Whale Watching Tours & Trip Packages

Whale Watching Tours & Trips

67 Whale Watching trips. Tours from 46 tour companies. 107 reviews. 5/5 avg rating.

67 Trips match your criteria (41 - 60 shown)

Islands of New England (on the Grande Mariner)
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4.7/5 Excellent
22 reviews
Small Ship Cruise
Lodging level
Premium - 4 star
Physical level
Easy
Trip pace
Flexible schedule

Highlights

  • Explore the Nantucket Whaling Museum
  • Visit Edgartown, a historic whaling port and home to the Vineyard’s most famous lighthouse
  • Learn about the New Bedford, MA rich history
  • Visit the most renowned of these “summer cottages, The Breakers,” a 70-room Italian Renaissance-style palazzo

Themes

Cultural, National Parks, Nature & Wildlife, Small Ship Cruise

What travelers are saying

"I’ve enjoyed working with Blount for two years now. Passengers on board have nothing but positive feedback and exciting experiences to share. I look forward to cruising with Blount sometime in the near future."

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Cape Cod & the Islands
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4.7/5 Excellent
100+ reviews
Small Group Tour
Lodging level
Premium - 4 star
Physical level
Very Easy
Trip pace
Balanced schedule

Visits

Boston, Plymouth

Highlights

  • Boston: Sightseeing with a Local Guide including, the Old North Church; harbor cruise
  • Plymouth: Visit Plimoth Plantation; visit a working cranberry bog
  • Hyannis: Orientation tour; see the John F. Kennedy Memorial and St. Francis Xavier Church; traditional lobster dinner
  • Nantucket: Sightseeing with a Local Guide; visit the Whaling Museum
  • Cape cod: Cape Cod National Seashore
Show more

Themes

50 plus, Cultural

What travelers are saying

"Just returned from Italy. Guides were very informative. Hotels went downhill with each city. Dinners which were included were absolutely horrible - vegetable lasagna in Italy really? Worst part was our guide Alessandro did not wait for us when the group met for the taxi to the airport - we were 5 minutes late. He lied about calling our room - front desk said he had not. Our friends reminded him we were missing but he left anyway - could have been a costly disaster if we didn't run to catch up. Never again!"

Trip dates & details
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Alaska's Inside Passage
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4.4/5 Great
15 reviews
Small Ship Cruise
Lodging level
Premium - 4 star
Physical level
Easy
Trip pace
Full schedule

Visits

Alaska, Glacier National Park, Juneau

Highlights

  • Juneau, visiting Native art galleries and dining on local seafood
  • Tongass National Forest’s mountain goats, moose and Sitka black-tail deer
  • Kayaking and paddle boarding in Misty Fjord National Monument (equipment supplied)
  • Steller’s sea lions, otters, harbour seals, dolphins and porpoises
  • Traditional Tlingit and Haida cultures
Show more

Themes

Cultural, High Adventure, National Parks, Nature & Wildlife, Rafting, Kayaking, Canoeing, Small Ship Cruise, Trekking & Expeditions, Scuba Diving

What travelers are saying

"I just returned from Aurora’s NW passage trip from Greenland to Nome Alaska. I wish to warn potential passengers that out of 26 sea days, we had 10 landings, out of which we were free to walk on our own once. The director,Ashley, told passengers on day one that if they disobeyed her, they would be confined to their cabin. When we got to Alaska, Aurora had not hired sufficient personnel with US licenses to allow for any landings. So we were 60 miles out at sea for almost a week and could not even see the shoreline. Much of the controlling behavior of Ashley was in the guise of safety from the polar bears, but her behavior was over the top. Also the head bear rifle guy, Nils, screamed at passengers on shore at the top of his lungs when they were a few feet off a poorly marked trail in a flat landscape with at least a mile visibility in all directions. He also screamed at passengers to rush over uneven ground because of a bear in the distance. This is just plain dangerous for 70 -80 year old passengers. I have traveled extensively, including an Antarctic cruise, and never had such an unpleasant experience. Even considered bailing out from Cambridge Bay partway through the cruise. Customers beware. You have been warned."

Trip dates & details
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Antarctic Peninsula-Basecamp Plancius
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5/5 Excellent
100+ reviews
Small Ship Cruise
Lodging level
Premium - 4 star
Physical level
Easy
Trip pace
Full schedule

Visits

Antarctic Peninsula, Tierra del Fuego National Park, Ushuaia

Highlights

  • Visit Ushuaia
  • Enjoy Kayak hike and mountaineering activities in Antarctica
  • Enjoy the cruise through m/v Plancius
  • Have a chance to see different types of polar region birds and animals
  • Experience the nature by visiting Melchior Islands and Booth Island

Themes

Birding, National Parks, Nature & Wildlife, Small Ship Cruise, Trekking & Expeditions

What travelers are saying

"I booked an Antarctic Peninsula trip two years ago through Oceanwide Expeditions that I have been looking forward to for a long time. My goal is to scuba dive on every continent, so I added on the dive package and started training. I shelled out a few grand for a drysuit and other cold water diving gear (freeze resistant regulators, etc). I booked trips to bump up my number of drysuit dives so I’d be ready for Antarctica. Probably more important than the training was the financial outlay. I spent nearly $8500 USD on an 11 day Antarctic cruise that was supposed to depart in February. I spent another few thousand dollars on flights to, from and within Argentina and hotels throughout my trip. Mind you, I’m not exactly rolling in money; I’m an Army officer and I had to save up to afford this trip of a lifetime. I had to jump through a lot of hoops to get my international leave approved, but I got that done and was ready to fly to Buenos Aires on February 4th, and then on to Ushuaia to meet my ship my dives were logged, my gear was ready, my arrangements were made and my money was spent. On January 10th, Oceanwide sent an email informing all passengers that they were cancelling all of their itineraries for the season due to Omicron. I’ll admit, I was furious. I don’t want to get into a COVID debate here, but this trip has given me something to look forward to throughout the pandemic. I booked in March of 2020 while I was locked down during my last deployment as the world shut down for COVID. I was concerned about the trip, but Argentina eventually opened their borders as their vaccination numbers skyrocketed. It looked like the last impediment was out of my way, only to have the company pull the rug out from under me because of the mildest strain of this virus we’ve yet seen. The initial email offered to rebook passengers on next year’s cruises, but I had no interest in this for a few reasons- 1. As a service member, I don’t have the luxury of taking a month of leave whenever I want. I don’t know what obligations I will have a year from now. 2. I don’t trust that the world will be any better off in terms of government and corporate reactions to COVID a year from now. This isn’t going away, new variants will continue to emerge, so if the company is cancelling for the season over something as mild as Omicron, I have little confidence that whatever variant we see in February 2023 will be any better. 3. The company cancelled all itineraries in the 2020-2021 season and I’d imagine they did the same in the 2019-2020 season. They ran a couple in November-December 2021, but have cancelled for the rest of the 21-22 season. They have had no significant cash flow for nearly two years. I don’t want this company to hold on to my money for another year because I’m not confident this company will still exist in a year’s time. Here comes the really frustrating part- I replied to the initial email from their home office on January 10th explaining my position and requesting a refund. I received no reply. On 12 January I emailed the American office of the same company explaining the situation and again requesting a refund. I again received no reply. Between 14-16 January, I called both the American and home (Dutch) offices of the company. In both cases, the employees politely apologized and told me they’d look into it and get back to me. I never received any further communication. On 19 January, I emailed both offices reiterating my request for a refund and expressing my concerns at their lack of communication and requesting a response by the end of the week, or else I would pursue other means of recourse. I received no response. Last night, I again emailed both companies with a final good faith attempt to allow them to resolve the situation. I figured I’d give them the morning to respond, but they have not responded. It looks like I will have to dispute this through my credit card and bank and fight to get back my own money. TL;DR Oceanwide Expeditions accepted payment of $8500 for an Antarctica Cruise then cancelled the cruise and will not respond to any requests for refunds. This shady conduct is more than enough reason to avoid this company."

Trip dates & details
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Antarctic Peninsula – Polar Circle, Deep South Discovery and whale watching voyage
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1/5 Terrible
100+ reviews
Small Ship Cruise
Lodging level
Premium - 4 star
Physical level
Easy
Trip pace
Flexible schedule

Visits

Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland Islands

Highlights

  • See Wandering Albatrosses, Grey Headed Albatrosses, Black- browed Albatrosses, Light- mantled Albatrosses, Cape Petrels, Southern Fulmars
  • See Humpback whales here as we approach Fish Islands for a Zodiac cruise and possible landing.
  • See more Adélie penguins among the myriads of icebergs large and small.
  • Enjoy even more Humpback whales.

Themes

Birding, National Parks, Nature & Wildlife, Small Ship Cruise, Scuba Diving

What travelers are saying

"I booked an Antarctic Peninsula trip two years ago through Oceanwide Expeditions that I have been looking forward to for a long time. My goal is to scuba dive on every continent, so I added on the dive package and started training. I shelled out a few grand for a drysuit and other cold water diving gear (freeze resistant regulators, etc). I booked trips to bump up my number of drysuit dives so I’d be ready for Antarctica. Probably more important than the training was the financial outlay. I spent nearly $8500 USD on an 11 day Antarctic cruise that was supposed to depart in February. I spent another few thousand dollars on flights to, from and within Argentina and hotels throughout my trip. Mind you, I’m not exactly rolling in money; I’m an Army officer and I had to save up to afford this trip of a lifetime. I had to jump through a lot of hoops to get my international leave approved, but I got that done and was ready to fly to Buenos Aires on February 4th, and then on to Ushuaia to meet my ship my dives were logged, my gear was ready, my arrangements were made and my money was spent. On January 10th, Oceanwide sent an email informing all passengers that they were cancelling all of their itineraries for the season due to Omicron. I’ll admit, I was furious. I don’t want to get into a COVID debate here, but this trip has given me something to look forward to throughout the pandemic. I booked in March of 2020 while I was locked down during my last deployment as the world shut down for COVID. I was concerned about the trip, but Argentina eventually opened their borders as their vaccination numbers skyrocketed. It looked like the last impediment was out of my way, only to have the company pull the rug out from under me because of the mildest strain of this virus we’ve yet seen. The initial email offered to rebook passengers on next year’s cruises, but I had no interest in this for a few reasons- 1. As a service member, I don’t have the luxury of taking a month of leave whenever I want. I don’t know what obligations I will have a year from now. 2. I don’t trust that the world will be any better off in terms of government and corporate reactions to COVID a year from now. This isn’t going away, new variants will continue to emerge, so if the company is cancelling for the season over something as mild as Omicron, I have little confidence that whatever variant we see in February 2023 will be any better. 3. The company cancelled all itineraries in the 2020-2021 season and I’d imagine they did the same in the 2019-2020 season. They ran a couple in November-December 2021, but have cancelled for the rest of the 21-22 season. They have had no significant cash flow for nearly two years. I don’t want this company to hold on to my money for another year because I’m not confident this company will still exist in a year’s time. Here comes the really frustrating part- I replied to the initial email from their home office on January 10th explaining my position and requesting a refund. I received no reply. On 12 January I emailed the American office of the same company explaining the situation and again requesting a refund. I again received no reply. Between 14-16 January, I called both the American and home (Dutch) offices of the company. In both cases, the employees politely apologized and told me they’d look into it and get back to me. I never received any further communication. On 19 January, I emailed both offices reiterating my request for a refund and expressing my concerns at their lack of communication and requesting a response by the end of the week, or else I would pursue other means of recourse. I received no response. Last night, I again emailed both companies with a final good faith attempt to allow them to resolve the situation. I figured I’d give them the morning to respond, but they have not responded. It looks like I will have to dispute this through my credit card and bank and fight to get back my own money. TL;DR Oceanwide Expeditions accepted payment of $8500 for an Antarctica Cruise then cancelled the cruise and will not respond to any requests for refunds. This shady conduct is more than enough reason to avoid this company."

Trip dates & details
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Falkland Islands - South Georgia - Antarctic Peninsula
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4.8/5 Excellent
100+ reviews
Small Ship Cruise
Lodging level
Premium - 4 star
Physical level
Easy
Trip pace
Flexible schedule

Visits

Antarctic Peninsula, Puerto Madryn, South Shetland Islands, Ushuaia

Highlights

  • Explore the cruise through m/v Ortelius
  • Explore Falkland Islands and experience Falkland culture
  • Visit the bay of Elsehul, with its very active fur seal breeding beach
  • See some high-Antarctic species like the McCormick Skua and Snow Petrel
  • Discover South Orkney Islands
Show more

Themes

National Parks, Nature & Wildlife, Small Ship Cruise

What travelers are saying

"I booked an Antarctic Peninsula trip two years ago through Oceanwide Expeditions that I have been looking forward to for a long time. My goal is to scuba dive on every continent, so I added on the dive package and started training. I shelled out a few grand for a drysuit and other cold water diving gear (freeze resistant regulators, etc). I booked trips to bump up my number of drysuit dives so I’d be ready for Antarctica. Probably more important than the training was the financial outlay. I spent nearly $8500 USD on an 11 day Antarctic cruise that was supposed to depart in February. I spent another few thousand dollars on flights to, from and within Argentina and hotels throughout my trip. Mind you, I’m not exactly rolling in money; I’m an Army officer and I had to save up to afford this trip of a lifetime. I had to jump through a lot of hoops to get my international leave approved, but I got that done and was ready to fly to Buenos Aires on February 4th, and then on to Ushuaia to meet my ship my dives were logged, my gear was ready, my arrangements were made and my money was spent. On January 10th, Oceanwide sent an email informing all passengers that they were cancelling all of their itineraries for the season due to Omicron. I’ll admit, I was furious. I don’t want to get into a COVID debate here, but this trip has given me something to look forward to throughout the pandemic. I booked in March of 2020 while I was locked down during my last deployment as the world shut down for COVID. I was concerned about the trip, but Argentina eventually opened their borders as their vaccination numbers skyrocketed. It looked like the last impediment was out of my way, only to have the company pull the rug out from under me because of the mildest strain of this virus we’ve yet seen. The initial email offered to rebook passengers on next year’s cruises, but I had no interest in this for a few reasons- 1. As a service member, I don’t have the luxury of taking a month of leave whenever I want. I don’t know what obligations I will have a year from now. 2. I don’t trust that the world will be any better off in terms of government and corporate reactions to COVID a year from now. This isn’t going away, new variants will continue to emerge, so if the company is cancelling for the season over something as mild as Omicron, I have little confidence that whatever variant we see in February 2023 will be any better. 3. The company cancelled all itineraries in the 2020-2021 season and I’d imagine they did the same in the 2019-2020 season. They ran a couple in November-December 2021, but have cancelled for the rest of the 21-22 season. They have had no significant cash flow for nearly two years. I don’t want this company to hold on to my money for another year because I’m not confident this company will still exist in a year’s time. Here comes the really frustrating part- I replied to the initial email from their home office on January 10th explaining my position and requesting a refund. I received no reply. On 12 January I emailed the American office of the same company explaining the situation and again requesting a refund. I again received no reply. Between 14-16 January, I called both the American and home (Dutch) offices of the company. In both cases, the employees politely apologized and told me they’d look into it and get back to me. I never received any further communication. On 19 January, I emailed both offices reiterating my request for a refund and expressing my concerns at their lack of communication and requesting a response by the end of the week, or else I would pursue other means of recourse. I received no response. Last night, I again emailed both companies with a final good faith attempt to allow them to resolve the situation. I figured I’d give them the morning to respond, but they have not responded. It looks like I will have to dispute this through my credit card and bank and fight to get back my own money. TL;DR Oceanwide Expeditions accepted payment of $8500 for an Antarctica Cruise then cancelled the cruise and will not respond to any requests for refunds. This shady conduct is more than enough reason to avoid this company."

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Isles and Inlets of Argyll
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5/5 Excellent
100+ reviews
Small Ship Cruise
Lodging level
Standard - 3 star
Physical level
Easy
Trip pace
Flexible schedule

Highlights

  • Opportunity to cruise and explores some of the fabulous long, sheltered sea lochs in Argyll
  • Experience the stars as you never have before, with no light pollution at our anchorages at night
  • Climb to see the mysterious "Maids of Bute" painted stones

Themes

50 plus, Birding, Cultural, Family Friendly, National Parks, Nature & Wildlife, Relaxing Retreats, Singles Travel, Small Ship Cruise, Transformative, Sailing

What travelers are saying

"I had a simply marvellous and memorable experience aboard St Hilda with the Mull Odyssey cruise. Christophe and Kerry were fantastic, helpful , lovely people. Everybody was great company! The land and seascapes were quite amazing, the light and shade effects wonderful. I know and love the West Coast of Scotland, and this is a wonderful way of seeing it. Highlights were the peace of Iona, the puffins within a couple of feet on Lunga, the fantastic mountains of Mull reflected in the water.... I could go on for ever! Quite the best holiday of my life!"

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Antarctic Peninsula - Whale Watching Voyage
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4.8/5 Excellent
100+ reviews
Small Ship Cruise
Lodging level
Premium - 4 star
Physical level
Easy
Trip pace
Flexible schedule

Visits

Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland Islands, Tierra del Fuego National Park, Ushuaia

Highlights

  • Sail across the Drake Passage and see different kinds of Albatrosses
  • Enjoy the landscape surrounded by alpine peaks during zodiac cruises
  • See feeding Humpback whales
  • Enjoy Bird Watching at Drake Passage

Themes

National Parks, Nature & Wildlife, Small Ship Cruise

What travelers are saying

"I booked an Antarctic Peninsula trip two years ago through Oceanwide Expeditions that I have been looking forward to for a long time. My goal is to scuba dive on every continent, so I added on the dive package and started training. I shelled out a few grand for a drysuit and other cold water diving gear (freeze resistant regulators, etc). I booked trips to bump up my number of drysuit dives so I’d be ready for Antarctica. Probably more important than the training was the financial outlay. I spent nearly $8500 USD on an 11 day Antarctic cruise that was supposed to depart in February. I spent another few thousand dollars on flights to, from and within Argentina and hotels throughout my trip. Mind you, I’m not exactly rolling in money; I’m an Army officer and I had to save up to afford this trip of a lifetime. I had to jump through a lot of hoops to get my international leave approved, but I got that done and was ready to fly to Buenos Aires on February 4th, and then on to Ushuaia to meet my ship my dives were logged, my gear was ready, my arrangements were made and my money was spent. On January 10th, Oceanwide sent an email informing all passengers that they were cancelling all of their itineraries for the season due to Omicron. I’ll admit, I was furious. I don’t want to get into a COVID debate here, but this trip has given me something to look forward to throughout the pandemic. I booked in March of 2020 while I was locked down during my last deployment as the world shut down for COVID. I was concerned about the trip, but Argentina eventually opened their borders as their vaccination numbers skyrocketed. It looked like the last impediment was out of my way, only to have the company pull the rug out from under me because of the mildest strain of this virus we’ve yet seen. The initial email offered to rebook passengers on next year’s cruises, but I had no interest in this for a few reasons- 1. As a service member, I don’t have the luxury of taking a month of leave whenever I want. I don’t know what obligations I will have a year from now. 2. I don’t trust that the world will be any better off in terms of government and corporate reactions to COVID a year from now. This isn’t going away, new variants will continue to emerge, so if the company is cancelling for the season over something as mild as Omicron, I have little confidence that whatever variant we see in February 2023 will be any better. 3. The company cancelled all itineraries in the 2020-2021 season and I’d imagine they did the same in the 2019-2020 season. They ran a couple in November-December 2021, but have cancelled for the rest of the 21-22 season. They have had no significant cash flow for nearly two years. I don’t want this company to hold on to my money for another year because I’m not confident this company will still exist in a year’s time. Here comes the really frustrating part- I replied to the initial email from their home office on January 10th explaining my position and requesting a refund. I received no reply. On 12 January I emailed the American office of the same company explaining the situation and again requesting a refund. I again received no reply. Between 14-16 January, I called both the American and home (Dutch) offices of the company. In both cases, the employees politely apologized and told me they’d look into it and get back to me. I never received any further communication. On 19 January, I emailed both offices reiterating my request for a refund and expressing my concerns at their lack of communication and requesting a response by the end of the week, or else I would pursue other means of recourse. I received no response. Last night, I again emailed both companies with a final good faith attempt to allow them to resolve the situation. I figured I’d give them the morning to respond, but they have not responded. It looks like I will have to dispute this through my credit card and bank and fight to get back my own money. TL;DR Oceanwide Expeditions accepted payment of $8500 for an Antarctica Cruise then cancelled the cruise and will not respond to any requests for refunds. This shady conduct is more than enough reason to avoid this company."

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Whale Watching Reviews & Ratings

5/5  Excellent
107  Reviews
See all Whale Watching tour reviews
Excellent
22
Great
0
Average
0
Disappointing
0
Terrible
0
E

Eric

Oct 2019

Written on

A Close Encounter of the Orca Kind

I have been on this trip 3 different time, and each time has been unique, and so amazing. The guides were so great, and knowledgeable, the food was fantastic, and th...

K

Kimmie

Sep 2019

Written on

This was one of the best vacations I have ever gone on

This was one of the best vacations I have ever gone on. It was amazing to see the humpbacks slapping their tails and orca swimming by our base camp every evening. Bu...

L

Lin Teichman

Aug 2019

Written on

Best Trip Ever

This trip exceeded all expectations for a kayaking trip. Not only were the guides wonderful, the food amazing and the participants fun, but the sheer numbers of whal...

M

Michelle

Jul 2019

Written on

Incredible Kayaking with Orcas

If you're looking for an opportunity to kayak with whales, specifically orcas, this is an incredible adventure. Not only did we get the opportunity to see orcas from...

J

Jimbo

Sep 2018

Written on

Amazing Johnstone Straight Experience - Kayaking, Fun, Wildlife, great food, beautiful location

We recently took the Orca Base Camp trip with Sea Kayak Adventures. It was amazing. Yes its camping. We were well taken care of and got to paddle in this pristin...

Write a Review

Whale Watching Tour Selection Trips

  • Whale watching is possible year round, though the farther north you go, summer is typically the best season.
  • While your tour will do their best to find a pod, it's never a guarantee that you'll witness a breach. However if you plan accordingly and travel during the best months, your chances are very good.
  • Seas can be very choppy so if you get seasick be sure to take appropriate precautions. A good tour guide should have remedies available.
  • Be careful with nice camera equipment! While nothing beats getting that perfect shot, you will be out on the water for extended periods of time, so watch out for sea water, and keep your camera well protected.

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