!! read more

Watch out for photo package. It is expensive. Like $189 per person per animal- so dolphins you see three dolphin with the VIP package. We almost miss the ship due to dealing with getting the photos. They are ripping people off for digital photos of their trip. You would think that they would want people to speak positive for their company. I would say get ready to open your wallet if you want the photos. $40 a piece separately. Just trying to get Money out of the tourists. Sea lions add on package is worth it. Only $30 more per person.(you get a lot of interact.) read more

This is a great experience if you have never experienced dolphin interaction but I have to take two stars off because of the time manage and photo purchase experience. Me and my boyfriend bought the garrafon Park and dolphin encounter package. So we started off here for the dolphin encounter. You get to kiss, hand shapes, pet, tap, and dolphin hug with dolphin encounter package. The staffs are nice but I was turned off the time manage of the program. As mentioned we bought the garrafon Park and dolphin encounter package; we started the dolphin park at 10:30 and our ferry leaves for garrafon Park at 12:30. We also purchased the photo and couple photo package (like a previous yelper said it's a total scam!!) So after the dolphin encounter program we were supposed to have couple photos with the dolphin BUT the program didn't end until almost 12. We were worried that we wouldn't have enough time since we still have to pick out our photos and change and everything before the garrafon Park ferry leaves at 12:30 (apparently we weren't the only one worrying). We asked several staffs but we were told yes there is enough for it. But no we ended up having to rush to get our photos picked and ran to our ferry afterward. On top of that that's when we realized we were scamed for the photo package. Apparently the photo packaged we paid for ($162 USD) was just ONLY a CD that contains all our pictures with the dolphins!!! Which was like wtf for us because when the staff explained the package to us and was showing us a photo book/card and the CD and was telling us these are what we'll get. But when we when we were picking up the stuffs all we got was the CD so we tried to explain to them that when we paid the guy showed use the photo book and telling use we will get the CD with all the photos. But they all denied it saying the price we paid for was only for the CD. WTF!!! So we ended up paying another 500 pesos for the photo book -_- Overall, the dolphin experience was great but their time management and photo package sucks!!! read more

They habitat is nice and the dolphins look so happy. Great interaction but super over priced