Hermanus Whale Watching Day Trip from Cape Town

Cape Town, South Africa

9 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
Pickup offered
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Visit pretty Hermanus for a rare chance to go whale watching from the shore. Southern Right Whales breed in the waters off of Hermanus, not far from Cape Town, every year from July through November. The town is uniquely positioned to offer some of the best land-based whale watching viewing locations in the world, and you can also choose to go out on a boat for more adventure (own expense). Afterward, stop at a local winery for a tasting.

Whale watching day trip from Cape Town
See Southern Right Whales from land
Explore the coastal town of Hermanus
Take the spectacular coastal road back to Cape Town
Stop for an informal wine tasting

What's Included

Hotel pickup and drop off from Cape Town City Centre Hotels
Professional English speaking tour guide
1 x Wine tasting

Food and drinks, unless specified
Gratuities
Boat based whale experience (subject to availability)

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

Should your Hotel not be listed, please contact us so we can confirm if we would be able to pick up and drop off from your hotel. Should guests meet at the starting point, guests are to contact us 24 hours prior to departure in order ffor us to provide collection time.

Meeting point

Southern Sun Waterfront Cape Town
1 Lower Buitengracht, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Arranged start time

Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.

07/01/2026 - 10/31/2026
Wednesday : 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM
Friday : 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM
Sunday : 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM
11/01/2026 - 10/31/2027
Wednesday : 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM
Friday : 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM
Sunday : 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM

Itinerary

Coastal Hermanus is famous for its whale watching. There are several points in town where you can get great views of whales from the shore.

Southern Right Whales spend the months of July-November in the water off the coast of Hermanus to breed, giving visitors plenty of chances to see whales up close. Seals and dolphins are also abundant in the area.

Enjoy free time to explore Hermanus, browsing in local art galleries and independent shops or grabbing a bite of lunch (own expense). You can also opt for a more in-depth sea-going adventure by booking a boat ride for another whale-watching angle (own expense).

After leaving Hermanus, stop at a nearby winery for a wine tasting session before climbing back into the vehicle for the return trip to Cape Town. Travel along the dramatic coastal road past False Bay, and, time permitting, stop at Stoney Point to see some of the resident African penguins. Keep an eye on the water as you drive—you never know when you’ll see yet another whale.

Bouchard Finlayson Winery

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

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
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
A minimum of 2 adults per booking is required
Seasonal: the tour runs from July - November only

Tour Departs Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays only
Wine Estate is closed on Sundays. A stop at Stoney Point penguin colony will be included instead on Sundays.
If guests are making their own way to a listed pick-up point, they need to allow sufficient travelling time (ie... traffic delays etc...) in order to arrive at the pickup point in time for collection.
Should guests not arrive by the scheduled departure time, the tour will depart and no refunds will be given.
It is compulsory that guests contact us 48 hours prior to tour departure to re-confirm pick up and drop off details. Should clients not make contact with us by 48 hours prior to travel date, the booking will automatically be cancelled.
It is compulsory that guests contact us 48 hours prior to tour departure to re-confirm that they will still be travelling on the tour. Should clients not make contact with us by 48 hours prior to travel date, the booking will automatically be cancelled.
When more than one person is travelling – we require names and last names of all guests travelling (reason being if tour booking is made with one person and the hotel reservation is made under another, we will be informed by the hotel that there ais nobody by that name at the hotel which will result in delays and could cause the guests to miss the tour).
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Featured review

dianemeyers

Our tour guide, Armoy Olivier, was absolutely fabulous. He talked with the locals about best places to see the whales and made sure we had a wonderful day. I recommend you contact him about any trip you want to take.

Reviews

3.6

based on 29 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Hermanus Whales tour

Solange_A, Oct 2023

The tour was amazing and the guide as well but when I booked the tour it said it was with a wine tasting and ticket entry as well and the day of the tour we didn’t do it and the guide was not told that was the tour we booked.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Good Afternoon Thank you for your feedback received. We are so sorry that you were disappointed with your Full day Hermanus Tour. We will pass on your feedback onto management.

A great experience

Rachel_N, Sep 2023

Hermanus and the whale watching were amazing definitely worth doing. It would have been nice to have a little more time in Hermanus itself as the addition of the boat trip meant that we struggled for time. Jean our guide was great and made a booking for lunch in a lovely restaurant.

Response from Host, Sep 2023

Good Morning Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback. We are pleased to hear you had an amazing day.

Great Tour Guide!

dianemeyers, Jul 2023

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Good Afternoon Thank you for taking the time and providing us with your feedback. We are thrilled to hear you enjoyed your Hermanus Tour with the Guide Armoy.

Disappointing

Dana_F, Oct 2019

We had a driver rather than a guide. He did the minimal effort to explain and even mentioned “I appreciate you talking among yourselves”

Response from Host, Oct 2019

Hi there, Thank you for taking the time and provide us with your feedback. We are very disappointed to learn of your experience with the guide. We are investigating the matter and will take the required remedial action. We apologize for the less than satisfactory experience.

Awesome day out with the whales!

852jacquelyns, Nov 2018

A full day tour that brought us to many scenic places along the coast, with a 2hour boat ride out to catch the whales basking in the sun, followed by a yummy lunch in a quaint village. A perfect day!

I booked the Full day whale watching...

James L, Oct 2016

I booked the Full day whale watching in Hermanus trip from Cape Town. Not up to the usual Viator standards, by far. The tour as advertised in the UK is not what we got. We were not taken to the cliff top walk we were given restricted time in the town, which had to include lunch we did visit / tour an industrial estate we were taken to a hill top overlooking the town, but miles from the coastal pass. To see the whales, we had to take the boat trip, which was expensive, and many Japanese tourists found it much too rough. There was no time to visit the penguins, or the Nature Reserve, or the botanical Gardens but time was made to visit a winery. Conclusions - The whales were an exciting experience, but I would not recommend this particular trip to anyone.

The trip was very beautiful, passing...

Priyank K, Aug 2016

The trip was very beautiful, passing through amazing landscapes. The guide Rodney was knowledgeable, though not a very good listener. Nevertheless, he made sure we got the best spots for each activity. We saw Whales and Penguins. Wine tasting was also done, though in short.

It was disappointing. We didnt feel...

monica.corzo, Oct 2015

It was disappointing. We didnt feel the guide wanted to make a nice trip like I felt with other guides in South Africa. We spent only 10min in Hermanus, they guide wanted to do only a drive through!! and the town was nice enough to have been there more time. The boat was too expensive for its real duration and we were not informed about it, we felt the guide was more interested on her commission instead of informing properly the boat was 700ZAR, around 50, it was almost 2 hours but more than 1h was spent going to the whales, and after the boat we lost 1h in the harbor that could have been spent in Hermanus. Also, we didnt do the wine tasting, she said it was closed! We were given a bottle of wine, we didnt want a free bottle of wine, we wanted the experience of knowing more about South African wines! Hermanus is a nice place, the tour was not a nice experience.

A fantastic trip, a great...

Christine P, Nov 2014

A fantastic trip, a great driver/guide who was informative and amusing. Wonderful scenery, I managed to go out on a boat and had super views of the whales. Probably one of the best day trips I've done.

Tour was over all great, only...

Hannah H, Nov 2014

Tour was over all great, only irritant was that the boat was mega crowded and it made it hard to get a good viewing spot.

Great day out and great guide. We...

Mark H, Nov 2014

Great day out and great guide. We skipped the whale boat trip but the view from the cliffs was amazing and the guide kindly lent us his binoculars.

we had perfect weather and the guide...

annllewwil, Oct 2014

we had perfect weather and the guide found several places to veiw whales, with a calf learning to flip its tail too.beautiful place to visit and stay,.

Tour along the southernmost coast of...

C S, Sep 2014

Tour along the southernmost coast of (south) Africa. Watching pinguins and whales and lovely little towns.

It was a very nice tour but it...

Maria_M, Nov 2013

It was a very nice tour but it wouldn't be without the boat trip. From the coast at this time of the year you can't see any whales, but from the boat we saw whales,seals and man many dolphins and it was great!

Our small group was transported from...

Lisa A, Nov 2013

Our small group was transported from Cape Town to Hermanus via a beautiful and sceanic drive. Our guide offered interesting narrative and stopped sufficiently for pictures and other essential matters. Hermanus is a pretty little town where the whales can be viewed from the city while you stroll along the shops or by boat. Definitely a change of pace from other Cape Town tours. You will not want to miss this!

Although it was the end of the whale...

Gary I, Dec 2012

Although it was the end of the whale season our giude managed to lead us to two sitings. The trip was enjoyable, the guide was great, and the views were breathtaking.

Splendid excursion, beautiful places...

Fiore L, Dec 2011

Splendid excursion, beautiful places personal kind and efficente

It was an interesting but the stay...

José T, Nov 2011

It was an interesting but the stay in Hermanus ,where watching the whales by boat couldn't take place because of strong winds, was a bit too long

I was dissapointed. I know that...

Frank M, Oct 2011

I was dissapointed. I know that there is no guarantee you will see whales, but the tour took us to see penguins, wine tasting and left us at the Hermanus town for 3 1/2 hours. Also they told us that we had an option to pay about $90 extra to go on a boat to see the whales. The tour is very misleading because they do not tell you about the extra charges if you want to go a boat.

The trip was nice but we could not...

Debadatta P, Sep 2011

The trip was nice but we could not see any whale. Since the trip is based in whale watching, without this it was not worth. I feel that the boat ride to see whales should be included in the trip so that even if the cost will go up, there will be no frustration. Our guide was excellent. He tried his best with several moves but it was just our luck.

Our Guide (cannot remember name) was...

Bhanu, Sep 2011

Our Guide (cannot remember name) was a Hermanus local and had a great sense of humour which kept us entertained during the drive. We did have some stops along the route where we made use of photo oppurtunities. We stopped at Betty's Point stoney bay where we saw lots of penguins. We were at Hermanus late morning and then we spent a lot of time in whale watching from the cliffs. There were quite a few whales there. Chris did suggest us to go for a boat ride which gets us much closer to the wheels but we did not go for that. I would suggest add this part on your website so that tourists are aware of the "whale watching by boat" option at time of booking itself. We never saw any Whale Crier during the many hours we spent on the Hermanus cliff. The place is beautiful and we saw many with telephoto lens going for the photos. We were also not sure why kids are being charged adult prices when the only thing done is pick and drop services till Hermanus.

The drive was lovely and our guide very...

Heather K, Nov 2009

The drive was lovely and our guide very friendly, however, to do the boat tour you had to pay extra and lunch was not included. For a full day of whale watching, both should have been included and would have made for a much better experience as we only saw whales from pretty far away. The drive was really lovely though and the penguin stop was really cool too.

Hermanus whale watching was top-class...

KEITH V, Oct 2009

Hermanus whale watching was top-class. Definitely worth doing.

Beautiful scenic drives through various...

Marie-Dominique T, Aug 2009

Beautiful scenic drives through various towns with a bit of history infused makes the drive pleasant, and maybe it could have been more so, without a tour guide that makes comments about formerly white neighborhoods becoming mixed and the blacks-colored who move there living just like them when they move in as though they weren't expected to, the neighborhood near district 6 not being too good "if youre a "whitie", about being thrown off a black bus in Joburg, about the "bushmen Koikoi or whatever we have to call them now", "not knowing what to do with the blacks from the townships" that came from the eastern cape because "there were no blacks in the western cape" before they were brought in to work I dont know what the guide thinks the koisan are, them getting things for free and not wanting to pay for anything such as electricity, about Jews and them not being happy unless they can tell their sad stories, a particular group of people being racists, but that "unfortunately like most people who get things done they usually are", constant references to "the new South Africa", with intermittent infusions of "My colored friends" to somehow try to make all the above resonate differently. He said "make sure not to call a black person a Kafir and a colored person a Hottentot because if they have a witness you can get a huge fine" , etc not because it wrong. I got a bonus added to the tour as a person of color. Insight into what some people probably dont utter out loud or may share with friends who look like them or their families when people who look like me arent around.

The tour guide was very knowledgeable...

Santanu S, Nov 2008

The tour guide was very knowledgeable and experienced. The portion of the tour which he controlled was well executed. Unfortunately, the whale-watching cruise company seemed as if they were amateurs or worse. The 2-hour cruise extended to 2.5 hours, requiring me to miss lunch. The boat would not have passed US regulations because everyone in the rear was inhaling carbon monoxide from the engine exhaust.

We did have a great day. The guide was...

Elaine J, Nov 2008

We did have a great day. The guide was really good and so helpful and knowledgeable and the driver was so friendly. The only thing I want to say is that I could have done without the extra hour taken at the wine tasting. There were other wine trips people could book if that was their choice but I had chosen to spend time watching whales for maybe the only time in my life. We only had just over one and a half hours at Hermanus and some of that time we needed to find some food. I just think that a Whale watching trip should be just that especially as the wine detour was not even included in the itinerary, bit naughty really.

Amazing experience, was lucky to go...

Christine J, Oct 2008

Amazing experience, was lucky to go when the whale festival was on. The driver gave us interesting facts as we travelled to Hermanus which made it all the more interesting.

Heel goed

Rinke_E, Sep 2019

Wat er werd geboden hadden we niet verwacht. De gids wist heelveel en legde het goed uit met de nodige grappen er tussen door, dat de bottocht niet doorging was wel jammer maar de natuur kun je niet dwingen, daar tegen over was de uitstap bij Hermanus perfect toch walvissen kunnen spotten, ook de stop bij een wijnfarm met een wijn proferij er bij was perfect. bijdeze nog maals bedankt

Response from Host, Sep 2019

Hi There Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback. We are pleased that you enjoyed the excursion.

Guide hat viel erzählt aber die...

Bastian L, Nov 2013

Guide hat viel erzählt aber die Möglichkeiten der Weintour bzw. Pinguinesichtung waren nicht gegeben. Preis-Leistung passen nicht wirklich zusammen. Die Tour kann auch einfacher und günstiger mit eigenem Auto unternommen werden.