Whale Watching Holidays

At the beginning of the twentieth century it seemed that whales had few friends. Regarded as little more than aquatic sources of protein the oceans of the world ran with their blood as countless whalers relentlessly harvested their prey driving some species to the brink of extinction. The future seemed bleak indeed but out of the idealistic 1960’s emerged a campaign to save the world’s whales which very rapidly gathered momentum and became one of the major conservation issues of the decade supported by huge numbers of people around the world. The global expression of sentiment in favour of whale protection not only changed the general perception of these gentle, inoffensive creatures but also demonstrated to many communities formerly dependant upon whaling activities that it could be financially lucrative to preserve populations of whales for the ever increasing numbers of tourists willing to pay to obtain sightings of these impressive marine mammals. Almost overnight centuries of whaling were consigned to history as eco-tourism replaced the slaughter and whilst even today there are still nations which annually seek to overturn the embargo on international whaling, the public appetite to see whales in their natural environment shows no sign of diminishing.

 

There are 78 species of whales and dolphins in the world’s oceans and rivers, most of which may be seen on Naturetrek organised tours. In many instances whale watching trips are part of longer natural history itineraries but there are also holidays in our programme dedicated to seeking particular species such as the popular four day breaks in Northern Norway with the single objective of observing concentrations of Orcas. Almost all whale -watching involves spending time in boats with duration and distance sailed varying according to the particular tour. Excursions to view Sperm Whales off New Zealand or Southern Right Whales in Patagonia for example may last only an hour or so and remain close to the shore but to look for Blue Whales off Iceland may necessitate being at sea for over six hours and sailing some distance from land. Whatever the format, Naturetrek leaders and experts from the vessel will be at hand to assist in every way and help identify the cetacea encountered. Naturetrek destinations which feature whale watching opportunities include Australia, New Zealand, Gibraltar, Spain, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Canada, Mexico, California, St Lucia, Falkland Islands, Argentina and the Galapagos Islands but in addition there are many other holidays where pods of the smaller dolphins are regularly encountered during the course of the tour and the rare Gangetic River Dolphin is a regular sighting on Naturetrek Northern India wildlife tours.

 

Naturetrek whale watching tours