Madeira

Cetacean species: bottlenose dolphin, Bryde's whale.
Best time to go: year-round for resident bottlenose dolphins and short-finned pilot whales; April to September for a changing cast of migratory species.

Whale watching operator: VIP Dolphins

Bottlenose dolphins,
Madeira

Strait of Gibraltar (from Gibraltar)

Cetacean species: common dolphin.

Other wildlife seen: Barbary macaque.

Best time to go: May to October.

Whale-watching operator: Dolphin Adventure

Aeolian Islands, Italy

Cetacean species: striped dolphin.

Best time to go: June to September.
Whale-watching operator: seen from the Milazzo (Sicily) to Lipari ferry.

Fuerteventura, The Canaries

Cetacean species: Risso's dolphin.

Whale watching operator: ICENAi

Celtic Sea (from Ireland)

Cetacean species: common dolphin, minke whale.

Other wildlife seen: grey seal.

Best time to go: August to November for these two species.
Whale watching operator: Whale Watch West Cork

Common dolphin,
Celtic Sea

Nosy Be, Madagascar

Cetacean species: spinner dolphin, humpback whale, Omura's whale.
Other wildlife seen: whale shark, reef manta ray, green turtle.
Best time to go: October to November.
Whale watching operator: Les Baleines Rand'eau

Omura's whale,
off Nosy Be

North Sea (from England)

Cetacean species: harbour porpoise.
Other wildlife seen: grey seal.
Best time to go: August to September.
Whale-watching operator: Whitby Coastal Cruises

Weligama Bay, Sri Lanka

Cetacean species: blue whale.
Best time to go: November to April.
Whale-watching operator: Mirissa Water Sports

Blue whale,
Weligama Bay

 

Walker Bay, South Africa

Cetacean species: Southern right whale.
Other wildlife seen: Cape rock hyrax, African penguin.
Best time to go: July to November.
Whale-watching operator: Southern Right Charters



Southern right whale,
Walker Bay

North Sea (from England)

Cetacean species: white-beaked dolphin.
Other wildlife seen: grey seal.
Best time to go: July to September.
Whale-watching operator: Farne Island Boat Trips
For more photographs go to Elusive Dolphins

White-beaked dolphin,
North Sea

Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Cetacean species: bottlenose dolphin.
Other wildlife seen: whale shark, giant manta ray.
Best time to go: July (I was in Mexico to snorkel with the whale sharks which are only there for a few weeks, but the bottlenose dolphins are presumably resident).

Faial Island, The Azores

Cetacean species: sperm whale, common dolphin, Atlantic spotted dolphin, humpback whale, fin whale, Risso's dolphin, short-finned pilot whale, false killer whale, sei whale, bottlenose dolphin.
Other wildlife seen: loggerhead turtle.
Best time to go: June to September for resident sperm whales and dolphins; April to May for migratory rorqual whales.
Whale-watching operator: Whale Watch Azores
For more photographs go to Whales & Dolphins of the Azores

Common dolphin,
Faial Island





Sperm whale,
Faial Island

 

Chanonry Point, Scotland

Cetacean species: bottlenose dolphin.
Best time to go: May to September.
Whale-watching operator: not required! Just stand on the beach at Chanonry Point
For more photographs go to North of the Border

Bottlenose dolphin,
Chanonry Point

Vancouver Island, Canada

nullCetacean species: grey whale, orca, Pacific white-sided dolphin, harbour porpoise.
Other wildlife seen: harbour seal, brown bear, black bear, sea otter, North American river otter, Steller's sea lion.
Best time to go: April to September.
Whale-watching operators: Remote Passages and Campbell River Whale Watching
For more photographs go to Vancouver: Island and city

Orca,
Vancouver Island

Grey whale,
Vancouver Island

Disko Bay, Greenland

Cetacean species: bowhead whale, minke whale.
Other wildlife seen: harp seal.
Best time to go: May to June.
For more photographs go to Bowheads and Icebergs

Bowhead whales,
Disko Bay

Strait of Gibraltar (from Spain)

Cetacean species: striped dolphin, common dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, orca, long-finned pilot whale.
Best time to go: July to August.
Whale-watching operator: Turmares Tarifa
For more photographs go to Spanish Dolphins

Striped dolphin,
Strait of Gibraltar

Bottlenose dolphin,
Strait of Gibraltar

Nova Scotia (south shore), Canada

Cetacean species: fin whale.
Other wildlife seen: harbour seal, grey seal.
Best time to go: July to September.
Note: tours leaving from the Bay of Fundy side of Nova Scotia would be more productive - I was in Canada as a conservation volunteer rather than as a tourist on this occasion.

Loch Gairloch and The Minch, Scotland

Cetacean species: harbour porpoise.
Other wildlife seen: grey seal.
Best time to go: June to September.
Whale-watching operator: Hebridean Whale Cruises

Moray Firth, Scotland

Cetacean species: common dolphin (rare at this location), bottlenose dolphin.
Best time to go: May to September.
Whale-watching operator: Ecoventures

Common dolphin,
Moray Firth

Dominica

Cetacean species: sperm whale, pantropical spotted dolphin, bottlenose dolphin.
Best time to go: December to April.
Whale-watching operator: Anchorage Hotel, Whale Watch & Dive Centre
For more photographs go to Whales & Dolphins of the Caribbean

Sperm whale,
Dominica

Bimini Islands, The Bahamas

Cetacean species: Atlantic spotted dolphin, bottlenose dolphin.
Other wildlife seen: nurse shark.
Best time to go: May to October.
For more photographs go to Whales & Dolphins of the Caribbean

Atlantic spotted dolphins,
Bimini Islands

Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Cetacean species: humpback whale, fin whale, minke whale, Atlantic white-sided dolphin, long-finned pilot whale.
Other wildlife seen: ocean sunfish.
Best time to go: May to September.
Whale-watching operator: Captain John Whale Watching
For more photographs go to Restaurant for Whales

Long-finned pilot whales,
Cape Cod

Laguna Ojo de Liebre, Mexico

Cetacean species: grey whale, bottlenose dolphin.
Other wildlife seen: California sea lion, brown pelican, osprey.
Best time to go: January to March.
For more photographs go to Giant Giants in Mexico

Baby grey whale,
Laguna Ojo de Liebre

Monterey Bay, California

Cetacean species: orca, humpback whale, blue whale, fin whale, Pacific white-sided dolphin, Northern rightwhale dolphin, Dall's porpoise, Risso's dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, harbour porpoise.
Other wildlife seen: sea otter, harbour seal, Northern elephant seal, California sea lion, ocean sunfish.
Best time to go: July to September for blue whales. January to March for grey whales.
Whale-watching operator: Monterey Bay Whale Watch
For more photographs go to Marine Mammals of Monterey Bay


Orca,
Monterey Bay

Tysfjord, Norway

Cetacean species: orca.
Best time to go: was October to December, but orca sightings in Tysfjord are now much less frequent.
For more photographs go to Mammals of the Arctic

Orca,
Tysfjord

Cardigan Bay, Wales

Cetacean species: bottlenose dolphin, harbour porpoise.
Best time to go: May to September.
Whale-watching operator: Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre

Saldanha Bay, South Africa

Cetacean species: Southern right whale, Heaviside's dolphin.
Other wildlife seen: Cape fur seal, Cape porcupine, Cape rock hyrax, springbok, yellow mongoose, African penguin.
Best time to go: July to November.
Note: the usual tourist 'hot spots' are Lambert's Bay and Hermanus, to the North and South of Saldanha respectively - I was in South Africa as a conservation volunteer rather than as a tourist.
For more photographs go to Gill Sinclair's Wildlife Blog

Southern right whale,
Saldanha Bay

Snaefellsnes Peninsula, Iceland

Cetacean species: blue whale, minke whale, humpback whale, orca, white-beaked dolphin, harbour porpoise.
Best time to go: June to August.
For more photographs go to Land of Ice, Hot Water and Whales

Humpback whale,
Snaefellsnes Peninsula

Strait of Gibraltar (from Gibraltar)

Cetacean species: common dolphin, striped dolphin.
Other wildlife seen: Barbary macaque.
Best time to go: May to October.
Whale-watching operator: The Original Dolphin Safari

Isle of Mull, Scotland

Cetacean species: harbour porpoise. Also good for minke whales if the weather is favourable (which it unfortunately wasn't!).
Other wildlife seen: harbour seal, European otter, red deer, Atlantic puffin.
Best time to go: May to September.
Whale-watching operator: Sea Life Surveys

Bay of Fundy, Canada

Cetacean species: Northern right whale, humpback whale, harbour porpoise.
Other wildlife seen: North American beaver, Eastern grey squirrel.
Best time to go: July to September.
For more photographs go to Wildlife of Canada's Maritimes



Northern right whale,
Bay of Fundy