Whale watching tips.

mr_lordi

Hi, hope you can help me and offer some advice please. My partner has has asked for her 50th birthday to go whale watching but I’m not sure where to start. I don’t have a no limit budget so looking for a good deal. Probably up to £5000 max for us both, if any cheaper great. Question is where to go? Any advice or tips or experience is greatly appreciated
Thanks.

jimbo6977

Ferry from Portsmouth to Spain. Plenty whales in Biscay in late summer especially.

Or Smyril Line ship from Denmark to Iceland via Faroes (although whale is a staple meat up there so you risk seeing hunting and consumption of whale also)

sazaccount

Main question would be when do you want to go

While researching please don't go with any companies who feed or bait the whales this is impacting on their natural migration patterns.

I swam with whale sharks in Donsol in the Philippians in march, it was coming to the end of their season, this is a natural feeding area and deep so the whales are not contained in anyway.

I currently live in Vancouver and they offer whale sightseeing trips daily, same when I was in San Diego and San Francisco.

In New Zealand north island they offered swimming with dolphins (wild no baiting) we saw 2 but it was too late in the boat trip to actually get in with them. They also offer whale watching from the south Island out of both kaikoura and Christchurch.

The world is basically your oyster what else do you want to do/see?

onwards&upwards

Iceland or British Columbia in the summer

Northern Norway in the winter

Be prepared to take multiple trips out if she really wants to see whales, it’s never guaranteed!

Nile

mr_lordi wrote: »

Hi, hope you can help me and offer some advice please. My partner has has asked for her 50th birthday to go whale watching but I’m not sure where to start. I don’t have a no limit budget so looking for a good deal. Probably up to £5000 max for us both, if any cheaper great. Question is where to go? Any advice or tips or experience is greatly appreciated
Thanks.

I'm a cetacean fan (whales, dolphins & porpoises) and I've travelled all over the world to see them. Here are a couple of examples:

UK

https://www.sealifesurveys.com/cruises/whalewatchexplorer

I've seen minke whales, common dolphins and numerous seabirds with this company. Boat departs from Tobermory in the Isle of Mull, Scotland.

USA

http://www.captbillandsons.com/

I've seen fin whales, humpback whales, minke whales and numerous seabirds with this company. Boat departs from Gloucester, Massachusetts and sails to Stellwagen Bank.

Regards

Nile

EveryWhere

I like warm weather, so we did our whale watching in Western Australia and on the Pacific Coast of the USA.

The Canaries are probably your least expensive option.

Socajam

When can you see whales in New England?

The best time for whale watching in Massachusetts is from April to October, though whales dwell in Bay State waters as early as mid-March and as late as early November. Whales migrate to Massachusetts to feed on mackerel, herring, krill and other schooling fish that breed in these nutrient-rich waters.

How long is a whale watching tour?

How Long is a Whale Watching Trip? Usually a whale watching tour takes anywhere between 2.5 to 3 hours in order to navigate the ocean in search of different whale species.

EveryWhere

I would certainly choose a place that also had other interesting wildlife. Towards this end, Western Australia proved quite interesting. Startled a kangaroo on the path to a whale watching platform.
Interacted with wild dolphins, one of which took a particular interest in me and viewed many other types of interesting wildlife. The Quokkas also took quite the interest in me.

Since you would drive on the same side of the road as the U.K, you can ferry yourself around to the best spots.

Also depends on when you would like to go, as that will also have a bearing on what you will be able to see and where.

Changeoffortunes

We went Whale watching in Vancouver in September had a fabulous time. Also did the Alaskan Cruise and saw all manner of wildlife so could highly recommended this type of trip.

Grumpelstiltskin

This is only a 4 hour flight away.

https://rove.me/to/madeira/whale-and-dolphin-watching

cubegame

Socajam wrote: »

When can you see whales in New England?

The best time for whale watching in Massachusetts is from April to October, though whales dwell in Bay State waters as early as mid-March and as late as early November. Whales migrate to Massachusetts to feed on mackerel, herring, krill and other schooling fish that breed in these nutrient-rich waters.

How long is a whale watching tour?

How Long is a Whale Watching Trip? Usually a whale watching tour takes anywhere between 2.5 to 3 hours in order to navigate the ocean in search of different whale species.

We've seen a fair few whales over the years and I would probably advise New England myself but as others say it depends on time of year.

Off Cape Cod you're likely to see Whales into early November and this raises the possibility of also taking in the autumn colours of New England which are out of this world. £5000 will get you a two week road trip with change.

Iceland is also a good destination for whale watching and positively supporting their whale watching tourism will assist in stopping whaling permanently there.