Does the Hawaii Dolphin Swim Happen in a Pool or Open Ocean?
The Sea Life Park on Waimanalo is done in a pool with a trained dolphins. The Trained dolphins are the only way you will get to touch and play with the dolphins and the dolphin facility is one of the top notch facilities in the US. So if you are looking for an interaction where you actually get to touch the dolphins, then you need to consider our program at Sea Life Park.
The pool is maintained by ocean water and proper filtration and temperature is always perfect for the Dolphin Activities on Oahu. This is the only way to insure the proper environment for the dolphins and guests alike. In a pool setting, you are guaranteed to touch and have hands on interactions! If this is important to you, this is the way to go.
The Park is built upon an intricate, specialized, flow-through water system. Developed in the 1960s, this wonderfully developed water system draws from the ocean through underground injection wells that you can see at the beaches across the street. These underground injection wells ensure the water is not influenced by any contaminants on the surface. The seawater from the ocean moves through the pools at the Park at a rate of 12-14 million gallons per day! The flow-through system creates a completely natural environment and habitat for all the animals at the park-you can even see the same types of algae and diatoms in the ocean if you look close enough! We test the water quality weekly to ensure the systems working properly and before it leaves the park, its enters one of 19 dispersion wells, thus, having no impact as it re-enters the ocean.
No chemicals, including algaecides, are added to the water because we know this can present a health risk to the animals and the environment. The Dolphin Lagoon show pool has a volume of 1.2 million gallons and the cleaning process for this pool, and every lagoon at the park, is 100% natural. No chemicals are used in the habitats at any point of this cleaning process. At least once a week, after the animals are in adjacent pools, each exhibit is drained and pressure washed using water and pressure!
We have 3 dolphin interactions in Oahu, Dolphin Exploration and the Dolphin Encounter and the Dolphin Aloha. The Dolphin Exploration is the only programs where you get deep water with the dolphins. The Dolphin Encounter is perfect for non-swimmers because there is no deep water time in the this program.
Now there are plenty of company’s on Oahu and Hawaii that offer wild dolphin viewing and snorkeling with the dolphin in the ocean. Remember, in the wild dolphin programs, you must be a decent swimmer. Also, you won’t be able to touch the wild dolphin. If seeing the dolphins in a ocean habitat is important to you. This is the way to go for you.
You may want to consider to try both and you can be the judge which one you would prefer, trained or wild. If you can do both, Oahu is the perfect location to do this.
