Whale watching

[MoyCoy]

December through March is the best time to whale watch. I was wondering if one of the months offer better chances of seeing whales compared to others. Is PV, Cano, or Mazaltan the best port for whale watching? Also when is your favorite month to cruise the Mexican Riviera,  and why?

Thanks

[CruiserBruce]

It is frequently discussed here Cabo is whale central. PV is not bad either. I am not aware of much whale activity in Mazatlan. It is frequently mentioned you don't have to even leave the ship in Cabo to see the whales, they are all around the ship at anchor.

[Mike45LC]

On our glass bottom water taxi to Los Arcos, our pilot pointed out three whales.  We did not approach them.

 

I usually do the Mex Riviera cruise in early Dec or in January.  It is just when it works out best for us.  At this time, the weather is usually perfect -- not too hot, not too humid.

 

[TMR2]

We did an amazing whale watching tour in Cabo last February and saw many whales.  I know there is a whale watching season and there are many in the area. As they told us, there in no guarantee but we saw many. We booked ours with https://cabosanlucascruiseexcursions.com/  we will definitely do this again!

[DaveOKC]

Has anyone done Holland's excursion in Puerto Vallarta that is "Whales, wild dolphins and Marietas Island snorkling"?  It is a 6.5 hour excursion and we are very interested in the whale watching portion.  We be there around January 10.

 

How was it and should we expect to see whales?

[rnr4thatsme]

Is it possible to just get off the ship in Cabo and book a whale watching excursion on site without reserving ahead? 

[CA_Cruzing]

2 hours ago, rnr4thatsme said:

Is it possible to just get off the ship in Cabo and book a whale watching excursion on site without reserving ahead? 

It’s possible but boat capacity is limited. We’re using WWC in Cabo. 

 

Consider each cruise ship is 2500-3500 people and without an advance reservation you’re taking a risk. The better rated whale watching boats will likely be all booked. 

 

You can can check to see how many cruises will be in port with you and decide from there. There are websites that will show you how many and which cruise ships will be in any port on a specific day. 

 

https://www.cruisetimetables.com/

Edited January 11, 2019 by CA_Cruzing

[TMR2]

When we go to port it was chaos with people trying to sell you stuff everywhere. I am not sure what kind of boat or tour you would get if you do it last minute. Its easier to book ahead and know that you have a good tour waiting for you and with a company with great reviews. At least for us its better

[Mike45LC]

There is a large crowd of locals trying to sell excursions to the tourists as we exit the tender dock.  You can usually book at whale watching cruise right there, even with multiple ships in port. 

 

The thing is, you will not be able to check out the reputation of the boat/skipper.  For me, that is not an issue, but for others, well, it might be a deal killer.

 

[Kartgv]

The whale watching tour we took in Cabo (sorry, don't remember the name of the tour operator and it was a number of years ago) was awful - they chased the whales, turning the boat at sharp angles and high speeds, very scary.    The problem with picking up a tour at the pier is that you can't do any research about their safety/reputation beforehand.    I'd definitely do research online and reserve before you arrive

Edited January 15, 2019 by Kartgv

[DaveOKC]

On 12/26/2018 at 10:20 AM, DaveOKC said:

Has anyone done Holland's excursion in Puerto Vallarta that is "Whales, wild dolphins and Marietas Island snorkling"?  It is a 6.5 hour excursion and we are very interested in the whale watching portion.  We be there around January 10.

 

How was it and should we expect to see whales?

To answer my own question - we just did this and it was a great tour!  Snorkling was just "OK", but the whale watching (mid-Jan) was fantastic - even saw a newborn baby and mother on the surface for about 15 minutes.  The crew was fantastic - very helpful it getting drinks, food, etc and then at the end put on a great "rock band" show for about 15 minutes.

[GTVCRUISER]

Just got back yesterday from Mexico Eurodam cruise , we saw many whales in Cabo cruising in to port

[Mike45LC]

Dave, thanks for posting your feedback.  Glad you enjoyed it.