Whale and Dolphin Watching in Pico Island - Half Day
Recommended by 90% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Pico, Portugal
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Hop on a boat at Pico Island, starting with a briefing presentation at Rua dos Baleeiros 15, then set off with a professional crew to explore waters that teem with dolphins. The Azores archipelago is home to more than 20 different species of cetaceans, and using the local knowledge of the onboard crew, you'll increase your chances of seeing some. The experience includes a 3-hour boat tour to spot marine life.
- Book a whale and dolphin cruise online for instant confirmation
- Admire the scenery of the Pico coastline as you look for cetaceans
- Avoid any hidden costs with a trip that includes fees, taxes, and boat tour
- Soak up unobstructed views of the marine life from the boat
What's Included
- All Fees and Taxes
- 100% money-back guarantee if no cetaceans are spotted.
- Insurance
- Educational and safety Briefing
- Boat Tour (boat size depends on number of guests)
- Bottled water
- Shuttle service to meeting point
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Aqua Açores, Lda - Whale and Dolphin WhatchingAvenida Marginal - Núcleo Náutico, 9930-121 Lajes do Pico, Portugal
Our meeting point is in our shop WHALE WATCHING CENTER located at the entrance of Lajes do Pico harbor 30 minutes before the tour starts. You can find picture of our store on the gallery.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 99 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
It was amazing. The dolphins were so lovable and plentiful. We saw a blue whale . The guides were wonderful …..Paulo and Paulo . One of the Paulo had a bad cold but he still went out with us for our experience . Dedicated man. They were patient and waited for the whale to reappear or chased after the whale blow!!! The ride was exciting. I’ve never had such a fabulous and exciting time. Thank you to your team.
Heather Butterfill.
Reviews
4.6
based on 188 reviews
Sort by: Most recent
The day we were scheduled to go whale watching was a windy day with fairly big waves. I was a bit nervous about going out, not sure I would enjoy it given the conditions. But, out we went. We were given rain gear to stay dry and honestly we didn’t even get that wet. The boat and skilled captain handled the waves beautifully. I was never uncomfortable. I don’t know how they do it, but they found sperm whales and huge pods of dolphins for us to see. That was especially impressive given the waves. The dolphins were so cute playing in the waves. There were tons of babies which were very fun to watch. This company is very accommodating and professional and I highly recommend them.
The whale watch was incredibly well run. The team was knowledgeable and made sure we had a wonderful experience. We saw multiple whales and dolphins making the trip truly amazing! Thank you to the team for the white glove treatment.
Our captain and guide were great. We saw 3 different kinds of whales and several different kinds of dolphins up close! It was fun and we learned a lot too.
The weather for our trip was terrible with poor visibility. The guide set our expectations and even gave us the opportunity to reschedule or get a refund. We decided to go for it and still saw a whale and her calf, as well as very rare beaked whales and dolphins. So pleased we decided to go for it and would recommend.
This was an underwhelming experience. We saw some whale fins and a dolphin . However, these animals are shy and don’t jump, like whales do in Argentina or dolphins in Costa Rica. The tend to take a shallow dive and go away. Do you only see their fins. The boat moves a lot in the open Atlantic, so several people got sea sickness, one of them constantly vomiting. The company was serious and the guide was knowledgeable. They did change the date of our excursion citing rough sea conditions on our original date, but the guide then mentioned whale sightings on that day, which made me question whether it had just been an excuse. The best part was the scenic drive from Madalena to Lajes. I would not recommend recommend this activity if you’ve already seen whales or dolphins before.
An unforgettable whale watching experience! The excellent Aqua Azores team organized a fantastic excursion: in three hours, we saw three species of dolphins swimming in huge pods, and two species of whales – sperm whales and humpback whales.
Absolutely great experience. Our guides were intent on making sure we saw wildlife! We saw two types of dolphins, a tuna run, and two types whales. Masterful handling of the boat and great knowledge of the environment. (Remember to stand when you hit those waves:). ) Raingear and life jackets provided. All perfect.
We had an awesome experience. The were at least a 1000 dolphin around the boat and following the waves. This is once in a lifetime experience.
Great experience. The views are amazing and we saw dolphins and sperm whales. The ride on the Zodiac boat was a little rougher than I expected but I enjoyed it.
It was amazing. The dolphins were so lovable and plentiful. We saw a blue whale . The guides were wonderful …..Paulo and Paulo . One of the Paulo had a bad cold but he still went out with us for our experience . Dedicated man. They were patient and waited for the whale to reappear or chased after the whale blow!!! The ride was exciting. I’ve never had such a fabulous and exciting time. Thank you to your team.
Heather Butterfill.
Wonderful afternoon whale and dolphin watching. We really enjoyed the whole trip, from the welcome briefing to the exhilarating rib ride and the welcome brew on our return. The crew were very professional and we felt safe even going at high speeds when the whale and dolphins were spotted, our boat always got there first! We saw a large pod of Common dolphins who played to the audience keeping us all amused, a family of Risso’s dolphins and a Humpback Whale which we watched surface three times……..amazing!
The boat tour was a really great adventure and we spotted some nice dolphins of 3 different species. I would say that the duration of 3 hours was rather long, with long periods without spotting animals, it was a bit tiring. But I guess that depends on the day. Would definitely recommend.
We went at the beginning of September and saw 4 different types of dolphins! Boat captain and guide were knowledgable and friendly.
Nice experience on the fast boat, we saw several whales and dolphins.
The whales where located via under water noise detection. Whithout disturbing there way of life we saw them very good aspirating and diving.
Dolphins jumped more than 1m above sea level, we saw about hjndred dolphins that afternoon. Worth the money!
The weather was good, the ocean was still Saw 5 different species, dolphins were all around us. Even gave us a certificate with pictures of the species we saw during our trip. Very nice and polite people. The only drawback was the safety precautions, as the life vests were considered optional to wear while out in the ocean, and we were assured that they have them on board in case of an emergency, so no one actually had them on.
The whale watching was great. The guide was well informed and gave us a lot of knowledge in the pre-trip briefing. We were able to see sperm whales, dolphins, a turtle, and lots of birds. The only reason I am not giving a higher score is that there was no safety equipment provided. You are in a zodiac boat and travelling at a decent speed throughout the day. There were other tour boats around and all their passengers were given life vests. This company did not provide them to the guests.
Had a wonderful day. Guides were knowledgeable and ready to answer questions.
Fortunately we had perfect weather and saw 5 whales and large pod of dolphins.
Enjoyed the whales, the scenery and the education 🐳 excellent captain and tour guide. Fun Gun Fun!!!
Great experience, although a bit "wet" due to wind and waves. We managed to see two different species of dolphins and one false killer whale. Unfortunately we didn't see any sperm whale :( the staff was very nice and helpful
Great crew and saw whales and played with dolphins that followed the boat. small boat that allowed easy viewing. Very good info. Not much of a briefing beforehand.
This whale watching tour went against quite a lot of the ethos of "observe, but do not interfere". We started our tour by seeing 2 dolphin pods, but the guides ended up steering us right to the middle of the pod and seemed to run over more than a few dolphins even while the motor was running. Afterwards, we started to look for whales. Our group managed to find one, but 3 other tours along with our boat ended up stalking the poor animal for 15 minutes at least. I don't know about the wahle, but being constantly chased and hearing multiple motors would annoy me greatly if I were the whale. It really did not feel like an ethical experience since we seemed to be interfering with normal animal behavior rather than being respectful observers. Unfortunately, it seems that many of the tour companies operate in a similar manner since we saw at least 3 others doing the same things.
Our tour group ended up also being combined with a different group that might have been a sister company? My traveling party ended up being split up from each other on the boat. Furthermore, you are definitely exposed to the elements on this boat. We did know that going in and the company did provide us with some rain gear (albeit poorly fitting), but everything still ended up wet or damp due to the waves the boat cut through. Just something to be cognizant of, particularly if you plan to bring any electronics (eg: camera, phone, etc).
Positive: we saw whales and dolphins. Staff was friendly.
Negative: be prepared to straddle your seat for 3 hours. Passengers sit close together. It can be hot on the water so bring liquids to drink. The company
does not provide water. Bring lots of patience, as you will have long periods of waiting for a sighting. I wouldn’t recommend this for children under 10. Seasickness and long sitting times.
A lot of various sea animals with a good explanation of the staff . Also the explanation of the different dolfins was clear
The check in and debrief processes were smooth and informative. We tracked a pod of Atlantic Spotted dolphins and enjoyed every minute. While no whale sightings, it was a nice way to view the interesting coast /Mt Pico and surroundings.
Fast boats took us to watch whales and dolphins with the fantastic landscape of Pico island around us! Great experience!
Very good, professional explanations and commentary during the observation of the different species of whales by a knowledgeable biologist -Top!
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Excellent organization and super professionalism. Beautiful trip, we saw many sperm whales and even some dolphins.
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The Waltour was nice, we got an introduction beforehand which whales and dolphins we can see and at the end again which we saw.
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Sem dúvida a observação e a proximidade dos golfinhos é um momento único. Extraordinário. A viagem vale a pena e recomendo.
Das Whalewatching war super organisiert. Wir hatten eine tolle Begleiterin und einen super Fahrer, die mit großer Leidenschaft, aber auch mit höchstem Respekt und Sorgsamkeit den Tieren gegenüber die Tour geleitet haben. Wir hatten besonders viel Glück und haben viele Delfine (u.a. einen riesigen Schwarm mit vielen Babys und Jungtieren) und unterschiedliche Wale gesehen - der Höhepunkt war am Schluss eine Gruppe von vier Walen, die direkt neben unserem Boot ihre Mäuler aus dem Wasser gestreckt haben - wohl auch für die Guides ein seltenes Erlebnis.
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per personWas $75.15(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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