Very professional and personal experience. We booked this tour for a special purpose (engagement/proposal) and our driver (Eddy) did a tremendous job. Brough us to a nice and calm place and surprised us while taking (professional) pictures.

I can’t speak highly enough about VIP Holbox as your guide for this incredible adventure. Their guides are bilingual, their staff is competent and knowledgeable, and they do their absolute best to ensure a successful trip. I had promised my daughter a graduation trip. She said she wanted to swim with whalesharks. Knowing that we are going to see wild animals in unpredictable conditions I decided to book a private tour. This means you pay for the boat, the guide and the captain regardless of how many passengers you have (up to 8 I believe). It was only the two of us, my daughter and I. Our guide was Willi and our captain was Ali. It’s important to understand how swimming with whalesharks is conducted when you decide to choose what company will charter you. The first challenge to overcome is to find a whaleshark. Once a shark has been found, it is common for boats to signal each other and that boats converge on that location. Since only two people and a guide are swimming with the shark at any given time, boats line up and take turns to drop people in the water to start their swim. So to understand the math, if there are four boats, each with 8 passenger, that is 32 people taking turns, two at a time, to swim with the shark. You will get an opportunity every 16th turn. Eventually the shark will start to get stressed and attempt to avoid the swimmers. We were out during a rougher sea making it harder to find the shark as the waves obstruct signs like fins. So naturally, like many other boats do, we went to a location that had found a shark and boats were already taking turns. Not ideal, but we did one swim. Then our guide and captain made a bold move. They decided to leave the shark we were with in an attempt to find one on their own. The move is bold because from a business perspective you can end up with complaining customers because you spent your time looking for a shark when there were known locations already. However, with great risk comes great reward. After twenty minutes of searching we encountered a shark. Probably 25-30 feet long. But now, we’re the only boat, it is only two of us, the shark is not stressed, and any other boat is quite a distance away before they can join us. My daughter and I had an incredible experience. Compared to the normative experience of having a brief moment, we were able to swim for a very extended period of time next to such a gracious animal and just coexisting…in harmony. About 25 minutes later other boats showed up…but we had already had the experience of a lifetime. After the other boats showed up we did stay for a while to continue the experience and we were able to observe other boats and their guides. There is a quality difference. We got clear and concise instructions to make the most of our experience, while other boats dropped off their people and only confusion arose severely reducing the experience. If you’re going to swim with whalesharks, I can recommend VIP Holbox. I further suggest getting your own group a private boat, and make decisions with your guide and captain to maximize your experience.

It was a fantastic experience. And it was well worth the money to rent a private boat. The crew was fantastic. They were very engaging and helpful. They made it a really easy and low stress experience. The boat was clean and comfortable. The best part is they have larger engines than other boats in the fleet. So we were able to get out to the whale shark areas much faster, We arrived before any other boats made it. So we had some time where we were the only ones engaging the fish. The whole organization is very professional and very well run. The ceviche they made for us on the beach was one of our best lunches ever. Willi, the owner, has done a great job, putting together the combination of great personnel, good equipment, and a very well run organization.

We had a fantastic time on our whale shark tour with VIP Holbox. Our guide Willi was clear with instructions and the crew were very organized and efficient in getting us into and out of the water. This meant we had more time to swim with the sharks! Captain Eddi was outstanding at navigating the surrounding boats and positioned us perfectly each time to swim with the sharks. We were very fortunate that there were 30-50 sharks in the area so we swam with a different shark each time. On the way out and back we also saw turtles, a manta ray, and flamingos. We stopped at a beach near Cabo Catochet for a break to walk around while the crew made lunch. The ceviche and guacamole were both really good, everyone posts this, and its true. The whole VIP team was professional, helpful and responsive. Silvia answered all my questions leading up to the trip and Gustavo was honest and upfront when we had to reschedule due to a tropical storm delaying our planned excursion. VIP was upfront about the 2-hour boat trip to get there and another 1.5-2 hours back. It is not an exaggeration, so be prepared for a long boat ride, but it is totally worth the effort. There are a lot of crews and companies that take people out, but I sincerely believe our VIP crew of Captain Eddi and guide Willi were exceptional. Their skills and professionalism made for an outstanding experience!

This is a fun way to see more around Isla holbox. Gustavo was our tour guide, he made us feel like family. You can swim in a cenote, walk on a sandbar, see flamingos and more! You capfuls tell Gustavo really cares about the ecology of Isla holbox and enjoys his work.

We are in Holbox for 3 nights and this was a must-do and a highlight. Each stop got better and we didn’t want to leave Punta Mesquite. Thank you for an awesome tour!

We were greeted at the cute little yellow house and even though we were early, we left within 10 minutes of our arrival. Willy was our guide - he was English speaking. As this was a private tour, we told Willy we were really mostly interested in bird watching. Willy was very knowledgeable about the area as well as birds (we were very lucky!). Willy and the boat driver were an amazing team. I would highly recommend. On a side note, we got to see a very rare green pigmy kingfisher! I think that was the highlight of Willy's day too!

This boat trip was great. Our tour guide Eddie showed us pink flamingos, swimming dolphins, and many other different types of birds and marine animals. We even swam in a fresh water spring. I would highly recommend this trip.

Diego our captain assisted by his daughter made us feel very safe and was extremely hospitable and knowledgeable about the island he had grown up on.

We really enjoyed working with VIP Holbox. Their guide Valerie was fantastic! Jorge the captain was great too. The company themselves treated us so well! I would recommend them!

We had a great 3 Islas trip with VIP Holbox and guide Eddy/Edier. He knew a lot about the places we visited, and told us some interesting facts about it. It was a bit of a rocky day weather wise, and he took us back to port in between stops to wait out some rain fall. After 10 minutes or so, we were able to go back out again and visit the last stop. We really appreciated this! Because of this stop we were the only ones on the watchtower at the bird island, which was an amazing experience! Eddy was a great guide and I would absolutely recommend VIP Holbox!

The sunrise kayak trip from Holbox was one of the highlights of our trip. We kayaked out to Punto Mosquito and then through the rivers to the lagoon. Our guide, Gustavo, spotted and identified many different bird species, and he was also able identify to find a few crocodiles. He was knowledgeable and had a great eye for animals that we would not have been able to see on our own. There were three couples on the tour, all speaking different languages. Gustavo was able to speak all three languages (Spanish, English, and French). This was an unforgettable trip.

Was a great day ok the water, caught fish, made fresh ceviche on the beach. Good weather and good food, ended at Cabo catouche for lunch before heading back. Would recommend!

Our guide Eric (now I'm second guessing myself, was it eddie) was incredible! Our private boat tour was really great and tranquilo :)

The classic island tour was amazing! Captain Edy was very patient, friendly and helpful. I would definitely recommend!