Southern Right Charters review: the Hermanus catamaran

Southern Right Charters is the small, single-boat operator working Walker Bay out of Hermanus New Harbour, and the one most first-timers end up on because the boat is a wide catamaran rather than a rigid inflatable. It has been running since 1999, it is still described on its own about page as a family business, and its whale-watching permit can be checked against a government list rather than taken on trust. Price level is upper-mid: R1,580 for an adult direct, $96.42 for the two-hour Hermanus boat trip in the GetYourGuide feed.

What the company actually is

The about page says the business started in 1999 with a ten-seat boat and a kiosk in the New Harbour, and that the kiosk grew into the present booking office — "The Whale Shack" — with outdoor seating, restrooms and a private floating jetty. It calls itself a small family-run business and states that its whale and dolphin watching permit entitles it to approach whales to 50 m.

That claim holds up. In South Africa, the Threatened or Protected Marine Species Regulations make it an offense to approach a whale within 300 m by boat or aircraft unless you hold a permit, and it is also an offense for a non-permitted operator to advertise whale watching at all. The department's list of boat-based whale watching operating permit holders names Nusa Fishing Enterprises (Pty) Ltd, trading as Southern Right Charters, with Hermanus as its area of operation and permit number BBWW407/201909. Hermanus carries three permits in total; this is one of them.

The boat, the harbor and the season

One vessel: MV Miroshca, a purpose-built catamaran. The company lists twin hulls for stability, enclosed areas out of the spray, a sun deck for the panoramic view, no fixed seating so you can move around, a surround PA so the guide can be heard everywhere, ladies' and gents' toilets, a water refill station and an LCD screen for previewing the onboard videographer's film. Its safety list goes further than most: an EPIRB, which the company says no other vessel in the area carries, enclosed life rafts, dual navigation and steering, radar and a man-overboard kit.

The Walker Bay season runs from June to the end of November, with departures at 06:30, 09:00, 12:00 and 15:00 and a 17:00 slot for private groups. Southern rights are listed June to December, humpbacks June to September, Bryde's whales all year. Outside the season the same team runs a separate West Coast humpback expedition from November to April, sold as private and small-group charters rather than scheduled sailings — a different product in a different place, so do not book one expecting the other.

What it costs and what happens if you see nothing

Direct rates from the operator's own page: R1,580 adult, R1,480 student or senior, R790 child under 12, free under three, R78,000 for the whole boat. The trip is quoted at 1.5 to 3 hours, averaging two, and the company says it does not cap the time.

The platform does not put the company in the title, but the archived listing page for the two-hour "Hermanus: Whale and Dolphin Watching Boat Trip" names the activity provider as Southern Right Charters, so that seat is this catamaran. Remember the blank-trip refund is a direct-booking rule, not a platform one:

Sighting guarantee

There is no sighting guarantee. If no cetaceans at all are encountered, Southern Right Charters offers half your money back or a free repeat trip — and only on bookings made with the company direct.

What it claims

A 99% success rate for whale and dolphin sightings, immediately followed by the line that this is nature and sightings cannot be guaranteed (southernrightcharters.co.za)

Blank trip

'we offer a 50% refund on your ticket price paid or the opportunity to join us on the next available tour, for free'

Third parties

'We cannot manage refunds and amendments for reservations made via 3rd parties' — book on a platform and the platform's terms are all you have

Bad weather

Trips are weather and sea permitting; a canceled trip becomes another date subject to availability, or a full refund

Late arrival

Check-in closes 30 minutes before departure and the booking is canceled automatically if you are not there 15 minutes before

Cancellation

Inside 24 hours, a 100% penalty for parties of 1–10; inside 7 days for parties over 10 and private charters

Read the clause on your own listing before you travel — a platform voucher is governed by the platform, not by this page.

The practical detail

The Whale Shack sits at the corner of Westcliff Drive and Stil Road in the New Harbour, a short drive below the town — not the cliff path, and not the Old Harbour. Check-in is 30 minutes before departure for the land briefing, and the reservation is canceled automatically if you have not appeared 15 minutes before the boat leaves.

Life jackets are fitted at the office and are compulsory for everyone 12 and under; the company warns that toddlers often find them uncomfortable and that they rule out a body carrier. No prams, no unaccompanied minors, no wheelchair access, and motion-sickness syrup is recommended for children. Everyone signs an indemnity at check-in, and the operator notes that refusing to sign means no trip and no refund. Dress in layers: the site's own warning is that a Hermanus spring day can be 30 °C (86 °F) or misty and cold.

Price check · GetYourGuide

Live prices, per person, checked regularly. Sorted from lowest.

Tour	Price	Duration	Rating
Cape Town: Marine Wildlife Tour from the V&A Waterfront	$53.33 Lowest	1.5 h	★ 4.7 (1,342)	Check dates
From Cape Town: Hermanus Whale Watching Full Day Tour	$72	8.5 h	★ 4.3 (45)	Check dates
Plettenberg Bay: Whale Watching Boat Cruise	$75.12	2 h	★ 4.5 (423)	Check dates
Plettenberg Bay: Whale-Watching Cruise	$75.12	2 h	★ 4.3 (82)	Check dates
From Cape Town: Whale Watching and Penguins Tour	$76.44	8 h	★ 4.2 (13)	Check dates
Cape Town: Hermanus Whale Watching and Betty's Bay Penguins	$90.14	10 h	★ 5.0 (10)	Check dates

How it compares with the neighbors

In the same harbor, Hermanus Whale Cruises runs a much bigger 87-seat vessel, is wheelchair-friendly and is cheaper per adult — the trade is crowd size and a boat you cannot roam. Along the Garden Route, Ocean Blue Adventures in Plettenberg Bay launches through the surf instead of from a quay, which is a livelier trip in a bay with fewer boats. The South Africa page sets out the coast port by port, and right whales explains why Walker Bay fills up between June and November in the first place.

Our call

The first departure of the day in September, booked direct

Calm water, a permit that allows 50 m, a stable twin hull with toilets and a guide who talks you through what you are looking at — and the blank-trip rule only works if you book with the company.

Skip it if Booking it as a Cape Town day trip if you get carsick; that is three hours on the road around a two-hour boat.

Check Hermanus dates from $94.95