10 Best Whale Watching Destinations Around The World (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Ahab pursued one. Jonah was swallowed by one. Nowadays, millions of people hop on a boat or gather on shore just to see one. Indeed, whales, those mammoth sea creatures that roam the ocean deep from the tip of South Africa to the edges of the Arctic, continue to capture our imagination and fill us with awe.

Here are ShermansTravel.com's 10 favorite whale-watching adventures around the world.

Text and captions courtesy of ShermanTravel.com, adapted from "Top 10 Whale-Watching Destinations."

 

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Cape Cod, Massachusetts

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There are such frequent whale sightings in the Atlantic waters surrounding Cape Cod, that the World Wildlife Fund named Massachusetts one of the top 10 whale-watching spots in the world. The "wow factor" here is huge, as minke, finback, and humpback whales regularly glide through the waters, and glimpses of them spouting and breaching are practically guaranteed. Indeed, many local whale-watching companies declare a 99-percent whale-spotting success rate during the peak viewing months of April to October. Some of the best whale-watching adventures leave from Provincetown on Cape Cod, like Dolphin Fleet. 

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There are such frequent whale sightings in the Atlantic waters surrounding Cape Cod, that the World Wildlife Fund named Massachusetts one of the top 10 whale-watching spots in the world. The "wow factor" here is huge, as minke, finback, and humpback whales regularly glide through the waters, and glimpses of them spouting and breaching are practically guaranteed. Indeed, many local whale-watching companies declare a 99-percent whale-spotting success rate during the peak viewing months of April to October. Some of the best whale-watching adventures leave from Provincetown on Cape Cod, like Dolphin Fleet. 

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Fine. Stunning!

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Comments

[greysells2]

09:38 AM on 04/12/2011

Churchill, Manitoba is a great spot to see hundreds of belugas up close from the shore. I believe it is a calving ground. The spectacle is seasonal and commercial pilots will often divert a plane to fly over the whales giving passengers on both sides to soo the from the air.. Polar Bears are another big hit in Churchill.

[Fi]

06:01 AM on 04/10/2011

We need to leave these creatures alone, you know.

[MCJanes]

09:21 PM on 04/10/2011

Yes, because whale-watching is clearly one of the greatest threats to marine life. They clearly hate it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsKyz52Ejdw

[butchcliff]

06:52 AM on 04/07/2011

Been whale watching Cape Cod,Brier Island,Torfino & Puerto Vallarta.
Fabulous experiences. Want to go to all of these destinations

[xxxskier]

01:46 AM on 04/07/2011

Try any NASCAR event or the Ohio State and or Texas State fairs, preferably where the corndogs are the freshest. Oh yes, and my favorite whale watching venue of all time...Wal-Mart.

[winias]

01:29 AM on 04/07/2011

We used to go on these in Cape Cod when I was a kid and was usually hit or miss but some great memories.

[henrypapillon]

11:55 PM on 04/06/2011

I don't know where Brier Island, Nova Scotia is, but when we were in Nova Scotia in 1992, all the tour books directed us to the whal-watching tours out of the town of Digby  in Nova Scotia on the Bay of Fundy. We saw a quite a bunch of them.,

[greysells2]

09:40 AM on 04/12/2011

Also on Cape Breton Island, whale watching is very popular.

[amart005]

10:43 PM on 04/06/2011

Kayaking with orcas on Orcas Island, WA is one of the highlights of my life!

[Mr-Mikey]

11:42 PM on 04/06/2011

I love taking the ferry out that way, almost always see whales swimming by the ferry.. It's breath taking. :)

[Lauren Kottwitz]

06:32 PM on 04/08/2011

Me too. I did it with the YMCA, and when we went the whales were terrifyingly close to us (of course, they swam to us, we weren't trying to crowd them) but it remains one of the coolest things I've ever experienced. On the same trip, we had beluga too, cute little (big) white whales (non-whales) less than two feet off where my hand was resting. It took everything in me to not touch it.

[chickenflu4]

10:06 PM on 04/06/2011

please hide these pictures from BP!

[julieintx]

09:53 PM on 04/06/2011

Alaska, Lynn Canal. Humpbacks and orcas out the wazoo.

[HUM-V]

09:22 PM on 04/06/2011

I have an antique whale oil lamp.

Does anybody know if I can still buy whale oil for it?

[Behind the Tweed Curtain]

09:35 PM on 04/06/2011

I could tell you where to go for some.

[henrypapillon]

11:56 PM on 04/06/2011

Japan or maybe from the natives in Alaska.

[Behind the Tweed Curtain]

09:15 PM on 04/06/2011

Tofino - "one of the most hauntingly beautiful places on Earth..." Yes, it is.

[angelv]

12:03 AM on 04/08/2011

It's the bets during low season. Stormy and fresh, few people. And spring for the shorebirds! The drive there is awesome too.

[Behind the Tweed Curtain]

09:24 AM on 04/08/2011

Back in the day, when I used to go, it was always low season - at least compared with now. You used to have to get there by logging road - Long Beach used to be one big camp ground for surfers and hippies. I'm looking forward to driving the Pacific Rim Highway, too.

[Popaluma]

08:52 PM on 04/06/2011

Then there's Australia, where whale watching around the entire coast is of immense interest, and very exciting.

Two years ago, I was lucky enough to get a sighting of Migaloo, the Great White Whale of the southern Pacific. Thankfully, he's protected by special laws while he's in Australian waters - no boat is permitted within 500 metres and planes are not permitted to fly beneath 2,000 feet.

Check out his web page at www.migaloo.com.au/ There are also some good photographs of him on the web.

We have another Great White Whale as well - Bahloo.

[Libertarian09]

08:34 PM on 04/06/2011

All I can think of seeing this is anyone who jumps on a plane to go see whales had better keep their mouth shut about concern for the environment.

[jrmarsh]

07:32 PM on 04/06/2011

Don't forget the Grey and Humpback whales in the Monterey Bay!

[Goliadkin]

06:55 PM on 04/06/2011

Maui rocks for whale watching. Just launch your kayak or paddleboard at dawn from the right beach, and after fifteen minutes of paddling, you'll see whales in every direction. Stop, rest, and be very still, and a pod might come right up to your board just to check you out. Listen carefully, and you'll hear the songs, too. Amazing.