Best places in the world for whale watching: 20 ranked

The best place to whale watch is not the one with the most whales. It is the one where the whales are still there in the month you can travel, close enough that the boat spends its time watching rather than driving, and varied enough that a quiet day still produces something. That is what this ranking measures.

Three criteria, in order. Reliability: resident populations beat migrations, because residents are there every month and a migration is a six-week window you can miss. Season length: how many months are genuinely good, not how long the ticket office is open. Species: how many whales are realistically on the list, since variety is what saves a slow trip. Published success rates and refund clauses break ties — and no operator anywhere can promise a sighting.

1. 1

   Kaikōura, New Zealand

   The only place where giant sperm whales are year-round residents a few kilometers off a small town, because the Kaikōura Canyon comes almost to the beach. Whale Watch Kaikōura publishes an over-90% success rate and refunds 80% of the fare if you see nothing.

   Whales

   Sperm, orca, humpback, dusky dolphin

   Season

   Year-round

   Sighting guarantee

   80% refund, published

   from

   $98

2. 2

   Húsavík, Iceland

   Skjálfandi Bay delivers humpbacks at close range from oak boats and schooners, with blue whales in some summers. A whale museum, a working harbor and five operators in one small town.

   Whales

   Humpback, minke, blue, white-beaked dolphin

   Season

   April/May to September/October

   Sighting guarantee

   Re-ride clauses vary by operator

   from

   $95.40

3. 3

   Azores, Portugal

   More than 20 cetacean species recorded — about a third of all the cetaceans there are — spotted from the old whalers' vigia lookouts on the cliffs. Blue whales at the end of winter, sperm and sei whales in summer, resident dolphins all year. Three islands with separate fleets.

   Whales

   Sperm, blue, fin, sei, pilot, dolphins

   Season

   Year-round; blues late winter, sperm whales in summer

   Sighting guarantee

   Re-ride, varies by operator

   from

   $67.34

4. 4

   Hervey Bay, Queensland

   About a quarter of the east-coast humpback population turns into Hervey Bay on the way south and stops in the lee of K'gari instead of swimming past, which is why encounters here last. Named one of the world's first Whale Heritage Sites by the World Cetacean Alliance. Flat water, so it suits people who worry about seasickness.

   Whales

   Humpback, dolphins

   Season

   July to November, peak August–October

   Sighting guarantee

   Repeat-trip clauses vary by operator

   from

   $82.97

5. 5

   Hermanus, South Africa

   Southern right whales breed in Walker Bay within meters of a cliff path, so the whole thing works with no boat and no money. Permitted operators add a boat-based close approach.

   Whales

   Southern right, humpback, Bryde's

   Season

   June to November, peak August–October

   Sighting guarantee

   Operator-specific; shore watching is free

   from

   $94.95

6. 6

   Monterey, California

   The Monterey Submarine Canyon starts inside the bay, so deep-water species feed within an hour of the wharf. Something is in season in every month of the year.

   Whales

   Gray, humpback, blue, orca, dolphins

   Season

   Year-round; blues in summer

   Sighting guarantee

   Re-ride clauses vary by operator

   from

   $62

7. 7

   Tadoussac, Québec

   The Saguenay meets the St. Lawrence and stirs up food for nine species of marine mammal, including an endangered resident beluga population. Zodiacs and big boats from the same village.

   Whales

   Beluga, minke, fin, blue, humpback

   Season

   May to October

   Sighting guarantee

   No sighting guarantee; 400 m rule on belugas

   from

   $129.72

8. 8

   Victoria and Vancouver, BC

   Two kinds of orca in one sea, plus humpbacks that have come back in numbers. Boats leave from the middle of two cities, so it works as a day out rather than an expedition.

   Whales

   Orca (Bigg's and resident), humpback, minke

   Season

   March to November at Victoria, zodiacs year-round; April to October at Vancouver

   Sighting guarantee

   Free standby return tour at some operators

   from

   $134.74

9. 9

   Tenerife, Canary Islands

   Short-finned pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins hold resident populations in the protected Teno-Rasca strip off the south-west coast all year, twenty minutes from the marina. The cheapest reliable whale watching in Europe, and authorized boats fly a yellow Barco Azul flag.

   Whales

   Pilot, bottlenose dolphin, occasional Bryde's

   Season

   Year-round

   Sighting guarantee

   Rarely offered — the whales are resident

   from

   $31.43

10. 10

    Península Valdés, Argentina

    Southern right whales fill two sheltered gulfs, close enough to watch from the beach at El Doradillo, and orcas hunt sea lions in the surf at Punta Norte in a short autumn window.

    Whales

    Southern right, orca, dusky dolphin

    Season

    Mid-June to December

    Sighting guarantee

    Six permitted companies; no guarantee

    from

    $70

11. 11

    Mirissa and Trincomalee, Sri Lanka

    The continental shelf drops away close to shore, putting blue whales within reach of a small boat — and at a fraction of what a blue whale costs anywhere else. Go early and pick the operator carefully.

    Whales

    Blue, sperm, Bryde's, spinner dolphin

    Season

    South coast Nov–Apr, east coast May–Oct

    Sighting guarantee

    Rare; crowding is the real risk

    from

    $16

12. 12

    Tromsø and Skjervøy, Norway

    Orcas and humpbacks follow herring into the fjords in the polar night, which is either the most atmospheric whale watching on earth or the coldest, depending on your gear. Andenes adds year-round sperm whales.

    Whales

    Orca, humpback, fin, sperm

    Season

    Nov–Jan for orcas; Andenes year-round

    Sighting guarantee

    Weather cancellations are common

    from

    $217.95

13. 13

    Cape Cod and Stellwagen Bank

    A federally protected feeding ground an hour from Provincetown and Boston, with bubble-net feeding in good years and naturalists on most boats. The busiest whale watching in the United States.

    Whales

    Humpback, fin, minke, North Atlantic right

    Season

    May to October; some boats from April

    Sighting guarantee

    Re-ride clauses vary by operator

    from

    $85.56

14. 14

    Maui, Hawaii

    A humpback breeding ground inside a national marine sanctuary, in warm water and short seas. Boats are two hours rather than four, and the whales are doing courtship rather than feeding.

    Whales

    Humpback, spinner dolphin, pilot

    Season

    November to April

    Sighting guarantee

    Some listings say 'whales guaranteed'

    from

    $93.97

15. 15

    Juneau and Icy Strait, Alaska

    Humpbacks that feed cooperatively, orcas, glaciers and a cruise-ship schedule that makes half-day trips easy. Expensive, but the setting does a lot of the work.

    Whales

    Humpback, orca, minke

    Season

    May to September, peak June–August

    Sighting guarantee

    Wording varies; read the listing

    from

    $177.45

16. 16

    Uvita and Marino Ballena, Costa Rica

    The only place on the list where two humpback populations turn up in the same bay in different halves of the year, doubling the season. A national park fee applies on top of the boat.

    Whales

    Humpback, bottlenose and spotted dolphin

    Season

    December–April and July–November

    Sighting guarantee

    Not offered; park rules limit boats

    from

    $89.78

17. 17

    Samaná, Dominican Republic

    A protected humpback breeding bay with permitted operators, reachable as a day trip from the all-inclusive resorts. Short season, high density, strict boat rules.

    Whales

    Humpback

    Season

    Mid-January to March

    Sighting guarantee

    Ministry-authorized operators only

    from

    $2

18. 18

    San Ignacio and Magdalena Bay, Baja

    Gray whale mothers bring their calves to the skiffs in the lagoons — the only place in this atlas where the whale initiates the contact. Camps book direct, not through platforms.

    Whales

    Gray

    Season

    Mid-December to end of April

    Sighting guarantee

    None; Mexican law caps boats at four per whale

    from

    Lagoon camps book direct

19. 19

    Sydney and Jervis Bay, NSW

    The humpback highway passes the heads of a capital city, so you can watch from a headland for free or from a boat that is back before lunch. Huge numbers, short sightings.

    Whales

    Humpback, southern right, dolphins

    Season

    May to November

    Sighting guarantee

    One listing advertises a 95% guarantee

    from

    $48.32

20. 20

    Funchal, Madeira

    Sperm whales, pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins in deep water close to the harbor, in every month of the year, on cheap catamarans. The lowest effort-to-whale ratio in the Atlantic.

    Whales

    Sperm, pilot, bottlenose, Bryde's

    Season

    Year-round

    Sighting guarantee

    Varies by operator; read the listing

    from

    $39.28

The six that never close

Kaikōura, Monterey, Tenerife, Madeira, the Azores and Andenes in northern Norway share one thing: the boats sail all year. Sperm whales are year-round residents off Kaikōura, and Visit Norway says sperm whales can be seen along the Vesterålen coast in every season. Spain's environment ministry records resident pilot whale and bottlenose dolphin populations in the protected strip off south-west Tenerife, Visit Madeira calls whale watching there "a year-round activity", and Visit Azores says watching is "possible throughout the whole year". If your dates are fixed and your tolerance for disappointment is low, start here.

Best places for whale watching in California

California deserves its own answer, because it has more whale-watching ports than any other coast in this atlas and they do not all do the same thing. Monterey is the strongest overall: the canyon puts blue and humpback whales within an hour of the wharf in late summer, and gray whales pass in winter and spring. Dana Point — the first place in the Americas to be named a Whale Heritage Site by the World Cetacean Alliance — and San Diego are migration ports, cheap and short, best in the gray whale season, with blue whales off Dana Point between May and November. Santa Barbara runs to the Channel Islands, San Francisco to the Farallones, and Newport Beach, Long Beach and Santa Cruz fill in the rest of the coast with two-hour trips and year-round dolphins. The California guide compares all eight.

Best place by month

If your dates are already booked, read the ranking through the season calendar instead. In rough terms: the northern summer belongs to Iceland, Alaska, Cape Cod and the Azores; the northern winter to Hawaii, Baja, Samaná and the orcas of Norway; the southern winter and spring to Hervey Bay, Sydney, Hermanus and Península Valdés. The year-round six cover the gaps.

Best place by whale

Chasing one species narrows the list fast. Orcas: the Salish Sea, northern Norway, Península Valdés. Humpbacks: Hawaii, Hervey Bay, Alaska, Cape Cod. Blue whales: Mirissa, Monterey, the Azores. Sperm whales: Kaikōura, the Azores, Andenes. Gray whales: the Baja lagoons and the California migration. Belugas: Tadoussac and Churchill, and nowhere else on this list. Right whales: Hermanus, Valdés, Warrnambool. Minke and fin whales: Iceland, Scotland, the St. Lawrence. The field guide has the full picture for each.

What the guarantees on this list actually mean

Several of the twenty advertise something that sounds like a promise. Read them carefully. Whale Watch Kaikōura is the clearest and the most generous: "Am I guaranteed to see a whale? NO", followed by an over-90% success rate and a refund of 80% of the fare if the trip sees nothing. Most Icelandic, New England and Australian operators offer a free second trip instead, which is worth having only if you are still in town. A published "95% success rate" is a statistic, not a contract.

The rules matter as much as the guarantees, and they are not the same rules. Canadian law keeps boats 400 meters from belugas in the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park. NOAA keeps every vessel 500 yards from North Atlantic right whales and 100 yards from humpbacks in Hawaii. South Africa treats approaching a whale closer than 300 meters without a permit as harassment. The Canary Islands set 60 meters and a 30-minute limit. New South Wales sets 100 meters, or no approach at all when a calf is present. Each place page quotes the local rule and the source.

What a day actually costs

The spread on this list is wider than most people expect. A blue whale trip from Mirissa starts around $16 and a Tenerife pilot whale cruise around $32, because the boats run twenty minutes offshore and fill every seat. At the other end, a Tromsø whale safari runs past $200 and a full-day Valdés Peninsula tour past $300, because those boats travel for hours and the season is short. Iceland, Cape Cod, Hervey Bay, Hermanus and Monterey cluster in the $60 to $110 band, which is the realistic budget for a half-day trip almost anywhere.

Two costs are easy to forget. National park and marine park fees are charged separately in Costa Rica, Baja and parts of Canada, and they are paid on the day. And a long-haul place is only cheap per boat trip: the fare is a small part of what Patagonia or Sri Lanka costs you. Every place page has a ledger that adds the trip, the transfer, the fee and the parking so you can compare like with like. Prices here come from one live source and are checked regularly.

Close calls

Eight places came near the cut. Tofino in British Columbia has grays, humpbacks and Bigg's orcas over a long season but sits a long way from an airport. Reykjavík is the most convenient whale watching in Europe and lost only to Húsavík's higher strike rate on humpbacks. The Hebrides off Scotland are excellent for minkes and terrible for certainty. Puerto López in Ecuador, Île Sainte-Marie in Madagascar, Okinawa in Japan, Gansbaai in South Africa and Ningaloo in Western Australia all have a real season and a real fleet, but a shorter window or thinner coverage than the twenty above.

• AkureyriYear-round, peak May–Sep
• AlaskaMay–Sep
• Argentina & PatagoniaJun–Dec
• AzoresYear-round, peak Apr–Oct
• CaliforniaYear-round
• CanadaMar–Nov
• Canary IslandsYear-round
• Cape Cod & New EnglandApr–Oct
• Costa RicaJul–Nov & Dec–Apr
• DalvíkYear-round, peak May–Sep
• Dana PointYear-round
• Dominican RepublicMid-Jan to end of Mar
• Ecuador & GalápagosLate Jun–Sep
• HauganesYear-round, peak Jun–Aug
• HawaiiNov–Apr
• HúsavíkMar–Nov, peak Jun–Aug
• IcelandApr–Oct
• JapanJan–Apr and May–Oct
• Long BeachYear-round
• MadeiraYear-round
• Mauritius & MadagascarJul–Nov, sperm whales year-round
• Mexico & BajaDec–Apr
• MontereyYear-round
• New South WalesMay–Nov
• New ZealandYear-round
• Newport BeachYear-round
• NorwayNov–Jan (Tromsø) · year-round (Andenes)
• Pacific NorthwestApr–Oct
• Québec CityMay–Oct
• QueenslandJun–Nov
• ReykjavíkYear-round, peak Apr–Oct
• San DiegoYear-round
• San FranciscoYear-round
• Santa BarbaraYear-round
• Santa CruzYear-round
• Scotland & IrelandMay–Oct
• South AfricaJun–Nov
• Sri LankaNov–Apr south, May–Oct east
• TadoussacMay–Oct
• VancouverApr–Oct
• Victoria & South AustraliaJun–Oct
• Victoria, BCMar–Nov, zodiacs year-round
• Western AustraliaMay–Dec

Reading the list against your own trip

If you are flying specifically to see whales, take one of the top five and build the trip around the season. If whales are one day of a longer holiday, take whichever of the twenty is already on your route — Tenerife, Madeira, Sydney and Monterey all fit into an existing itinerary without a detour. And if you are not sure what is near you at all, the near-me finder sorts every port in the atlas by distance.