Anyone been on a Whale watching trip ?

[Turn7]

Something Ive long wanted to do, and maybe tie in woth Fjords and maybe Aurora too.... ?

[justin220]

We went to Tromso for a long weekend two years ago, and did a whale watching trip, and a northern lights tour. Both were brilliant but it was bloody freezing!

[Turn7]

justin220 said:

We went to Tromso for a long weekend two years ago, and did a whale watching trip, and a northern lights tour. Both were brilliant but it was bloody freezing!

I can imagine! What time of year did you go and whop did use please ?

[Tacagni]

We went to the Azores a couple of times and went out with espacotalassa ( these guys are marine biologists , very careful around the whales and you get to help them do there thing if the chance comes up , we helped catch a large turtle, weight and tag it , also saw two blue whales that day , something I will never forget they came under the boat seemed to take ages to swim under us they were huge).

[giveitfish]

What kind of whales do you want to see? We had an awesome holiday in Iceland in January a few years ago. We’re very lucky to see 30+ Orca (even saw some from a roadside lay-by) and also a glimpse of the northern lights while based in the Snæfellsnes region.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/giveitfish/albums/72...

[Yipper]

Done a few around Taiwan and east / west US.

Leave early in the day to maximize spotting. It can get much colder than you expect, so always overdress. Be prepared not to see any proper whales -- for every wow trip, there are loads of zzz trips where you just see a couple of dolphins and a small tail about 5 miles away. Be prepared that most whales are not that big.

[Turn7]

giveitfish said:

What kind of whales do you want to see? We had an awesome holiday in Iceland in January a few years ago. We’re very lucky to see 30+ Orca (even saw some from a roadside lay-by) and also a glimpse of the northern lights while based in the Snæfellsnes region.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/giveitfish/albums/72...

Orca, Sperm, Minke, not really specific tbh....

[C0ffin D0dger]

Yeah in New Zealand from Kaikoura. It was on a specialist boat trip so I guess they had some kind of underwater listening equipment to find out where they were. Motored out, saw loads of dolphins, found whale, watched it surface and sit on the top for 10 minutes or so drawing air, then it dived, classic shot of the tail fin sticking out of the sea. Captain said that's all we'll see of that on for at least half an hour, motored around more, loads more dolphins, then stopped to see another whale surface (might have been the same one?). Same routine, then back to the shore whilst photographing even more dolphins and a seal colony on the way back. Quite a surreal experience.

[Craikeybaby]

giveitfish said:

What kind of whales do you want to see? We had an awesome holiday in Iceland in January a few years ago. We’re very lucky to see 30+ Orca (even saw some from a roadside lay-by) and also a glimpse of the northern lights while based in the Snæfellsnes region.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/giveitfish/albums/72...

I also went whilst in Iceland a few years ago. The guide excitedly pointed out some Minke whales, but I didn't see them. I've actually had better luck seeing whale just lazing on a beach in Costa Rica - seeing splashes out to sea, then it clicking that they were whales!

[jurbie]

Hermanus in South Africa is possibly the best place in the world for whale watching. The water in the bay is quite deep so the Southern Right whales come very close to shore. The official boat trips have to stay a certain distance away so the general advice is not to bother with them and just stay on the shore. Whilst standing on the edge of the shore I watched a mother and calf probably no more than 5 or 10 metres away whilst there were plenty more further out breaching and doing whatever else it is that whales do.

October/November I believe is the best time to go.

Southern Right Whale

Southern Right Whale

Southern Right Whale

Edited by jurbie on Tuesday 2nd January 14:47

[DuraAce]

Done a few whale trips... Iceland, california, queensland, Falkland Islands.

All great but only OZ was anywhere near warm!

[havoc]

We did one off Vancouver Island - half-day tour, saw a bunch of Seals (Harbour, I think), a pod of Orca, and a Grey with her calf. We were late heading back so the pilot put his foot down! (large scarab-type twin-outboard - properly shifted and banked when he wound it up...)

Absolutely fantastic day. Seeing orca heading straight at you only to dive under the boat at <15yds out. One of them got rather playful too... Grey was understandably more sedate, but seeing that tail go up was awesome, in the literal sense of that word.

Not sure I'd take a holiday JUST to whale watch, but combined in with other sightseeing I'd do it again in a heartbeat.


Edit: Some photos at the start of this album...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/48052912@N05/albums/...

Edited by havoc on Wednesday 3rd January 13:20

[justin220]

Turn7 said:

I can imagine! What time of year did you go and whop did use please ?

We just booked the holiday ourselves, not a package type thing. And used this company for the tours - https://www.tromso-friluftsenter.no

Highly recommended.

[Norfolkit]

We went whale watching in Hervey Bay Australia (it's just south of the Great Barrier Reef so you can combine the two). Whale season is August/September/October, we went late September and the place was absolutely packed with whales and their calves, they are so confident of seeing them they offer a refund if you don't.