Whale Shark Rules in La Paz

Mexico’s whale shark standard, NOM-171-SEMARNAT-2018, allows groups of up to five swimmers with one guide, keeps swimmers at least 2 meters from the head and 3 meters from the tail, and bans touching, flash and diving under the shark. It applies to every whale shark tour in Mexican waters, and La Paz adds its own refuge rules on top.

In the water

• Groups of five. One guide leads at most five swimmers at a time, so a boat of ten takes turns.
• Distance. At least 2 meters from the side of the head and 3 meters from the tail fin. Swim beside the shark, never in front of it or on top of it.
• No contact. No touching, riding, chasing or blocking the shark’s path, and no feeding.
• Surface only. The standard defines the activity as swimming at the surface with mask, snorkel and fins, without breath-hold dives. Freediving down to the shark is not allowed, and neither is scuba.
• No flash, no selfie sticks. Cameras are fine; flash and extension poles are not.
• Sunscreen. Non-biodegradable sunscreen and tanning products are banned before you get in. Use a biodegradable one, or a rash guard and none.
• No propulsion. Underwater scooters and similar devices are not allowed near the shark.

For the boat

• Approach from behind and to the side, at no more than 7 knots near the sharks and 3 knots inside the aggregation area.
• Drop-off. The boat places swimmers about 15 meters ahead of the shark, at an angle to its path, and keeps at least 5 meters from it.
• Thirty minutes. One boat may stay with a shark, or a group of sharks, for at most 30 minutes.
• Space. Boats keep at least 50 meters apart, and a boat waiting its turn stays 50 meters from the shark.
• Size. New boats in the activity may be at most 11 meters long.

In La Paz the refuge also runs on shifts. Each boat gets a time slot for the day, which is why your start time can move and why you can wait on the water. And when monitoring counts five sharks or fewer in Zone 1, the swim is suspended for everyone until numbers recover; the season guide has the record.

Check dates with a licensed small-group boat

How to tell a licensed operator

Only operators authorized by the federal environment authorities may take swimmers into the refuge, and each season CONANP publishes the list of authorized providers, with their boats and permit numbers. Two quick checks on the day:

1. The badge. Licensed tour sellers on the malecón carry an official badge issued by the La Paz city government, with a QR code you can scan.
2. The permit. Several tours include the federal permit or the conservation donation in the price and name it on the listing, such as MeXplore’s “federal permits and donation for whale shark conservation” and Tuna Tuna Tours’ protected-area bracelet.

Be wary of a cheap offer on the street with no badge and no mention of a permit. An unlicensed boat cannot legally enter the refuge, and you have no recourse if the day goes wrong.

Why the rules are this strict

The sharks in the bay are juveniles that come to feed, and some return every winter: one known to La Paz guides as Tlacoyo is recognized each year by a damaged tail fin. Crowding, fast boats and contact disturb them while they feed, and the suspensions of 2023, 2024 and 2025 showed how quickly a thin year shuts the swim for everyone. The distance rules and the 30-minute limit exist so the sharks keep feeding while boats come and go.

A boat that follows them

Prices, ratings and review counts from the Viator listings (checked October 2026). Treat them as the shape of the market, not a quote.

The safety guide covers who should not swim, and what the water is like in winter.