Small-group trip · Southern Leyte, Philippines
Swim beside a wild whale shark.
Four days in Sogod Bay with me. Nobody feeds the sharks, nobody touches them, and the boats are small. Just you, a mask, and the biggest fish in the sea.
Free to apply. The first group is small, and I pick it myself from this list.
Not Sogod Bay: a wild whale shark in the Gulf of Mexico. Photo: Simon Pierce / MarineMegafauna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The moment you came for
You will remember the second it turns towards you.
Out with the spotters
Spotters paddle out ahead of the boat in small canoes, looking for a shadow under the surface.
The call
A spotter raises an arm. Mask on, and you slide off the side of the bangka into open water.
On its terms
It comes past at its own pace, feeding on plankton, close enough to count the spots. Nobody chases it and nobody touches it.
Filmed by me, in Sogod Bay
I have been in this water. This is what I wrote.
“The whale sharks here are completely wild and not fed, which means every encounter is natural and happens on their terms. No guarantees, no performances… just pure luck and the ocean.”
That is the whole reason this trip goes to Southern Leyte. In Pintuyan the encounter runs from the Son-ok marine protected area, run by the town itself, with spotters in canoes and snorkellers only. It is the version of this I want to show you.
The trip
Four days, one bay, one island.
- Day 1 · Arrive. Get to Sogod Bay, meet the crew, rest. Nobody goes in the water tired.
- Day 2 · The whale sharks. Out with the spotters, into the water when they call it.
- Day 3 · Limasawa. An early boat to the island where you can see the bottom from fifty metres out. The night with a family, eating what they cook.
- Day 4 · Back across. The morning boat, and onward.
Before you decide
Everything that might be holding you back.
What if we do not see one?
Then I told you the truth before you came, and I would rather do that than sell you a certainty. These sharks are wild and nobody feeds them, so no trip out is guaranteed. What I can do is put the odds on your side: the trip runs in the season, local spotters go out ahead of the boat, and the four days are built to be worth it either way, with the crossing to Limasawa and a night with a family on the island.
Southern Leyte is so far away.
It is, and that is the best reason to come with a group. On your own it is ten to fourteen hours from Bohol, Cebu or Siargao, stitched together from ferries, buses and a boat. On this trip the route is the part I am putting together for you. You get to Sogod Bay, and from there you follow me.
Is it really ethical, or just marketing?
The rules are not mine to bend. In Pintuyan the encounter runs from a marine protected area, by the municipality: snorkelling only, no feeding, no baiting, no touching. The boats are small: a guide, a captain and two spotters in canoes, and one guide gives three guests per boat. If that means waiting for a turn, we wait.
I would be going on my own.
Good, the trip is small on purpose. You do not have to work out a single boat, bus or briefing alone, and you share the boat with a handful of people who came for the same reason you did.
What does it cost, and when is it?
There are no dates or price yet. When there are, the people I pick hear them first, before they go anywhere else. Applying commits you to nothing: when the dates are out, you decide.
Small boats. A short season. A group I pick by hand.
The first group is small on purpose, and the season is short: Pintuyan's tourism office gives it as October to May, and the 2026–27 season is not confirmed yet. I choose who comes, from the people on this list, and they hear the dates before anyone else.
Picture the other version: next year, scrolling past someone else's video of that shadow rising under the boat, and knowing you meant to sign up.
Apply for a placeNot Sogod Bay: a wild whale shark in shallow water. Photo: Feefiona123, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Who takes you
I'm Robert, a travel creator, and the Philippines is what I film.
690K+ people follow along across my four channels, and my Camiguin video has 2.2M views on TikTok. I have filmed in Camiguin, Siargao, Dinagat Islands, Samar, Southern Leyte, Lake Holon, Hinatuan. Southern Leyte is the one I want to take people to first.
Show me why it should be you.
This trip is special, so I am choosing the group myself. Tell me who you are and why you belong in that boat. The people I pick hear the dates first. Applying is free. The only way to miss this one is to wait.