Whale Sharks at Gladden Spit
Gladden Spit is the most easterly part of the Belize Barrier Reef and is part of the Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve. It is a spawning aggregation site for many different tropical fish species including the cubera, mutton, and dog snappers which produce tons of spawn. This spawning occurs around the full moon to the last quarter during the months of March to June. This is what attracts the Whale Shark to the Gladden spit near Placencia in Southern Belize. Whale sharks are the biggest fish in the ocean growing up to lengths of 60 feet/18 meters and are gentle filter feeders that eat minute plankton and spawn.
We are scheduling whale shark tours from April 1 to 11, May 1 to 11, and May 31 to June 10 in 2026, but I need to caution you. In 2025, there was one whale shark sighting, and none were observed in May or June. In 2024, there were no whale shark sightings. In April 2023, there was one whale shark sighting, and no further sightings were reported in May or June. In 2022, we did one whale shark tour in April and two in May (saw lots of bull sharks but no whale sharks). In 2021, we did three whale shark tours and saw a whale shark on one of them. In 2020, we did not do any whale shark tours due to COVID-19, although there were sightings by fishermen at Gladden Spit. For the first time, in 2019, there were no whale shark sightings. In 2018, we saw whale sharks on fewer than 1/2 of the days we went out.
Dates for 2027 are April 20 to 30, May 20 to 30, and June 18 to 28.
While appearance by whale sharks is uncertain, you can certainly expect to see black tip reef sharks and bull sharks and dolphins who come to feed on the spawning aggregation of cubera snapper, dog snapper, mutton snapper and horse eye jacks. One of our guests said a whale shark trip with no whale shark sightings was the best dive she had ever done – dolphins were repeatedly diving for snapper and returning to the surface to eat them right beside her. We snorkel during the surface interval/lunch break in an area just inside the barrier reef – lots of reef fish and healthy corals in this area which is normally only visited for three 10-day periods in April, May and June.
Trip Plan
This is a two-tank boat dive trip with an authentic Belizean-style picnic lunch on the boat during the surface interval/lunch break. In accordance with Belizean sustainable tourism practices, the time slots for Whale shark diving and snorkeling are allocated to dive and snorkel tour operators. Accordingly, our departure time from Placencia is dependent upon the assigned time slots. The travel time from Placencia to Gladden Spit is one hour and thirty minutes.
Whale shark diving is blue water diving with no visual reference – you cannot see the reef or the bottom. For that reason, we work with a maximum of 4 divers per dive master to dive with whale sharks. In accordance with Belizean sustainable tourism practices, the time slots for Whale shark diving and snorkeling are allocated to dive and snorkel tour operators. Accordingly, our departure time from Placencia is dependent upon the assigned time slots. The travel time from Placencia to Gladden Spit is one hour and thirty minutes.
Dive Sites
The wall here slopes down to 160 feet/50mt then drops off into the blue abyss. Diving is done in mid water at a depth no deeper than 80 feet/24mt in groups no larger than 12 divers with their dive masters. Special procedures are followed on this dive to ensure safety and to limit any harm that may be caused to the sharks.
