My husband and I have had the privilege of whale watching in several places in the world. We live within an hour and a half from the Atlantic Ocean where the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center and the Virginia Marie Science Museum sponsor whale watching tours. The whale watching season runs from December to March. It is very cold in Virginia during that time and especially on the water. I would recommend that you dress in layers. The boat the Rudee Flipper has a heated cabin with a full service snack bar. The boat makes a 90 minute trip up and down the Virginia beach coast. The shoreline is always within view. I have been on this tour twice and have seen a few whales each time. The whales that we saw were mainly hump back juveniles. These are not as big as whales seen in Alaska or in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with that said it still is exciting to see a whale regardless of the size.
We have also been on whale watching excursions in Mexico and Alaska. We found that even though the whales are a protected species in Mexico the boat captains do not seem to fear breaking the maritime laws for keeping a safe distance from whales. In Cabo our captain was able to get very close to a pod of whales and a calf. While in Juneau, Alaska our boat captain took us on a hour ride out to the middle of the ocean to see a huge pod of adult whales feeding. During that trip the captain would follow a group of whales and then announced after 30 minutes that we could not pursue that particular pod whales any longer as it was against the law. Both whale watching trips in Cabo and Alaska where the best as to the frequency and size of the whales. Many of the whales provided quite a show when the made their dive to deeper water and showed us their distinctive tail.
Whale watching in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on the last day of the season!
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