Whale Shark Season 2025: Mexico Field Notes and First Impressions

Every whale shark season tests my ability to slow life down long enough to return to the giants that keep me grounded.

(Be sure to scroll below the story for more photos of this trip)

Sometimes my schedule when I return to Playa del Carmen gets the best of me. With a second home to maintain and constant engagements with friends, what starts off as ample time gets reduced to nothing before I know it. During off-peak times of the year, it’s not that big of a deal; but during peak season (e.g., whale shark, bull shark, eagle ray season) the frustration can get the best of me. There’s nothing worse than watching the days slip away while the ocean is calling your name.

In the summer of 2023, I got the chance to spend a lot of time in the water during whale shark season, giving me plenty of photo opportunities and enough time to complete my first biographical article and mini-documentary. After previously not spending any time with them for several years, my healthy whale shark obsession of “feels like the first time every time” got the best of me, so I spent a good chunk of that summer making amends for my previous lapses. It felt like reconnecting with an old friend you didn’t realize you’d missed as much as you did.

After deciding to attempt to make every whale shark season from now on, I failed miserably the following year. The summer of 2024 was filled with surgeries and other commitments, and before I knew it, whale shark season had come and gone. This year was starting to look like more of the same until I buckled down and decided there was no way I was leaving the Mexican Riviera without at least one visit with the majestic giants of the ocean. Luckily, a tour-guide friend of mine was able to find me a last-minute spot with a private guide. Sometimes all it takes is one opening—one small window—to pull you back into the rhythm you thought you’d lost.

I previously wrote about the struggles of the 2023 whale shark season. While I was unable to partake in 2024, many friends reported that the season had returned to resemble its old, healthy self. Early observations of the 2025 season were looking just as favorable, with many reports of consistent aggregations of 35–50 whale sharks in the protected zone. Excitedly, I prayed for good weather and favorable surf conditions on the day of my lone visit… and I got them!

On this day there were about 30 whale sharks in the area, all gently feeding in the plankton-rich waters. On any given day there are seemingly dozens upon dozens of boat operators in the area. When there is a copious amount of sharks, not only do customers get a better experience due to the favorable ratio of sharks to operators, but the whale sharks themselves seem to relax in the lower density of snorkelers—often staying in place to “coke-bottle.” This upright feeding posture, as odd and endearing as it looks, remains one of my favorite behaviors to witness. They’ll pause in the water column, go vertical, and suction-feed on plankton and fish eggs, resembling a soda bottle being held upside down.

Several jumps into the water resulted in time spent with a gorgeous 18-foot juvenile, a massive 35-foot adult, and some incredible coke-bottling action. For a single last-minute outing, it felt like hitting the seasonal jackpot. My personal vow of visiting these majestic animals yearly—right here in my own backyard—was fulfilled.

And yes, I once again experienced the innocent sensation that keeps me obsessed with these magnificent giants: every time I encounter them, it feels exactly like the first time. There’s a humility in that feeling, a reminder that even familiarity can’t dull the awe.

Lest I not forget the lesson following year. CaaS

Gallery: A few frames from a day that reminded me why whale sharks always feel like the first time: