I've always had a fascination with dolphins, and knew I had many options of seeing dolphins while in Puerto Vallarta. While I was tempted to do a "Swim with the Dolphins" excursion, I was hesitant to give money to people who essentialy were hurting the dolphins to make money off of tourists.
Luckily I ran into a tour/travel agent named Pamela, who steered me to an eco-friendly alternative.
Maru, a marine biologist, and Eduardo, a world renowned photographer, have teamed up together to form Wildlife Connections. The spend their lives filming, listening and documenting the 300+ free dolphins in Bahia de Banderas, but also the migrating whale populations. Their incredible knowledge, accuracy at finding the dolphins and whale watching expertise make this eco-friendly excursion one of the best around.
When taking this excursion, you meet the team and others joining you at the Opiquimar Marina. Maru then gives a history on dolphins and whales, which unlike 9th grade biology class, was very fascinating. You will then board the boat and set off to find the pods of dolphins living free in the bay. At some point, if willing, you may have the chance to get into the water and see if the dolphins are interested enough to come near you. Remember, these are free and happy dolphins with miles and miles of water, not a cage or a tank, so really, there is no guarantee they'll come close.
For a full report on my Dolphin Adventure, please go to:
http://todopuertovallarta.homestead.com/dolphins.html