Dolphin Biology Expeditions are open to international participants who aim to get actively engaged in dolphin studies and participate in field data collection and analysis.
A more relaxing option — called Dolphin Station Hideaway — is also available at different times of the year, for those who want to relax and enjoy a peaceful holiday, while also getting to know the researchers and spending a day at sea with them.
Both programmes are about one-week long and they will be based in the quiet historical village of Galaxidi, near the famous archeological site of Delphi.
Boat trips will be conducted by means of a 5.8 m inflatable craft with rigid hull, used to survey the Gulf of Corinth and search for dolphins, sea turtles, swordfish and other magnificent marine animals.
Participants in Expeditions will help record navigation data and track dolphin movements. Digital images of the animals will be taken throughout the sighting for individual identification purposes, while geographical position, group size and other data are recorded. Back at the field station, participants will help process that information and get a first-hand understanding of dolphin research methods. There will be time to relax, swim in the blue-green waters of the Gulf, enjoy a scenic walk or have a cold drink on the seaside. Expeditions participants will meet and work with the researchers at the project's Dolphin Station, but they will sleep at a beautiful hotel in central Galaxidi.
Conversely, Hideaway guests will stay at the Dolphin Station's self-catering apartment. They will be completely independent but they can rely on the researchers and spend a day with them, surveying the Gulf's waters in search of dolphins and other marine creatures.
The semi-enclosed Gulf of Corinth makes a natural laboratory where a range of marine animals can be observed and studied from small boats, in sceneries of stunning beauty where modern world and ancient history converge. The Gulf is inhabited by bottlenose dolphins, normally found close to the coast, and by a large community of striped dolphins, typically found offshore. Common dolphins can also be encountered in mixed groups with striped dolphins. Species such as tuna, swordfish and loggerhead sea turtles are frequently seen in the Gulf.
Detailed information as well as photos, maps and videos, can be found at: www.dolphinbiology.org/expeditions/
