Spend a Full Day with Dolphins: The UNEXSO Dolphin Encounter Program

Dolphins fascinate me. I love their sleekness, their agility, and their intelligence. I had been looking around for an outfit with a good dolphin encounter program, so when I found a place in the Bahamas that allows you to spend an entire day with dolphins, I jumped at the chance.

Underwater Explorers Society & the Dolphin Encounter Program

UNEXSO (Underwater Explorers Society) in Port Lucaya, Grand Bahama Island, was born from a dream that an early-era scuba diver had - a dream of a diving resort where people could do everything dive-related from learning to dive to diving with sharks. One of the dolphin encounter programs UNEXSO offers is called "Assistant Trainer". It gives people the chance to spend an entire day with dolphins at Sanctuary Bay, the UNEXSO dolphin training facility, and get a behind-the-scenes look at a dolphin encounter program.

I flew to Grand Bahama Island and stayed in a forgettable hotel, but I didn't care about the mediocrity of the hotel. I was there for the dolphin encounter program - which is the only reason I went to Grand Bahama Island. Normally I prefer Nassau and Paradise Island. But I digress...

In the morning a courtesy shuttle picked me up at the hotel and took me to the UNEXSO dolphin encounter program facility and their 9-acre dolphin lagoon. Once there, we were given "Assistant Trainer" collared white shirts to wear, which made me feel pretty official. The full day dolphin encounter program is limited to four people per day, which makes this program exclusive and intimate; you get all the individual attention you could possibly want.

Learning and Assisting

We were assigned a dolphin to care for that day and then instructed in the safety and care of dolphins. We were told about feeding them - how much they eat per day and how to feed them. The trainers asked us to have the dolphin do a behavior - it's not a "trick", we were sternly told - before feeding them a fish.

After we fed the dolphins, we took two dolphins out into the ocean. They followed in the ocean right alongside our motorboat, totally free, riding the wake and jumping in and out of the ocean. Even though these were "tame" dolphins, it was such a treat to be able to see dolphins so close up in their natural habitat in the ocean. Their beauty, power, and grace are simply awe-inspiring. Even when they had not been told to do a certain behavior, the two dolphins jumped in and out of the ocean in perfect symmetry with perfect timing. It must just come naturally to them.

After lunch a group of tourists came in for the "Dolphin Experience" dolphin encounter program, and we assisted the trainers as they allowed the guests to get close to and touch the dolphins in shallow water. As I stood there helping the tourists, I thought to myself, "Boy, you don't know what you're missing." I felt very fortunate and happy that I had signed up for the full-day dolphin encounter program. I wished everyone could experience what I was.

Rates and Programs at UNEXSO

Yes, as you might have guessed, it isn't cheap - $359 for the full-day dolphin encounter program - but for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, it is well worth it. UNEXSO has other dolphin encounter programs that range in price from $75 for a "close encounter" to $169 for swimming with the dolphins to $199 for swimming with the dolphins in the open ocean.

UNEXSO Saves the Best Part for Last

After all the guests had left and the dolphins were fed once more, the part of the day finally came that made me sign up for the full day dolphin encounter program in the first place. The four of us "Assistant Trainers" got into wet suits and into the lagoon with the dolphins. The trainer had the dolphins jump over us, stand on their tails next to us, give each of us a ride by holding onto their fins, and do other behaviors that had them interacting with us. I don't know who was smiling more - the dolphins or us. For me, this was a dream come true.

Dolphins are essentially one big muscle - and feel like it, too. They are so powerful it isn't even funny. I learned that real fast when the trainer had one dolphin do a behavior with me. I semi-floated in the water with my feet stuck straight out behind me. A dolphin came up behind me, stuck his nose on my feet and pushed me through the water like a toy.

When that dolphin pushed me, I accelerated so fast that I threw a wake out in front of me. The power of it partially pushed me up out of the water. What a wild ride! The dolphin had me headed straight for the dock at what felt like ninety miles an hour, but at the last minute he broke off and let me gently float toward the dock. Feeling all that power behind me was an amazing experience.

If you ever get the chance, sign up for this full day dolphin encounter program. It's a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on in a dolphin facility and a much more realistic and in-depth look at dolphins than, say, Discovery Cove or most other dolphin encounter programs.

Contact Information

If you are interested in one of the dolphin encounter programs, fill out the contact form online or call UNEXSO directly at 1-800-992-3483. If you do this only once in your life, go to UNEXSO for their dolphin encounter programs. You not only won't regret it, you will come away with memories that will last a lifetime.