Any encounter with these enormous marine mammals is wonderful, whether it involves a humpback whale boldly breaching the waves or a grey whale and her calf softly cresting the water’s top. There have never been more possibilities to see the seagoing creatures than there are today, and whale watching tours around the world has become one of the most well-liked wildlife attractions in the entire globe.
Every ocean has whales, but certain places are better than others for whale-watching excursions. Here are some of the top locations for having a close encounter with a gentle giant.
Top 10 Whale Watching Tours Around the World
1. Reykjavik / Iceland
With the chance to see humpback, minke, and blue whales as well as white-beaked dolphins and porpoises, it’s no surprise that Iceland is gradually turning into a top choice for those who enjoy traveling to see sea mammals. In addition to the capital city of Reykjavik, the towns of Husavik, Dalvik, and Hauganes also provide whale-watching boat cruises. Icelandic wood boats, some of which are schooners, are used on tours that depart from Reykjavik and travel to Faxafloi Bay. Passengers should anticipate some memorable experiences because whales are known to approach the boats pretty closely.
2. San Juan Islands / Vancouver
Orca pods that are migrating north along the Pacific Coast enter Puget Sound in Washington state every spring. Orca Island, which is a part of the San Juan Islands archipelago, is traditionally the best place to see orcas, however they can also be seen swimming near Vancouver.
For the duration of the summer, about 80 orcas stay in the Sound to eat salmon, and knowledgeable whale-watching guides may recognize certain whales by sight. In addition, sightings of grey whales, minke whales, and humpback whales are possible. Visitors can experience up-close interactions on tours that use open-air zodiac boats.
3. Hervey Bay
Hervey Bay in Queensland, Australia—known as the humpbacks’ home—offers numerous chances to see the curious and active whales as they spend the summer in the waters between Fraser Island and the main land. Humpback whales are well recognized for their spectacular airborne leaps and splashy splashbacks.
In Hervey Bay, catamaran whale-watching tours are a well-liked option. The boats frequently have hydrophones that magnify the whales’ vocalizations, underwater windows, and dedicated viewing platforms.
4. Los Cabos
In order to spend the winter in the warm waters of the Gulf of California between Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula and the mainland, hundreds of gray whales and humpback whales travel thousands of miles every year. Whale watchers from all over the world flock to Los Cabos, which is situated at the southernmost point of the peninsula.
It’s usual to see calves with their mothers while on a whale-watching boat excursion, particularly between the months of January and April. The calm lagoons of the gulf provide a safe area for the whales to reproduce. Also occasionally seen are sperm whales and mammoth blue whales.
5. Valdes Peninsula
On Argentina’s Chubut Province’s Atlantic coast is the Valdes Peninsula. The peninsula’s arcing coastline is a protected region and is home to sizable populations of seals and sea lions, which in the spring draw orca whales. Orcas are frequently referred to as killer whales, despite the fact that they belong to the dolphin family.
Orcas that are hunting sea lion pups can occasionally be seen riding the surf to the shore by whale watchers. From July to November, there are lots of southern right whales, and you can frequently observe them with their flukes raised. In the tranquil waters separating the peninsula from the mainland, they mate and give birth.
6. Maui
The southern and western coastlines of Maui are among the greatest spots, but opportunities to see whales abound throughout the Hawaiian islands. Each winter, up to 10,000 humpback whales travel to the islands from the icy waters of Alaska. In the spring, the whales mate, give birth to their offspring, and migrate north. From dawn till dark, it is simple to see the wonderful wildlife in Maui’s crystal-clear waters.
For long to 30 minutes at a time, male humpback whales sing their ethereal sounds. Options for whale-watching tour boats include opulent boats with hydrophones that enable passengers to hear the whale songs and 24-long open-air rafts that boost the likelihood of an up-close encounter.
7. Azores
The nine islands that make up the Azores archipelago are some of the best whale watching tours around the world, and they are situated around 1,360 kilometers (850 miles) west of Portugal. They are also a fantastic location to see blue whales, which are the biggest whales on the globe. A blue whale can reach a length of 30 meters (100 feet), weigh 130 tons, and have a heart the size of a small car.
The gentle behemoths can be viewed from shore from observation towers called “vigias” or from cruise boats for a chance at a closer look. Additionally, sperm, pilot, and northern bottlenose whales can be seen.
8. Boston and Cape Cod
The World Wildlife Fund rates Massachusetts as one of the top whale watching locations in the world due to the large numbers of humpback, minke, and finback whales that visit Cape Cod each year to feed. Since humpback whale sightings are so common, several tour boat companies in Boston will refund tickets if no humpback whales are spotted during the excursion. They are simple to identify thanks to their long, white fins and wavy-edged flukes. When moms bring their calves to graze in the area’s submerged sand banks in the spring, the critically endangered northern right whale can occasionally be seen.
9. Hermanus
Hermanus, which is near Cape Town on Africa’s southern coast, is well-known across the world for its whale-watching from the shore. Southern right whales flock to the area each year to breed and mate because of the protected, shallow waters. Adults can grow to a height of 17 meters (55 feet), while calves can be as long as 6 meters (20 feet) before birth.
Visitors have many opportunity to observe these gregarious animals as they raise their flukes in the sea breezes along a six-mile cliffside path that has benches and built-in telescopes. Even in the town, there is a “whale crier” who notifies tourists when whales are observed. There are also boat cruises in Hermanus where you may go whale watching.
10. Kaikoura
The finest place in the world to see sperm whales is Kaikoura, a small hamlet on New Zealand’s South Island, which lies about 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of Christchurch. The sperm whale known as “Moby Dick” can reach a length of up to 18 meters (60 feet), and it can dive down to a depth of 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) and stay there for more than two hours.
The shore of Kaikoura is hugged by a deep undersea canyon, which fosters an ecosystem that draws all kinds of marine species, from dolphins and seals to humpback, pilot, and blue whales. The main source of revenue for Kaikoura is whale watching, which also includes a range of boat cruises and light-aircraft flyovers.
