Ethically Swimming with Dolphins on Kangaroo Island, Australia 2024

A complete guide to ethically swimming with dolphins on Australia’s Kangaroo Island!

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For us, swimming with dolphins has always been a life-long dream. But just because we love dolphins doesn’t mean we were about to jump at any chance to experience swimming with them. In fact, we knew we needed to make sure that if it was ever a reality, it was a legal, ethical and sustainable experience. We don’t agree with or advocate keeping dolphins, or any marine life, in captivity so would never consider a captive dolphin encounter. We were beginning to think it actually wasn’t possible to swim with dolphins in an environment that doesn’t cause harm, or even harass, the dolphins. But we were wrong.

Can you swim with wild dolphins on Kangaroo island?

Yes! Kangaroo Island is one of the best places in Australia to swim with dolphins. There are two companies on Kangaroo Island who offer swim with dolphins trips. Kangaroo Island Marine Adventures’ Island Explorer Tour is a 3 hour, wildlife spotting and snorkelling tour. A knowledgeable guide and captain will take you to the best spots on the island, before heading for shallow and protected waters. Here you have the chance to swim with wild bottlenose dolphins in a once in a lifetime opportunity. Kangaroo Island Ocean Safari also offer 2 hour long boat trips to snorkel with dolphins, as well as a 75 minute wildlife safari tour for those who don’t wish to swim. Swimming with wild dolphins is simply the best thing to do on Kangaroo Island.

Book your Snorkel with Dolphins Tour here!

Is swimming with dolphins ethical?

I’m glad you ask. Also yes! It’s absolutely imperative to always research the tour you’re going on to ensure they adhere to best wildlife practices, have the animals interests at heart and maintain legal distances from marine life. Swimming with wild dolphins with KI Marine Adventures or Kangaroo Island Ocean Safari is a completely ethical experience. The dolphins aren’t incentivised in anyway to approach the boat or swimmers (i.e. they don’t expect food in return) and the companies have spent years building trust with these dolphins. KI Marine Adventures use a propeller-free boat, as propellers can be extremely harmful to marine life; but more than this, the boat creates a sympathetic acoustic pattern (vibrations) that the dolphins love. The only other thing the dolphins get out of the encounter, aside from their curiosity towards the humans in the water, is riding the waves of the boat. At the end of the trip, your Captain will often do a few circles in the boat, creating bow waves which the dolphins enjoy leaping over.

KI Marine Adventure’s boat is small, providing an intimate experience and ensuring there aren’t too many people on a tour at once. They keep sustainability in mind and are the only KI marine tourism business with an Advanced Eco Certification. While Kangaroo Island Ocean Safari have 12, 28 and 38 seater vessels and are a local and Aboriginal-descended, family owned and operated business.

When is the best time of year to swim with dolphins in Australia?

Bottlenose dolphins are the most common dolphins around Kangaroo Island and can be found all year round. Winter is off-season on Kangaroo Island and is much quieter than Summer. But the water is a lot colder too. When we visited in June, the water temperature was a chilly 5°C (40°F). While the weather is much warmer in Summer, the island is also busier. We’d recommend visiting between March-May or September-November. Whales can be spotted in the waters off Kangaroo Island between May to October, so this is also a great time to coincide with whale season.

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What to expect on a Swim With Dolphins Tour

Our tour with KI Marine Adventures started from the Bay of Shoals, but they do sometimes start from Emu Bay too. Kangaroo Island Ocean Safari’s tours travel to Christmas Cove, one of Australia’s Geological Monuments cut out by glacial movement 240 million years ago.

We met our Captain, Andrew, and boarded the RIB with only two other people – we travelled in off-season (June-August), so it was quieter (and colder) than the summer months. We then set off towards Kangaroo Island’s North coast.

We saw lots of wildlife, including cormorants, a group of feeding pelicans and lots and lots of New Zealand Fur Seals. We spotted a rare Australian Sea Lion amongst the Fur Seals too! We passed a 540 million year old fossil bed and learned a lot about the wildlife and coastline that we were seeing.

We also spotted an Osprey. It hovered over the ocean and then dove for fish, before it returned to land. Apparently this is a very rare sight. Andrew had only seen it 3 times in his 12 years of captaining.

We were keeping an eye out for the dolphins the whole time. They usually find the boat if the boat doesn’t find them first. We headed to an area known as the Dolphin’s Lounge, as they like to hang around in the shallows here. And there we spotted them! At first, one fin. Then another and another! There was a pod of about 25 dolphins in total! Dan and I have spotted dolphins before – we’ve seen pods off the British coast – but never as strong as 25+! They came up super close to the boat and it was the closest we’d ever been to dolphins.

Book a Swim with Dolphins Tour here!

The tour provided wetsuits and snorkels, which we donned quickly, before jumping straight in.

Our hearts were racing and we were filled with so much adrenaline. It was absolutely FREEZING! We were so overwhelmed, but in a good way – there were dolphins everywhere we looked. A few of the brave ones came up quite close to us. We could make out all the individual markings, like scratches and barnacles, that littered the dolphins’ bodies.

One dolphin in particular took a liking to Dan. He started to circle us, coming a little closer and then skirting away again. It was magical.

We were really surprised that we could hear them too! As soon as we got in the water we could hear clicking and calling as the dolphins chatted to each other. We hadn’t expected to hear anything so it really heightened the experience. It was like entering into another (underwater) world.

Like all good things, eventually our time in the water came to an end and we got back onto the boat. We were very grateful for the warm tea, coffee and biscuits we were provided and immediately put back on as many layers as possible. Make sure you pack according to the season you visit in! Hats and sun cream for Summer and lots of layers and warm, waterproof clothes for Winter.

Our captain took the boat in circles for a little while and we were captivated by the dolphins frolicking in the waves. They leaped and splashed and were so graceful.

What else is there to do on Kangaroo Island?

There are plenty more things to do on Kangaroo Island. Explore Flinder s Chase National Park or head to the north coast and lounge on the beach. If you’re a wildlife lover, head to Kingscote to see fairy penguins or visit Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. If you have no luck searching for koalas, consider joining this 2-Hour Koala Walking Tour from Vivonne Bay, where your guide will take you through gum forests that are over 500 years old and you are guaranteed to see a koala.

Foodies will love exploring all the local food and wine businesses that give Kangaroo Island its reputation for great produce and Kangaroo Island Food Tours can be arranged. Wine lovers have 6 different vinyards to choose from and can do multiple tastings on a Wine Tasting Tour, while gin lovers should head to Kangaroo Island Spirits for a Premium Gin Tasting of 5 signature gins.