Cabo Whale Watching Tours are Back!!
Here it comes again! Whales are finally back to our waters! Summer is over and holidays are close. Los Cabos is ready to receive thousands of visitor and tourists coming to enjoy its beautiful sunny winter days, warm hospitality and world famous beaches. Choosing the company that will give me the best whale watching experience can be confusing. Let’s try to make some order here..
Whales in Cabo Lucas
Every winter we are fortunate to other type of visitors as well: Humpback and Gray Whale. Whales start their annual journey up north leaving rich feeding areas looking for the safe warm waters of Baja California Sur to have their calves born.
The whales that are spotted here are usually travel in couples, trios and sometimes more. It is not unusual though to see a whale traveling by it’s own.
Whales have a magnificent “surface behavior” which you can earn and hear about from some knowledgeable crew members. Breathing, spewing,….. and the most notable and awing of all is breaching.
Breaching is when a Humpback whale springs out of the water partially or completely and then falling back with a huge splash. A grown Humpback whale can reach to 12 meters (40 feet) long and to a weight of 12 ton… this makes for a very impressive splash!!!
Humpback whale tails up
Whale Watching practice and special permit
You can find numerous boats that will be more then happy to take you out at sea to see whales. During last years, Mexican authorities has tarted to educate boat crews and giving specific permits. You can easily know if a boat hold a whale watching permit by the specific flag it holds.
When following whales, one needs to follow some basic but very important “rules of engagements” in order to not disturb the natural swim of the whales and stay far enough allow for normal and clam behavior. Some boats are equipped with hydrophone. This submerge microphone gives us the opportunity to listen to the famous whales songs under water.
Choosing the right Whale Watching Tour
From Luxury yachts, sailing yacht, to fast zodiacs and pangas, are all offering this amazing experience. There are few differences between these options that are worth considering.
Smaller boats like zodiacs and pangas, fast on flat seas with an advantage of covering larger areas in days that whales are wondering a bit further from shore. On these little boats you might suffer from very uncomfortable ride on bumpy seas, you will be asked to stay seated on the same seat for the entire experience, and service is rather limited missing shade, no bathroom on board. some companies offer bottled water.
Sailing boats offer a unique option to see whales while using only their sails which make for no engine noise thus less effect on the whales behavior. Most of the sailing charter companies in Cabo offer complete service in addition to the experience in form of bar, lunch, toilets and comfortable seating.
Luxury yacht may hold the best experience combining speed to cover distance and service to enjoy a complete day on the water. these boats usually require a higher budget of course but searching deep enough you can sure to find some good deals around.
Whale watching panga
Combined whale watching tour
Many companies offering a combined cabo snorkeling and whale watching experience and a combined sunset and whale watching cruises, during the whales season. This very popular option allow you to enjoy a complete Cabo San Lucas day adventure.
Cruise Ship Guests
Whales can easily seen form cruise-ships making their way south from Los Angeles or Sun Diego along Baja California. Take your time to look out and spot them. Bringing your own binoculars is highly recommended. Choose ones that does not magnify too much as it will be hard to stabilize your hands for a comfortable look.
Unexpected close encounter aboard a sailboat
As most tours in Cabo are hourly per-determined, make sure to contact tour operators directly to get the actual departure time, allowing an hour and a half between ships arrival to tour’s departure. Booking a private tour will also ensure a flexible departure. Another great benefit of booking directly with tour operators, is that you can enjoy seasonally discounts and generally lower fairs.
Book ahead and enjoy
Whichever boat you find best for your experience and budget, you should not miss this breathtaking experience of observing the biggest mammals on our planet. Whales season is busy, so a friendly advice: book ahead to secure your Cabo Whale Watching experience.
Comfortable and safe whale watching
