Humpback whale

Song is audible on most dives Jan-Mar; visual underwater encounters are opportunistic and not the basis for booking. Cows with calves are present in this window.

RESOLVED BY TIER 1. CONANP, the Mexican protected-areas authority, states the tourist diving season as November to June, 07:00-18:00, with a park fee of $3,760 MXN per person per day. That corrects the commercial sources, which variously gave Nov-May and Nov-Jun/Jul. Encoded Nov-Jun open, Jul-Oct closed. The closure is operational and regulatory, not biological: mantas, silvertips and dolphins are resident through it.

Jan-Mar in the Gulf. Surface and acoustic, not an in-water product.

Year-round diving with no closure. The constraint is permit capacity: roughly two dive groups per site per day, with El Vencedor allocated by weekly lottery. Both sources agree Aug-Dec gives the warmest water (27-30C) and best visibility (24-27m); ZuBlu's Feb-Jun bull shark window sits in the coldest, murkiest part of the year, which is part of why the contradiction matters. Book 3-6 months ahead for peak season.

Roughly half the North Pacific population winters in Hawaiian waters. For divers this is an acoustic experience: song is audible on almost every dive in season. In-water approach is federally regulated and this is not a dive-with-whales destination. Do not book Kona in winter expecting an encounter.

Leeward coast, sheltered by the volcano. Diveable close to every day of the year. Winter swell restricts shore entries but not boat operations.

Aug-Oct in French Polynesian waters. In-water interaction is regulated across French Polynesia and is a surface activity where permitted; not a dive.

Open year-round; the sharks do not have a season. Nov-Apr is the wetter, warmer, more humid half with more rain and occasional cyclone risk, and May-Oct is drier. Neither closes anything.

Aug-Oct with the season sometimes running to 1 November. Mothers and calves in the sheltered water off the island. Surface interaction only, licensed operators, regulated approach distances.

Open year-round with no closure. Nov-Apr is the warmer, wetter half with occasional cyclone risk; May-Oct is drier and also covers the whale season. Low operating

Jul-Oct, over 40,000 animals annually on the Western Australian migration.

Diving and snorkelling continue year-round, but the whale shark tour fleet only operates March to June or August depending on the base, and the humpback swims July to October. Nov-Feb is the Australian summer wet and cyclone season on this coast with the megafauna gone, so those months read 'limited': the reef is still there, the industry is largely not.

Passing on the KwaZulu-Natal migration through the southern winter. Surface and boat sightings; not an in-water product.

Runs year-round with no closure, but the surf launch means individual days are lost to sea state far more often than at a sheltered destination. The two headline seasons are opposed: ragged-tooth Jun-Nov in cold water, tiger sharks Nov-Mar in warm water, overlapping only in November. Low operating

Dec-Apr. Acoustic only for divers, as at Kona: song is audible from 5-20 miles away on the deeper wrecks. In-water approach is federally regulated.

South shore wreck diving runs year-round and is sheltered. North shore is seasonal in practice: winter (Nov-Mar) brings the swell Oahu is famous for and the Haleiwa tours cancel frequently. Because the wrecks are unaffected, the destination reads 'open' throughout, with the north-side caveat carried in the trip formats.