The Truth About Bali Lovina Dolphin Tours & How To Do it Ethically

Let’s be real, the Bali Lovina dolphin tours are quickly becoming one of the most talked-about activities on the island. Watching wild dolphins racing across the water at sunrise sounds like a dream come true.

However, behind the picture-perfect moments, there is growing concern about the ethical nature of these tours.

Before you book, it’s important to understand what you are signing up for. Not all tours are created equal, some respect the animals and their natural habitat, while others chase, crowd, and stress them out so tourists can get close.

In this post, I’m sharing the truth about the Bali Lovina dolphin tours, what to expect, and how you can choose a more ethical and respectful experience so you can enjoy the magic of the moment without the guilt.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you click a link and purchase something I have recommended, I will earn a small commission. This does not affect the price you pay, but helps me to keep Travels by Izzy going. Note this is for accommodation only, my opinions on the Bali Lovina dolphin tour with Edi Popeye are completely my own.

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How To Do The Bali Lovina Dolphin Tour Ethically

Bali Lovina Dolphin Tour with Edi Popeye

Edi Popeye has been running Bali Lovina dolphin tours for over 15 years. For him, the animal’s well-being is the most important part of each trip.

He follows some strict guidelines everyday to ensure this, for example they do not leave at the same time as a majority of the boats around sunrise, instead, he leaves later and does not chase the dolphins following the crowds of other boats, meaning you are often the only boat for miles and can have a calm and intimate experience with the dolphins.

How to Book

Edi Popeye takes all of his bookings directly via WhatsApp or Instagram.

WhatsApp — +6285237477172

Instagram — @popeyelovina

Make sure to book directly this way with Popeye; otherwise, you could be booking onto one of the many other tours offered daily here in Lovina.

What’s Included in the Price

The morning Bali Lovina dolphin tour with Popeye costs 300,000 IDR (£14).

Included in this price is:

Snorkel & mask
Drinking water
Lifejacket
English-speaking guide, Popeye or one of his team, who also doubles up as your photographer
Homemade banana fritters for brekky on the boat
A chance, if you are lucky, to swim with wild dolphins!

What to Pack

As this is an ocean adventure you can expect to get wet and to be in and out of the water a lot, therefore you do not need to bring too much.

I would recommend the following:

Your swimsuit, I’d recommend wearing it as there is no where to change on the small boats
Drinking water, some is provided but incase you’d like more
Cover up, to wear to and from the boat
Dry towel
Reef-friendly suncream
Sunglasses
Your underwater camera, this is a must!

💡 If you have one, wear a swimsuit rather than a bikini! If your bikini is a little loose or flimsy, I promise you, there is a good chance it is coming off whilst the boat is moving and flashing your bum to Wayan or Popeye is not how you want this adventure to go!

What to Expect From The Bali Lovina Dolphin Tour with Edi Popeye

Meeting at Warung Demo

Get ready for an early start, but not as early as most Lovina dolphin tours, which are ready to leave with the sunrise.

Edi Popeye’s morning tour starts at 7 am at Warung Nemo located on Lovina Beach, where you will meet with Edi and his team whilst you wait for all the guests for the day to arrive.

Once everyone has arrived, Edi gives a little introduction about what to expect from the tour, he explains how we will be heading off around the coast to find a different pod of dolphins from the ones you can see with the other boats just offshore.

It is quite a remarkable sight, all the boats on the horizon, there must have been at least 20 in each huddle out in the distance, and you can just imagine the chaos it must be out there with the dolphins.

As Popeye’s popularity grows, he also has a growing team, and if necessary, you may be separated as a group and either be with Popeye or one of his trusted team.

As there were 9 of us that morning, we were split into 2 groups, and 3 of us went with Wayan on a separate boat. This was great because we got a lot more space on the boat and in the water.

Heading out to find our dolphin pod

It is absolutely breathtaking heading out for the dolphin tour with the rising sun glistening on the ocean behind you, and my excitement for the chance to swim with a wild dolphin could not be contained! It is a very magical experience.

Heading out, we drove past the large group of boats around the dolphins near the Lovina Beach coastline and, avoiding them, headed left around the coast of northern Bali.

Popeye and his team know certain spots which are less well-known, where you can have another good chance of seeing the dolphins.

We reached the first spot after about 30/40 minutes, but there was no sign of any dolphins!

We hung around for a little while, moving around at a slower pace just to make sure, but when Wayan was sure there wasn’t any there, we moved on. He notified us that the next spot is about another 30 minutes away, and we headed off in search of our pod.

I am going to be honest, by this point, I was getting a little disheartened, as although you have a very good chance of coming across a pod of dolphins here in Lovina, they are, of course, still wild animals, so any encounter is never guaranteed!

However, just as we were all starting to worry about our chances of seeing them Wayan got a call from Popeye who was at the first spot we had just left, the dolphins were there!

Quickly and rather wetly, Wayan raced us back to the first spot where we met up with the other guests on Popeye’s boat, and luckily, a large pod of bottlenose dolphins!

Seeing the dolphins above water

There were just our 2 boats to be seen, which was such a special experience considering how many boats we saw all huddled together earlier in the morning, crowding the pod just offshore.

At first, the dolphins are moving fast, swimming around between the boats and jumping in and out of the water. During this stage, Wayan informed us that we are not allowed in the water. Popeye and his team wait until the dolphins get used to the boats, and if they are happy with our presence and decide to remain at the surface after about 10/15 minutes, we are then allowed to get in.

Amazingly for us they decided to stick around and Wayan handed out snorkels and told us to get ready!

& seeing them under the water!

Jumping in the water at first was quite daunting. I have snorkelled and swum with plenty of fish and a few turtles, but sharing this beautiful space with something as big as a dolphin was a completely new experience.

Whilst you are in the water with the dolphins, you are holding onto a bar which is attached to the outriggers of these traditional Balinese fishing boats, whilst we held on, Wayan slowly drove the boat around the pod of dolphins.

The dolphins, however, were very playful, following us and the boat, jumping out of the water in front and swimming around underneath us.

This experience is one of those moments life stands still, well at least it did for me, I have always been drawn to the ocean and as a young girl always dreamt of being a mermaid, as I’m sure many of you did too, in this moment I truly felt like my childhood dream had come true.

Because of the slow pace Wayan drove the boat at and how the dolphins followed, they really were swimming alongside us, and there is nothing quite like looking a wild animal, especially a dolphin, the main character of every little girl’s childhood, in the eye.

After about 1.30/2 hours of being in the ocean with the dolphins, the pod eventually dove too deep for us to see and, saying goodbye, disappeared down into the blue.

I will never forget this moment, and I will be forever grateful to Popeye and his team for making this experience possible. This truly is a once-in-a-lifetime moment of magic, but only because of Popeye and his ethical approach to allow us to encounter these playful creatures.

Snorkelling at the coral reef

Once the dolphins left and we were out of the water, it was time to head back to the Lovina beach area to snorkel at the large coral reef just offshore.

But first, on the way, Wayan shared with us some homemade banana fritters, which were still warm and delicious after being in the ocean for so long and feeling that empty pit in our stomachs!

The ocean over the coral reef is crystal clear and teeming with curious colourful fish. Here, Wayan allowed us to take our time exploring the reef and chilling on the outrigger arms, admiring the view.

We swam with so many fish and spotted some blue starfish, feather starfish, and so many different types of coral.

Once we were all done and absolutely exhausted, we headed back to shore.

By this time, it was about 12 pm. Wayan kindly dropped us closer to Lovina’s main beach, making it a quicker walk back to our accommodation, Summerguest House. So after collecting our belongings, paying and thanking Wayan for our morning, we were back on dry land.

The Truth About Most Bali Lovina Dolphin Tours: Know What to Avoid

Going on a Lovina dolphin tour is something most tourists would like to tick off their bucket list when visiting Bali, but it is something which is getting a bad reputation as its popularity grows.

Below, I will outline which tours to avoid and why! Making sure you can have an ethical dolphin encounter and experience the magic of sharing the ocean with these playful creatures without the guilt of disrupting them.

As a tourist in Lovina, you cannot walk anywhere without being asked if you are interested in going on a dolphin tour in the morning, but be mindful of who you are booking this tour with!

The main tours on offer in Lovina cost only 100,000 – 150,000 IDR (£4.50/7), so they are much cheaper than Popeye’s tour, but this is for good reason.

But the majority of tours in Lovina all leave at 6 am. After doing our research pre-arrival, we were aware of this and saw the business of it out on the ocean in other people’s videos, we knew this wasn’t what we wanted to take part in so thats why we chose Popeye.

On the beach before heading off on our tour, you can see the other tours out on the horizon. There were 2 big clusters, which must have had at least 20 boats in each one, and it just looked like pure chaos!

With so many boats, Popeye and his team explained that the dolphins will usually just stay deep in the ocean, and only very few will surface, if any do at all. He explained that this number of boats can easily crowd and stress the dolphins, creating a bad experience for both tourists and animals.

So, I would like to encourage you to be mindful when you are booking this amazing adventure!

Getting up close and personal with nature is a very special experience, and of course, the opportunity to see an animal in its natural habitat is something most people would like to experience; however, how you do it is completely in your control, and I recommend doing your research and seeking out the dolphins of Lovina with Popeye!

Edi Popeye takes all of his bookings directly via WhatsApp or Instagram.

WhatsApp — +6285237477172

Instagram — @popeyelovina

Final Thoughts

I had the most incredible morning on our Bali Lovina dolphin tour, it is up there with one of the best memories I have ever had and will be an adventure I will cherish forever, the chance to get up close and personal to these beautiful creatures in a totally calm and peaceful way is something I will never forget.

Thank you to Popeye and his team for making this magical experience possible!

If you are heading to Bali and would like to go on a Lovina dolphin tour, I cannot recommend heading out there with Popeye enough!

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