Whale and dolphin watching · All year round
Whale watching: the best places and the season for each
Whales travel thousands of kilometres between the seas where they feed and the warm seas where they breed, and each place has its season: humpbacks in the Caribbean in winter, right whales in the southern hemisphere from June to November, orcas in the Norwegian fjords during the polar night. In the Canary Islands you can see cetaceans all year round.
Updated 21 October 2026 · How we make our guides
In Spain, all year or almost
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SpainLos Gigantes
Below the cliffs, in the channel between Tenerife and La Gomera, a population of short-finned pilot whales lives all year round, and bottlenose dolphins are easy to spot. It’s a protected marine area.
All year round
Things to do in Los Gigantes -
SpainLa Gomera
Dolphins and pilot whales in the same channel, with trips from Valle Gran Rey and San Sebastián de La Gomera.
All year round
Things to do in La Gomera -
SpainTarifa
In the Strait of Gibraltar, pilot whales all year, sperm whales in spring and summer and, in July and August, orcas following the tuna.
April to October
Things to do in Tarifa
In winter
Humpbacks head down to warm seas to give birth, and in northern Norway orcas chase the herring shoals.
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Dominican RepublicSamaná
Thousands of humpback whales come to Samaná Bay to mate and give birth, and you can see them breaching from the boats.
January to March
Things to do in Samaná -
MexicoPuerto Vallarta
Humpbacks spend the winter in Banderas Bay, the same bay the city sits on.
December to March
Things to do in Puerto Vallarta -
Sri LankaMirissa
One of the best places in the world to see the blue whale, the largest animal that has ever lived.
December to April
Things to do in Mirissa -
NorwayTromsø
Orcas and humpbacks in the fjords north of the city, around Skjervøy, in the middle of the polar night.
November to January
Things to do in Tromsø -
Cape VerdeBoa Vista
North Atlantic humpbacks come to breed off the island.
March to May
Things to do in Boa Vista
In spring and summer
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PortugalAzores
Sperm whales all year round and, in spring, blue, fin and sei whales passing on their way north. Some still spot them from the old whaling lookouts.
April to October
Things to do in Azores -
IcelandHúsavík
Europe’s whale-watching capital: humpbacks and minke whales in Skjálfandi Bay and, with luck, a blue whale.
May to September
Things to do in Húsavík -
CanadaVictoria
Orcas and humpbacks among the islands of the Salish Sea, from the southern tip of Vancouver Island.
May to October
Things to do in Victoria -
AustraliaFraser Island
In Hervey Bay, off the island, humpbacks rest with their calves on their way south.
July to October
Things to do in Fraser Island
In the southern hemisphere, from June to November
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South AfricaHermanus
One of the best places in the world to see whales from land: southern right whales come close to the cliffs, and a whale crier announces when they’re there.
June to November
Things to do in Hermanus -
ArgentinaPuerto Madryn
The gateway to the Valdés Peninsula, a World Heritage Site, where right whales breed a few metres from the shore.
June to December
Things to do in Puerto Madryn
Frequently asked questions
Where can you see whales in Spain?
In the Canary Islands, all year round, especially in the channel between southern Tenerife and La Gomera, home to a population of pilot whales; and in the Strait of Gibraltar, from Tarifa, with pilot whales all year, sperm whales in spring and summer and orcas in July and August.
What is the best time for whale watching?
It depends on the place: in the Caribbean and on Mexico’s Pacific coast, December to March; in Iceland and the Azores, spring to autumn; in South Africa and Argentina, June to November; and in the Canary Islands, all year round.
How do you choose a whale-watching trip?
With licensed companies that respect distances and time limits with the animals: in the Canary Islands, for example, authorised boats fly the Barco Azul flag. Trips depend on the sea, so leave some slack in your plans in case one is cancelled.
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Cover photo: Giles Laurent (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons.