Encounter with the Gentle Giants (Whale Shark) in Oslob

I’ve been planning to try whale shark watching in Oslob, Cebu for quite some time now. If you think about it, it’s amazing to swim with those super massive whale sharks, right? However, my mom didn’t really want me to go because she insisted that they are still animals, and we never know what they might do.

Despite how fun this experience sounds, I still find it a bit distressing.

Just 3 hours away from Cebu City, you can already have a wonderful experience to swim with these gentle giants, which is located in Brgy. Tan-awan Oslob of Cebu province,

How to get there?

At the South Bus Terminal, take a bus bound for Liloan, or simply ask the conductors which bus to take to Oslob. Once you reach the Oslob boundary, just look for the signs for “Whale Shark Watching.”

Since whale shark watching is only available until 12:30 NN, I suggest arriving as early as 8 AM to avoid the “horde” lol.

Once you’ll get to the place, go directly to their briefing area by just following the signs.

 

A short briefing must be followed before the activity starts. One of the most important things to remember when you are in the water is not to touch the whale sharks. Second, make sure to turn off your camera’s flash when taking photos. Third, always keep at least a 4-meter distance from the whale sharks. Failure to follow any of these rules may result in a fine of 2,500 PHP.

For 30 minutes, you can already experience this jaw-dropping adventure with the whale sharks. Two guides will accompany you throughout the activity. Below are the fees for whale shark watching:

300php – if you’ll watch from the boat only (with life vest)

500php – if you want to swim with the butandings (with snorkeling gears and life vest)

500 php – underwater camera rental

1000 php – if you feel like you are a foreigner then you can pay this amount (lol)

And so the time comes for me to experience it. So let’s see if they really are gentle giants.

The swimming area with the ‘Tuki’ is just few meters from the shore. It will just take you 1-2 minutes to reach the area.

As one of the butandings approached our bangka, I felt overwhelmed and, at the same time, completely in awe. You know that feeling when you see something you’ve been dreaming of for the first time? Yeah… that feeling. That’s exactly what I felt at that moment. heuheuheuhue

Then one of the guides were telling us to jump into the water since our 30 minutes had already started. So we didn’t have a choice but to jump lol.

 

The experience was both amazing and scary at the same time. But as we were enjoying it, I noticed something… there were scratches on the whale shark’s body. Some of the tourists kept shouting and panicking every time the whale shark came closer. And for the whale shark to approach, someone guides it by feeding it.

I looked around, feeling sorry for these animals, as if they were trapped in a basin and being fed just to perform. creys

Anyhoo, if you get hungry after diving and snorkeling with the Butanding, there’s also a small “restaurant” where you can have lunch. These were my choices for lunch:

‘

While eating, I still felt that ambivalent feeling. Anyway, I just hope this will stop in the future. I really feel sorry for the butandings. It would have been better if no one had discovered that they exist in Oslob.

After lunch, I decided to go to Tumalog Falls, which is just 7–9 minutes away from Tan-awan. Check it out in my next post!