When you think of whale watching tours, what do you picture? Are you imagining yourself on the beaches of Hawaii? Or are you floating past glaciers in Alaska? Do you want to see the playful humpback whales or the largest species on Earth, which are the blue whales? Are you in search of killer whales and belugas? A whale watching adventure is an unforgettable experience, but there are many different ports around the world to leave from and there are many different types of boats that set sail for the open waters. In this article, you will learn about some of the whale watching hotspots.

Canada has many whale watching tours in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia or New Brunswick to the east and British Columbia to the west. Twenty-two species of whales and dolphins frequent the waters of quiet Newfoundland and Labrador, although the most common are the humpback, minke, fin, beluga and killer whales. If you’re lucky, you may spot the fabled narwhal, a sei, a right or a bowhead. For more information, check out Iceberg Quest Ocean Tours, Gatheralls Puffin & Whale Watch or O’Brien’s Whale & Bird Tours.

In the West, there are many whale watching tours out of California. The great whale migration takes place all down the California coast, making whale watching in California some of the best in the world. Here you may see blue, humpback, gray, sperm and killer whales, not to mention other unique animals like Pacific white-sided dolphins, porpoises, loons, pelicans and puffins. Visit San Francisco Whale Tours, Whale Watching Southern California, Captain Dave’s Whale and Dolphin Safari, California Whale Adventures, Harbor Breeze Cruises or Monterey Whale Watching for more information.

The Eastern United States is world-renowned for their whale watching tours off the coast of Massachusetts, New York, Maine, Rhode Island and New Jersey. Here you can see humpbacks, blues, rights, seis, grays, minkes and pilot whales.

Keep in mind that the tour operator you choose should be a member of the Whale Watch Operators Association Northwest (WWOANW), which means the company adheres to the guidelines mandated by the whale watching industry.

Visit our Whale Watching Cruises site to discover the best places anywhere for whale and dolphin watching.