Whales and the Clearest Waters

The ocean around Niue is renowned as among the clearest and most transparent in the world, its lack of rivers and runoff leaving the water astonishingly pure, with visibility often exceeding sixty metres, a diver's and snorkeller's dream. This crystalline sea is one of the very few places on earth where visitors can, under strict regulation, slip into the water to swim with humpback whales, which migrate to Niue's warm, sheltered coast each winter to mate and calve, an intimate and profoundly moving encounter. The waters also teem with spinner dolphins, harmless banded sea kraits, or katuali, and vibrant coral, drop-offs and caverns, making Niue a remarkable and pristine marine destination.

What you actually see

• Swimming with humpbacks - the guided winter whale encounters.
• The clearest waters - the astonishing underwater visibility.
• The spinner dolphins and sea snakes - the dolphins and banded sea kraits.
• The diving - the coral, drop-offs and caverns.

When to go

July to October is the humpback whale season, the prime time for the rare chance to swim with them; the clear waters and diving are superb year-round, though the calmer, drier winter months are generally best. Whale swims are tightly regulated to protect the animals, so book with a licensed operator, and encounters are wild and never guaranteed.

Honest expectations

Swimming with whales is a wild, seasonal and strictly regulated encounter, so it depends on the animals and is never guaranteed even in season, and Niue is remote, reached by only a couple of flights a week from New Zealand, with limited facilities; the coast is rugged coral rather than beach. For the extraordinary reward of swimming with humpback whales in the clearest ocean on earth, though, one of the very few places this is possible, alongside dolphins and superb diving, Niue's waters are genuinely world-class and magical.

Nearby

The chasms and caves of the coast and the capital Alofi are around the island.