Celebrate World Whale Day With A Trip To One Of These Amazing Whale Watching Destinations

Splash! Whether it’s a fin slapping the water, a tail diving into the deep, a spy hop look at the scenery, or the immense mammals hurling their entire bodies out of the water, seeing a whale in the wild is magical. World Whale Day — February 20 this year — is an ideal time to plan a whale watching trip. For those who live in the U.S., Hawaii is often the go-to whale watching vacation spot, but why not put these less typical whale watching destinations on your list too?

La Paz and Loreto, Baja, Mexico

Whales are often seen off Baja’s laidback towns of La Paz and Loreto, given their location on the Sea of Cortez. The Sea of Cortez is known as the “aquarium of the world” because of its nutrient-rich waters that support 900 fish species, 2,000 invertebrate species, plus at least 33 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises. You can often spot the marine mammals from shore plus get a closer look at humpbacks, orcas, gray whales and even blue whales on a whale watching trip.

A day trip to the Pacific side of the Baja peninsula might give you an even closer encounter with gray whales. Between late December and the end of April, gray whales visit a few of Baja’s western calm bays to give birth and then get their calves ready for the long distance trip up to the Arctic. Mother and baby whales are known to swim up close to the 22-foot panga whale-watching boats for mutual admiration. If you splash your hand in the water, they’ll sometimes even float beneath you while welcoming pats on their barnacle-covered skin.

Cape Whale Route, South Africa

Several whale species can be spotted year-round off South Africa, particularly off its eastern and southern shores. Follow the Cape Whale Route for the best places to see whales from shore, especially from June through November.

The route includes the town of Hermanus, which hosts the Hermanus Whale Festival in late September and early October. Southern right whales come close to Hermanus’ shore so frequently that the town employs a Whale Crier who blows a horn (there’s an easy code to learn) so those nearby know to come for a closer look. If you’re a fan of whales’ smaller cousins, visit the Eastern Cape city of Gqeberha (formerly called Port Elizabeth) between January and June — it’s the world bottlenose dolphin capital.

Colombia’s Pacific Coast

You probably first think of Colombia for its popular tourist cities of Cartagena and Medellín, its Amazon rainforests and Caribbean beaches. But Colombia is also a prime whale watching destination.

Humpback whales come from Antarctica to birth their babies off Colombia’s Pacific coast and sightings are frequent between June and November. One of the best places is along the coast of Colombia’s new national park Uramba Bahía Málaga National Park, which also has beaches, sea and river kayaking, and jungle and cliff walks. Or take a boat to Gorgona Island — its calm waters attract whales, snorkelers and scuba divers, plus the island hosts 147 bird species. Whales also like to visit Bahía Solano, in Colombia’s Chocó department which borders Panama and has both Pacific and Caribbean beaches.

Canada

Whale watching is possible off all of Canada’s coasts, even in the middle of the country in Quebec’s St. Lawrence River and in Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba, which is home to 55,000 beluga whales. Whales are well protected in Canada with efforts underway to further protect endangered species like southern resident killer whales that spend summers in the Salish Sea near Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and North Atlantic right whales. Pick a city on a Canadian coast — it’s likely to have whale watching opportunities. The greatest chance of spotting whales is from June through September.

Chile

With its 4,000 miles of coast and 43,471 islands, there’s plenty of places to watch whales in Chile. The peak season is the southern summer and autumn, between December and May. Whale species seen in Chile include blue whales, humpbacks, minkes, sei and sperm whales. Choose from locations like the Humboldt Penguin National Reserve which is favored by humpbacks, the island of Chiloé with is also known for its UNESCO-recognized wooden churches, and the fjords of Patagonia’s Francisco Coloane Coastal and Marine Protected Area, Chile’s largest marine reserve. Chile is also a gateway to Antarctica.

Antarctica

A cruise to Antarctica provides opportunities to see whales between December and April (February and March are Antarctica’s peak whale watching months). One of the best places is Wilhelmina Bay – which some call “Whale-mina Bay” — because of the abundance of krill, humpbacks’ favorite food.

There’s a brand new way to spot whales in Antarctica: Officially launched February 16, 2022, Viking Cruises will visit Antarctica with its two new 378-passenger Viking Expeditions ships, Viking Octantis and, later this year, Viking Polaris.

You’ll be able to spot whales and other wildlife on both land and water excursions and perhaps even through your stateroom’s floor-to-ceiling windows. A welcome wind- and wave-protection innovation on Viking Expeditions ships is called The Hangar — you can board Viking’s 12-passenger exploration boats from within an interior section of the ship, instead of alongside it as with other cruise ships. Viking also provides a glimpse of underwater Antarctica aboard each ship’s two six-passenger Yellow Submarines. And you can learn more about Antarctica’s ecosystem, including its whales, when visiting scientists who work onboard in 430-square-foot laboratories. Currently, Viking has seven Antarctic itineraries that range from 13 to 19 days, as well as repositioning cruises to Antarctica from New York and from the Arctic that last more than 40 days.

Where will you see your next whale?