Bottlenose Dolphin

Where to see

Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops truncatus

Bahía de Loreto National Park leads · 12 parks ranked by real sighting rates

Parks Ranked

Share of wildlife watchers reporting a Bottlenose Dolphin during a day in the park, from citizen-science data (GBIF)

#ParkCountrySighting
1 Bahía de Loreto National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~40%
2 Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~40%
3 Fiordland National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~40%
4 Bastimentos Island National Marine Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~40%
5 Piedras Blancas National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
6 El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~30%
7 Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
8 Channel Islands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
9 Galápagos Islands 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~20%
10 Big Cypress National Preserve 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
11 Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~20%
12 Abel Tasman National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~20%

Before you go

Which is the best park to see a Bottlenose Dolphin?

Bahía de Loreto National Park

In Bahía de Loreto National Park, Mexico, about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Bottlenose Dolphin sighting on a given day, the highest of the 12 parks where we can rate it, from GBIF citizen-science data.

Where else can you see a Bottlenose Dolphin?

Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve and more

After Bahía de Loreto National Park, the next-best odds of seeing a Bottlenose Dolphin are in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 40%), Fiordland National Park (New Zealand, about 40%) and Bastimentos Island National Marine Park (Panama, about 40%). Outside North America, the best options are Fiordland National Park in Oceania (about 40%), Bastimentos Island National Marine Park in Central America (about 40%) and Galápagos Islands in South America (about 20%).

When is the best time to see a Bottlenose Dolphin?

It depends on the park

In the top parks, the best months are May in Bahía de Loreto National Park (about 60%), April–May and September in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (about 50%) and April–May, July and October in Fiordland National Park (about 50%), as the share of wildlife watchers who report a Bottlenose Dolphin on a given day. Each park's Bottlenose Dolphin page has the full month-by-month chart.