I spent a lot of time researching swimming with the whales in Vava'u, Tonga. I know from friends who have been, that you can get stuck with awful operators if you don't book your trip ahead of time. Not only that, the good boats and crews get blocked off years in advance. This is why it's important to book with a company like Humpback Swims. My first impression was wonderful, through the timely manner and response rate from Nadia and her team. All my questions were answered in what seemed like seconds after me sending my first email. Upon arrival I was greeted by a driver and whisked me off to Mystic Sands, the accommodation I chose for my stay. I was very very pleased with this decision. The staff their quickly became family and they took VERY good care of everyone. Mosi makes wonderful food! We had a welcome briefing from the Humpback Swims team, then relaxation. Sundays in Tonga are rest days, so we were not able to go out swimming until Monday (I arrived on a Saturday). The whale swims are hard to describe, I don't think it's easy to communicate how amazing it is to swim with whales, it just takes your breath away. Every day, and every encounter, was so different, just like the team said. I was very glad I chose the 8 swim day package. At first I thought it would be too long, but no, no it wasn't. It went by so quickly. It's nature so we had some slower days than others, so keep that in mind when you are choosing what length of trip, don't think 8 swim days is too much. It's also nice having 6 people on the boat, it's clear to see that some boats take 10 or more people, you are only allowed 4 people in the water at a time, I can't imagine being on a boat load of people, it would truly ruin the experience. So glad I chose Humpback Swims with their smaller group sizes. The crew were OUT OF THIS WORLD! They took such great care of us! They are experts in and out of the water. I think this is this most important thing to note, the crew really made sure that we got to swim with whales, even on the harder days, they kept us in great spirits and even took us to snorkel in some caves. We got to swim with whales every day on the trip! What else can you ask for? Moms and their calves, a small heat run. Big ones, small ones, shy ones, curious ones, so much diversity in the types of encounters you can have. Every whale has their own personality, that's for sure! I am 100% coming back with Humpback Swims in the coming years, Nadia and her team did an amazing job! You really can't go wrong!