Jurien Bay Sea Lions
LOCATION Jurien Bay Western Australia
DEPTH 2-4 Meters
WATER TEMP 18-23 Degrees
DIFFICULTY Easy
This is an easy guided tour to an island not far from the mainland.
FEATURE
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Jurien Bay Sea Lions
LOCATION Jurien Bay, Western Australia
DEPTH 2-4 Meters
WATER TEMP 18-23 Degrees
DIFFICULTY Easy
This is an easy guided tour to an island not far from the mainland.
FEATURE
Jurien Bay Sea Lions
Join a guided tour to visit the Australian Sea Lions in the Jurien Bay Marine Park on Western Australia’s Coral Coast. This is a fantastic snorkelling experience where you will get up close to these inquisitive and playful puppies of the sea. If you want a wildlife experience where you feel like you are going into the world of the animal – this is it. Be ready to come face to face with the whiskered nose of a curious sea lion.
What will I see?
Getting There
Jurien Bay is about 2 hours north of Perth. Driving is the best way to get there, the roads are all sealed. There are no tours from Perth to Jurien Bay. Tours depart from the Jurien Bay Boat Harbour which you’ll find at the northern end of the township.
Where & How do you get in?
Departing from the Jurien Bay Boat Harbour, access to the sea lions is off the back of the boat.
Recommended Gear
The tour company will provide wetsuits, mask, snorkel and fins and a hot drink if you go in winter.
Parking
Plenty of free parking is available at the Jurien Bay Harbour.
Bring
Make sure you bring some kind of camera, a GoPro is ideal. You will have plenty of sea lion close encounters that you will want to re-live once the tour is over.
Costs / Permits
There are a couple of tour providers for the Jurien Bay sea lion tour and prices range from between $145 – $160 for adults.
We did our tour with the team from Turquoise Safaris and had a great time with the Sea Lions and found their equipment worked perfectly.
The information for each snorkel spot is provided by people who have snorkelled there. However, snorkelling conditions change daily. Please be aware that wind, swell, tides and cloud cover can all affect visibility and your experience in the water.
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Best Conditions
If you have the chance to go out early, that’s the way to go. There is less wind and the sea lions are more active first thing in the morning. If you would rather warmer conditions, you can do a later tour but the water might be a bit more lumpy and visibility slightly poorer. The tours run year round. Don’t be put off by the cold, wetsuits are provided and you can get some lovely conditions on an early winter days.
Windy Map Instructions – Click on the wind icon in the top right to see other conditions such as swell, temperature, rain. To clear the four day forecast click and close the wind icon.
Facilities
Facilities on board will depend on each individual tour company, but on our tour they provided a hot drink and snack to warm up after the snorkel.
Parking
Shade
Food & Drinks
Boat Ramp
About the Snorkel
Swimming with the sea lions at Jurien Bay is one of the best snorkelling experiences we have had. If you want an interactive experience in the water, this is it!
Despite going out in June, the weather was fine, and the wetsuits provided did their job keeping us warm. The boat stopped just off the coast of a small island and our group got into the water. It took a few minutes for the sea lions to come to us, but once they came out for a look it was a load of fun. They are curious and acrobatic. You can expect to come mask to nose with a sea lion so be prepared for a close encounter!
They dart between you, float past you just looking at you and the more you move around, the more they stay engaged. The water was probably only 3m deep, so it was easy to get down to their level and see what they were up to.
A couple of highlights for us were trying to get pictures of the sea lions only to have them come closer and closer to the point they had their nosed pretty much pressed against ours cameras. We also had one land on top of us as after it misjudged its landing after leaping into the air. For the record, when a sea lion lands you, it feels like a big wet pillow dropping on your head!
If you are in Perth and heading north, we can’t recommend this tour enough. Even if you are not a swimmer, watching from the boat would be a lot of fun. Because it is reasonably shallow, this is a great experience for new snorkellers too.
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