REVIEW: Calypso Star Charters Package Tour
- Waves of Wonder
- May 25
- 4 min read
In February, I went to Port Lincoln, South Australia on a package tour with Calypso Star Charters. Here, I would go cage diving with great white sharks and swimming with sea lions. In this blog, I will review the Calypso Star Charters Package Tour I booked…
The Package
Calypso offers 3 different options for package tours as well as the ability to book each activity separately. I booked Package 3 which included:
A full day tour of cage diving with sharks ($520 + $42.80 visitor fee)
A morning of swimming with sealions ($215)
Return flights from Adelaide to Port Lincoln ($500)
2 nights’ accommodation at the Port Lincoln Hotel ($416)
Extras I paid for:
Return transfers to and from the airport to the hotel ($65)
Cage diving highlights photos and videos ($35)
Sealion swim return hotel transfers ($15)
The whole package cost me $1758.80 (£887.69). Personally, I think this was fantastic value for money especially given the activities I got to do.
Cage Diving with Great White Sharks
The day start at 6am with a pick up from my hotel and we returned to land at around 8pm – it is a long day (14+ hours) and you will spend around 12 or more hours at sea. The whole day was so much fun! We had endless amounts of food served to us and the crew were so knowledgeable and friendly. They made everyone feel so welcome and made everyone aware throughout the day that the sharks are wild animals and we’d be lucky to see a shark. They made every effort to attract a shark and we were SO lucky to see 2 male great whites late in the afternoon as we were preparing for our departure. When the sharks came, I think we spent another 3 hours at the Neptune Islands so everyone got a chance to see the sharks. It was a fantastic day out and I am so happy to have seen one of my favourite animals up close (around 2-3 metres)! JAWESOME!
Swimming with Sea Lions
Hands down, this was one of the best wildlife encounters I have ever had! It’s an early start to the day but there’s plenty of time to nap on the boat as you head out to see. We went to Grindal Island which is one of 4 islands that Australia Sea Lions are found in the area. Again, the crew were fantastic – so friendly, knowledgeable and it was clear they all love their jobs. Due to restrictions in place, we were allowed to swim for an hour at the island. The sea lions were so curious and cute! The more we interacted with them, the more they wanted to play with us. It was incredible! This definitely made Aussie Sea Lions one of my favourite animals!
The overall experience
Flights
My return flights were booked with regional airline Rex. It was quite fun to be on such a small propeller plane. There were complimentary drinks and snacks on board which makes a huge change from other airlines these days. The crew (2 pilots and 1 stewardess) were very friendly and accommodating. The flight time was around 1 hour each way. There was just a little delay of around an hour or so on the return journey but that wasn’t a huge deal – if it had been a longer delay, it might have been a bit worse as PL Airport is very small.
Port Lincoln Hotel
I had a twin bedroom at the Port Lincoln Hotel. The reception staff were very friendly throughout my stay – they are very accommodating and very use to people going cage diving and sealion swimming. There are 3 restaurants on site as well as a small casino/games room and an outside swimming pool. The pool was quiet, had a great view of the bay and had very comfy sunbeds – it was a great place for a swim and a snooze. My room was huge! It was very comfortable and clean. The bathroom was a great size and the shower was hot (always a bonus). The room also had aircon which I had to keep switching off because it was too cold! My room was a town view room which was lovely for watching the sun set.
Port Lincoln
The town of Port Lincoln was actually a lot bigger and busier than I expected. It is a coastal fishing town on the Eyre Peninsula. I wish I had had more time to explore the town and the surrounding area as I only saw a tiny bit.
Overall, I had a fantastic (albeit tiring) few days in Port Lincoln. Calypso Star Charters and their package tour made everything so easy and achievable, and I cannot thank them enough for such a fantastic trip! I still can’t believe I got up close to both Great Whites and Australian Sea Lions – lifelong dreams were finally fulfilled. Make sure to check out the full activity blogs for more information. I wish I had had more time to explore Port Lincoln itself but, I’ll just have to venture back there someday.
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