Dolphin swim w/ 5 year old?

[Seagirl123]

So looks like the minimum age is 4 for the dolphin swim excursion in Cabo but then says under 9 needs a parent in the water with them... so does that mean the younger kids can ride on them or just hang out in the water next to an adult? Thanks in advance!

[Umwakichwa]

So the dolphin “swim” is usually restricted to older kids, because it requires you to be able to swim out and follow directions on your own. A dolphin “encounter” is one in which you stand in the water and get to pet the dolphin and get a kiss etc. both usually have age restrictions and require parent in water with children of certain ages. A dolphin swim would be really difficult for most 5year olds (some have you float on your back while the dolphin pushes your foot at really high speeds, for example. A dolphin encounter would allow you to be with your child and experience interaction without being out in deep water. My kids really like the encounters, they are under the age for the “swim” and also not good enough at swimming on their own to do one yet. Hope that helps a little. You can see videos of the difference between swims and encounters on YouTube. They are different in each different port/facility. If you do find one that allows the five year old to do the swim I’d be curious how they’d facilitate that, and the “parent must accompany” provision is because some kids get scared or need help following directions but they get the same experience as the adults in our experience at 4 different dolphin excursions.

Edited January 9, 2019 by Umwakichwa

[Seagirl123]

Okay great thank you so much for the info!