When can we go Whale Watching? FAQs

Gray Whales                    February - June

Every year, they travel back and forth between their feeding grounds in the arctic and their subtropical mating grounds. From November to February they pass California on the way south to Baja and again from February to June (April mostly) on their way back north – together with their calves, which is why they stay closer to the coast then.

Blue Whales                    May - December

The blue whale is the biggest animal to ever have lived, an average blue whale reaches a length of 85 feet, the longest even 108 feet. That equals three casually lined up school busses. Typically the best times are between May-December, with most activity occurring in June-September.

Fin Whales                      January - March

Fin whales are second largest whale after the Blue Whale, and can be seen January through March.  A finback is also a great whale to train your whale watching abilities as they swim at high speed in a rather unpredictable zig-zag-pattern. His top speed is up to 47 km/h, which earned him the nickname: “Greyhound of the Seas”.

Humpback Whales          April - October

Humpbacks are probably the most popular whales among whale watchers. One reason is that their annual migration routes are well known. That means they can be quite reliably met at a certain place at a certain time. An even bigger reason is that humpbacks are great acrobats, fantastic singers and impressive hunters.

Minke Whales                  July – October

Minke whales are the smallest and most common great whales, and they are very playful and curious. They often come very close to the boats and accompany them for some time. They also like to appear totally randomly – and disappear again that way.

Orcas                               April – June

Orcas live closely together in families that stay together in pods: children, grandkids, grandparents, aunts.  We have been fortunate to encounter a local pod off shore that did include 2 babies, in November!