9 days from £1,995
(Inc flights)
Land only price from £1,795
For this new whale-watching holiday to the Azores we are offering two separate itineraries. The first, based on São Miguel, involves direct flights from London to Ponta Delgada (on São Miguel), a short transfer to a marina-side hotel and whale-watching excursions focusing on Fin and Sperm Whales with a chance of seeing a passing Blue Whale and other cetaceans. The second is based on Pico, which is reached by a flight from London via Lisbon (with an overnight stay in the vibrant Portuguese capital), and is more suited to those who are very keen to have a higher chance of seeing Blue Whales, as statistically this iconic species is more frequently recorded in this central part of the Azores than in the east. Both Fin and Sperm Whales as well as other cetaceans are also seen regularly off Pico. The Azores archipelago is thought to provide a convenient ‘midway stopover’ for populations of Blue and Fin Whales to re-fuel during their journey between southern breeding grounds and their summer foraging sites in eastern Greenland and Iceland to the north, and this holiday (both itineraries) is timed to coincide with their migration. There will be a day’s birdwatching on each tour, as well as a leisure day for relaxing or doing additional activities.
- Fin & Blue Whales stopover in Azorean waters on migration each spring
- Choice of: 8-day tour to São Miguel focusing on great whales; 9-day tour to Pico with greater chance of Blue Whales
- Fin Whales most common great whale seen during May in the Azores
- Chance of Blue, Sei & Minke Whales off Pico & São Miguel
- Sperm Whales, plus Bottlenose, Risso’s & Short-beaked Common Dolphins seen year-round
- Striped & Atlantic Spotted Dolphins possible in May
- Look for Azores Bullfinch, São Miguel
- Look for the island ‘races’ of birds such as Chaffinch & Goldcrest
- Cory’s Shearwater, Roseate Tern, Whimbrel, Atlantic Canary & Azorean race of Common Buzzard
- Leisure day with optional activities including more whale-watching excursions and swimming with wild dolphins
- Led by expert naturalist guide
Can I help you?
Highlights
Lara Broom
Outline Itinerary
Day 1
Fly London to Lisbon.
Day 2
Fly Lisbon to Horta, Faial. Transfer Pico. Afternoon whale-watching.
Day 3/4
Morning and afternoon whale-watching.
Day 5
Full-day birdwatching excursion.
Day 6
Day at leisure with optional activities.
Day 7/8
Morning and afternoon whale-watching.
Day 9
Transfer Horta. Fly London, via Lisbon.
A well organised trip where only the weather and high waves impeded our views of cetaceans. Pico is a fascinating island both scenically and geologically. We caught up with 'ordinary' birds transformed by their island isolation like the beautiful Blue Chaffinch. But brief views of Fin and Sperm Whales earlier in the week were eclipsed by a dazzling day of Loggerhead Turtles, Common, Bottlenose and sparring Risso's Dolphins with an afternoon gazing in awe at the incredible length of not one, but two Blue Whales. Luck plays a part of course, but Naturetrek and the expertise of CW Azores enabled views that would be hard to beat anywhere in the world. Memorable - another tick on anyone's wildlife 'bucket list.' But much more than that - a real insight into a cetaceans world about which we still know comparatively little.
N.J. London
Food & Accommodation
Breakfasts are included, lunches and dinners are excluded from the tour price. Allow £30 per day for these.
A comfortable hotel near the sea. All rooms have private facilities.
Tour leaders
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Cathy Harlow Tour leader -
Ed Drewitt Tour leader
Cathy Harlow
After a degree in Spanish, Cathy lived and worked Italy as a teacher then moved to Iceland, where she trained and worked as a professional guide. Following a career in tour operations, setting up and running wildlife holidays, in 1995 she moved to Cairns, Queensland and qualified as a reef and rainforest guide. Cathy has worked as a wildlife tour leader for 18 years, specialising in marine mammals and island wildlife in Madagascar, Australia, Florida, Iceland, Norway, the Azores, Sri Lanka and Dominica. After three autumn seasons working with Killer Whales in Tysfjord and Lofoten, she chose to renew her involvement in Madagascar, which began in 1991, when she first visited WWF projects in Andohahela and Montagne D'Ambre. In 2009 Cathy made her 11th tour of the island, which continues to surprise and enthrall her with the variety and quirkiness of its wildlife. Linguist, travel writer and author of guide books to Iceland and Corsica, she co-runs a wildlife tourism consultancy and divides her time between homes in Cumbria and the French Alps.
Ed Drewitt
Ed's been a naturalist for over 25 years with a special interest in birds and marine mammals. He studied Zoology at the University of Bristol and worked for seven years as a museum learning officer at Bristol's Museums, Galleries and Archives, and then four years on the Bristol Dinosaur Project at the University of Bristol, enabling people to learn more about the city's own dinosaur! Ed is now a full time freelance naturalist, broadcaster and wildlife detective. He leads bird song and bird identification courses, gives various wildlife presentations, provides wildlife commentary on boat trips, writes for BBC magazines and gets involved with bird ringing studies, with his own bird ringing site on the Severn Estuary. He also runs a project that puts colour rings on Peregrine chicks so they can be tracked later in life. Ed has previously worked for the RSPB in Bristol and still does the commentary on their Avocet Cruises on the Exe Estuary. Ed leads on researching the diet of urban-dwelling peregrines in the UK and his findings have been published in British Birds, BBC Wildlife magazine and across the national media. He has just had a book published, the first of its kind, titled 'Urban Peregrines'. Ed is often involved with broadcasting on TV and radio, ranging from appearances on the BBC's One Show, Springwatch and Autumnwatch, Radio 4 Natural History radio, and BBC Radio Bristol. Ed loves watching wildlife around the Severn Estuary, Somerset Levels, Forest of Dean, Ashtead Common and the Chew Valley, while his adventures have taken him all around Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Azores, the Caribbean, Madagascar, the Arctic, and the Gambia. Ed is a regular tour leader for Naturetrek throughout the year, leading exciting holidays both in the UK and abroad.
