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By Saleh Bay Whale Shark Editorial Desk
To contact the Saleh Bay Whale Shark desk, use WhatsApp on +62 811-3941-4563 or email bd@juaraholding.com. Tell us your dates, group size, starting point and whether you snorkel or dive. The desk answers questions and handles requests, and any offer names its fee, price and contracting company in writing before you agree.
What can the Saleh Bay Whale Shark desk help with?
The desk sits behind a travel guide. It does not run boats, rooms, tours or transfers, and it has no fleet or timetable of its own. Three kinds of message make sense.
- Planning questions. For help planning a Saleh Bay whale shark trip, you may be weighing a route, a month or a length of stay, and want the conflicting sources explained for your dates. Our guide to getting to Saleh Bay covers the routes in general; a message lets you ask about your own starting point.
- Trip requests. If you would like someone to look into arrangements, say so plainly. A request does not reserve anything, and it does not commit you or the desk to anything.
- Corrections. If a fact on this site is wrong or out of date, the desk wants to hear about it, along with where you read the better version.
Some things are outside what the desk can do. It cannot promise a sighting, a boat, a car, a room or the weather. It cannot give medical, legal or dive safety advice, and it does not rate or endorse operators. More about the site and who stands behind it is on the about page.
Requests through the desk can lead to a paid booking, which gives us a commercial interest in what you decide. Keep that in mind when you read our answers, and compare them with the sources listed on each page.
What should you include in a message?
A first message that covers these points saves several rounds of questions. Short notes are fine, and you can leave out anything you have not decided yet.
| Detail | Why it matters here | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Dates and flexibility | Sources disagree on peak months, and one resort links activity to the moon | "Any four days in April" |
| Starting point | Road and sea time differ a lot between gateways | "Landing in Lombok on the 12th" |
| Group size and ages | Affects vehicles, boats and whether children can join | "Two adults, one child aged 11" |
| Swim ability | Encounters happen in open water near the surface | "One weak swimmer" |
| Snorkel or scuba | A ministry guideline document asks divers for a recognised licence | "Two certified divers" |
| Where you want to sleep | Early starts and limited rooms shape the plan | "Near the boats if possible" |
| Your position on bait | Sellers' practices and statements vary | "Please state your position on feeding" |
Please do not send card numbers, passport scans or passwords in a first message. If an offer later requires documents or payment, the company named in it will tell you how, and you should check those instructions against the written offer before you act on them.
What happens if an offer follows?
A message may end with an answer and nothing more. If your request does lead to an offer, it comes in writing and states three things before you agree: the price, any fee, and the company that contracts with you. This website is not a contracting party, and nothing said in a chat binds anyone until that document exists and you have accepted it.
Read an offer as you would any travel contract, and look for these in particular:
- What the price leaves out. Ocean Earth Travels, for one, excludes accommodation and pick-up from its boat trip and lists transfers separately, so check boat, road, nights and local fees one by one.
- What happens if no shark appears. Ask for the exact wording. A promise to discuss a refund differs from a stated refund.
- What happens if weather stops the boat. Antara reported that a storm in February 2025 left no chance of a viewing trip for several days, so ask how the offer treats a lost morning.
- Who is responsible on the water. The offer should name the company, and you can then ask that company about its boat, guide and safety equipment.
You can decline an offer, ask for changes or take the details elsewhere. Check figures with the provider before you pay.
How do you report a wrong fact?
Send the page address, the sentence you think is wrong, and your source. A link to a government document, a study or a dated news report is more useful than a general impression, and first-hand reports are welcome as long as you say when they date from. If you work for a business named on a page, say so.
A disagreement between sources is not always an error. Where two sources conflict, such as on how long the drive takes, our pages name both and leave the conflict visible. If you can show why one of them is out of date, that is exactly what we need. We do not remove a sourced statement only because a business would prefer it gone.
Which details matter most for Saleh Bay planning?
These points recur across the sources, and they are worth having in mind before you write.
The place name. Kompas places the whale shark tourism area at Labuan Jambu Village, Tarano District, Sumbawa. Other sources write Labuhan Jambu. Use either spelling in your message, and check that any quote you hold means this village.
The month. An IUCN shark specialist group factsheet records observations year-round for 2017 to 2022, with most in March and April, and operators name other peaks. If your dates are fixed, the desk can explain what the sources say for them. If they are open, say that too.
The moon. Amanwana, a resort that sells the excursion, says the sharks tend to be most active and visible around the new moon, while adding that sightings cannot be guaranteed. That is one resort's observation. Sources on the moon conflict, as the season page shows, so say whether your dates can move.
The gateway. Sumbawa Besar's airport, SWQ, has Wings Air flights to Lombok and Denpasar, per Wikipedia. Road estimates from there to the village differ, as the road guide shows. If your arrival is tight, tell the desk which flight you are looking at, and confirm the schedule with the airline yourself.
The rules. Whale sharks have full legal protection in Indonesia under Decree 18/KEPMEN-KP/2013. Kompas reports that local rules prohibit touching, regulate distance and prohibit camera lights, and ask visitors not to wear jewellery or drop litter. Read the rules page before you travel, especially if you plan to bring a camera with lights.
The clock. Boat times from the village differ by source: a local operator quoted by Kompas says 5am, and The Langkah Travel says around 4am. Ask whoever you deal with for the actual departure time, and tell the desk if anyone in your group would struggle with it.
The bed. West Nusa Tenggara's tourism head said in January 2025 that the village had only 20 lodging rooms, according to Suara NTB. That figure is dated, but it is a good reason to say early whether you want to sleep near the boats.
What do people ask the desk before writing?
Do you run whale shark tours?
No. This site is a guide with a request desk, and it runs no boats, tours, rooms or transfers. If a request leads to an offer, the offer names the company that contracts with you, in writing.
What should I send when asking about a Saleh Bay trip?
Send your dates and how flexible they are, your starting point, group size and ages, swim ability, whether anyone dives, and where you would like to sleep. Leave out card details and passport scans.
How do I correct a fact on the Saleh Bay Whale Shark guide?
Send the page address, the sentence in question and your source, by WhatsApp or email. Dated documents, studies and news reports help most. Say so if you work for a business named on the page.
Who sets the price of a Saleh Bay whale shark offer?
The written offer states the price, any fee and the contracting company before you agree. Figures published elsewhere on this site come from third-party listings and are neither our prices nor offers.
Which sources support this page?
- Ocean Earth Travels: whale shark snorkelling trip listing (operator)
- Antara: keeping whale sharks and people in balance in Saleh Bay
- Kompas: whale shark tourism in Saleh Bay
- IUCN shark specialist group: Saleh Bay Important Shark and Ray Area factsheet
- Amanwana: whale shark excursion (resort)
- Wikipedia: Sultan Muhammad Kaharuddin III Airport
- Indonesian marine ministry legal database: Decree 18/KEPMEN-KP/2013
- The Langkah Travel: Saleh Bay whale shark guide (operator)
- Suara NTB: lodging shortage at Labuan Jambu
How do I reach the desk?
Write to the desk on WhatsApp +62 811-3941-4563 or by email at bd@juaraholding.com. Either channel is fine, and a single message with the details above is enough to start.