Dolphin Cove, on the north coast of Jamaica is widely recognised as one of the best places to make the dream of swimming with dolphins come true. But that’s not all that’s on offer here. Visitors can interact with stingrays, take a jungle trek or even visit a pirate haunt in this varied, exciting destination.
Dolphin Cove was founded in 2001 in the pretty Ocho Rios area of Jamaica by a couple in love with these most intelligent and playful of marine mammals. They have developed a complete range of dolphin-swimming experiences, to suit all ages and levels of confidence. The Dolphin Encounter is the gentlest, where visitors can get close enough to the dolphins – in knee-deep water – to touch them. This experience is great for kids or less confident swimmers.
The Dolphin Swim gives you the chance to make friends with one of the dolphins in a deep-water pool. You'll have your dolphin buddy racing around you, making a few jumps – and playing a few tricks – before you get a chance to get tactile. Dolphin skin is amazingly smooth to the touch, but many also note just how muscular and powerful these athletic animals feel.
The most intense encounter on offer is the Ultimate Swim programme, where you'll share a pool with two dolphins. Here you get the amazing experience of being pulled around the water by these supple, graceful creatures, or of being launched from the water by a firm push from those famous bottle-noses. You can also walk among the dolphins, on the Dolphin Trek, thanks to a breathing helmet you wear to descend to the depths.
And when you've had your fill of dolphins, you can repeat the experience with rays or sharks (both in complete safety) or try your hand at glass-bottom kayaking. A snorkelling area has also been set aside, or you can mess about on the water in a Mini-boat.
Dolphin Cove is situated in St Ann, 5 minutes west of Ocho Rios by car. The park is open every day, but you must book your visit in advance.
