The Ultimate Ocean Safari !
Experience the World’s Aquarium – Where the Ocean Comes to Life!
Best Time to Swim with Orcas & Other Giants of the Sea of Cortez
Real sightings data from our daily logs — broken down by month across our 2024 and 2025 seasons so you can pick the window that delivers the encounters you're dreaming of.
(partial log)
(Apr–Aug logged)
May is the best month for mobula ray aggregations & blue whale sightings
If your bucket-list encounter involves swimming inside a swirling tornado of mobula rays or spotting the largest animal to ever exist on earth — plan for May. Our log sheets confirm what guests keep telling us: May is the most biodiverse, most magical month of the season.
Mobula Ray Aggregations
May brings massive "fevers" of mobulas — sometimes thousands strong — leaping, schooling, and surrounding you underwater. We typically only see them in May and June, with May delivering the densest schools.
Blue Whales
May gives you the highest chance of spotting the largest animal on earth. We've logged mom-and-calf pairs, calm surface feeders, and multiple sightings in a single day throughout May.
🐋 Orca Encounter Days per Month, by Year
Every number below is the count of days in that month we encountered orca — not the number of orca, and not the number of sightings in a day. Month-by-month across our two most recent fully representative seasons. Peak orca activity consistently lands in July–August. As a rule of thumb, we have orca encounters on 7–12 days per month in May and June, climbing to 15–21 days per month in July and August.
| Month | Encounter days | 2024 days | 2025 days | Typical days/mo. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | 13 | 8 | 7–12 | |
| June | 16 | 7 | 7–12 | |
| July | 21 | 16 | 15–21 | |
| August | 20 | 23 | 15–21 |
Each figure is the number of days that month with a confirmed orca encounter (e.g. "16" means we found orca on 16 separate days). 2026 was not logged due to Super El Niño conditions.
🌊 It's Not Just About the Orcas
The Sea of Cortez has been called "the world's aquarium" — and for good reason. Here's what else you can expect, and when.
Blue Whales
Peak: MayThe largest animal ever to live. We regularly spot mom-and-calf pairs, and in calm conditions get incredible drone footage.
Mobula Rays
Seen: May & June onlyMassive fevers of Mobula munkiana and M. mobular leap, school, and tornado around you. Crystal clear shallow-water encounters — but only in May and June.
Humpback Whales
Apr – JunActive feeders and breachers — a mom-and-calf humpback was one of our favourite sightings of the 2025 season.
Sperm Whales
Apr – JulPods of 8 to 40+ individuals have shown up multiple times. Deep-diving, vocal, and an unforgettable sight when they surface.
Whale Sharks
May – JunThe world's largest fish. We've had multiple drops with a massive 35-foot+ individual — a lifetime encounter for any swimmer.
Pilot Whales
Jun – JulSuper-pods of 500 to 700+ are regular sightings in peak summer. Calm, social, and often in sleeping formation at the surface.
Giant Manta Rays
Jun – JulBoth reef and oceanic mantas — including massive individuals that linger at the surface for long, multi-drop interactions.
Dolphins
All seasonBottlenose, common, spinner, pan-tropical spotted, Risso's, and rough-toothed — sometimes in mega-pods of hundreds.
Sea Lions at La Reina
All seasonOur local colony offers crystal-clear water playtime with curious juveniles — a guaranteed smile on every trip.
Fin & Bryde's Whales
May – JulFin whales are the second-largest animal on earth. Bryde's whales are more frequent visitors — we've even logged mom-and-calf pairs.
False Killer Whales
Rare · May & JulWe've logged super-pods of 100+ individuals, sometimes traveling near sperm whales. In-water encounters with false killer whales are possible and always extraordinary.
Rare Encounters
Lightning strikesBaird's beaked whales, schools of hammerhead sharks, massive mola molas, translucent Japetella octopus — the bay delivers surprises.
📊 2025 Season Breakdown
A snapshot of our most fully logged season to date.
Days off: 7 · No sea / storm days: 2 · First orca of season: April 13, 2025
🐠 2025 Marine Life Tally
Counting sighting days for every species logged across the 2025 season (Apr–Aug). Dolphins are tallied by species group. Spoiler: we see something incredible every single day we're on the water.
🌟 2025 Season Highlights
The standout moments from this year's log — orcas and beyond.
15 orca, all day, 60+ drops
Found one male at 8:30 am, then our scouts located 13 more. Stayed in and out of the water with them until 6 pm. A 10/10 day.
20+ orca across two pods
Two separate pods of 11 and 15 orca — one south, one north. Epic day for everyone on board.
Baird's Beaked Whales
A rarely seen deep-water species spotted at the surface. Guests captured incredible drone footage from the boat — a huge trip highlight.
Best mobula school of the season
"Epic large school of mobula rays — best of the season so far." Paired with a beautiful mom-and-calf humpback sighting the same day.
700+ pilot whales, sleeping
A massive super-pod drifting in sleeping formation at the surface. Calm, quiet, and otherworldly.
100+ false killers & 40 sperm whales
Logged both species in the same day — great drone footage of a very rare mixed-species event.
Orcas hunting a minke whale
10–12 orca tracked from 10 am to 4:30 pm hunting a minke whale. Described in our log as "NAT GEO LEVEL" footage.
35-foot+ whale shark
Multiple drops with a massive whale shark — the largest fish on earth, moving slowly enough for clean, up-close encounters.
Japetella translucent octopus
A photographer's dream — 10 minutes at the surface with a translucent deep-water octopus. Extraordinarily rare at the surface.
15 orca take down a thresher shark
Seven hours with 15 orca in pristine viz — watched them take down a thresher shark. 10/10 encounter.
🎯 So — When Should You Come?
Honestly? Anytime. Every single month of our season is extraordinary. Our 2024 and 2025 logs prove it — whether you come in May, June, July, or August, you're arriving in the middle of one of the most biodiverse bodies of water on the planet, at the peak of its peak.
May kicks off the season with the densest mobula ray aggregations and the highest chance of blue whales — plus dramatic orca encounters like minke whale and turtle hunts. Remember: mobula rays are only around in May and June, so if they're on your list, this is the window.
June & July deliver rising orca frequency — building toward 15–21 encounter days a month in peak summer (21 days in July 2024, 16 in July 2025) — plus super-pods of 700+ pilot whales, whale sharks, giant mantas, and sperm whales.
August is our busiest orca month of all — 23 encounter days in August 2025 and 20 in August 2024 — on top of everything else the Sea of Cortez keeps delivering.
Data sourced from the Orca Swims Baja daily sightings log for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. 2026 was not logged due to Super El Niño conditions. Wild encounters are never guaranteed, but our 6–8 hour days on the water and dedicated offshore scouts give you the best odds in the region.