Huatulco Dolphin & Whale Watching

Recommended by 93% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Huatulco, Mexico

2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

What's Included

Bottled Water
Admission Fee - Chahué Marina Fee is included

Entrance fee - Huatulco National Park fee is 65 pesos cash per person

MX$65.00 per person

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Oceanico Huatulco
Sector P - Bahias de Huatulco, Blvd. Benito Juárez, Marina Chahue, 70987 Bahias de Huatulco, Oax., Mexico
Meet 10 minutes before tours at the Chahué Marina dock entrance. Boat leaves on time - no refunds or rescheduling if you miss the boat! All hotels & resorts in Huatulco have taxis. Taxi's are inexpensive with set rates. We'll call a taxi for you afterwards. There are bathrooms at the marina.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Huatulco National Park

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers

No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
People that weigh over 130kg.
Minimum age is 3 years old.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 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

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Rosianna_H

I had such a fantastic experience that I booked on to the tour again the next day. Thank you to Scarlett and Tito for being a brilliant guide and captain, respectively. We saw humpback whales (mother and baby), many dolphins (and heard them echolocate), jumping manta rays, lots of sea turtles and all the while respected the creatures' space and regulations of the national park. I cannot recommend this more highly.

Reviews

4.7

based on 41 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

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Sort by: Most insightful

Mostly a boat ride

Toni_M, Mar 2026

2.5 hour whale watching. Actually, maybe 1.5 hour looking for sea animals the last 1+ hours the guide just started having conversations with people… not even looking for anything.

Response from Host, Mar 2026

Thanks for your feedback on our Dolphin & Whale Watching boat tour. For anyone who might read this, on the tour we saw dolphins, sea turtles, leaping manta rays and many species of marine birds. We appreciate the observations of all our guests, but we are a bit unclear what your disappointment is about? We offer boat rides with the opportunity to see marine wildlife hosted by knowledgeable Naturalists and that is what we provided. The guide did her job (well!) which is to give a briefing using laminated species cards at the beginning of the tour, share observations of the species observed during the tour, take photos for our research projects and otherwise host our guests in conversation. Meanwhile the Captain's job is to navigate the boat and search for marine species to observe. He found dolphins, sea turtles, oceanic rays and sea birds. During the first 90 minutes there were many sightings and during the last 60 minutes less. The Captain continued to navigate the boat through the Huatulco National Park while searching for more species to observe. True that during the last 60 minutes we did not find any marine wildlife to observe, but these are wild animals and we do not control them - nor would we want to. We consider every sighting a wonderful blessing and we are grateful to be able to share these experiences in the wild ocean. So that is what happened. Not sure why that was so poor in your opinion - perhaps you expected too much on a 2.5 hour boat ride to see marine wildlife?

Enjoyable day in Hualtuco

David_C, Feb 2026

We traveled alongside 2 adults with a calf for about a half hour, and then saw a pod of dolphins on our return trip. They gave my husband permission to jump in the water with his GoPro camera, but the dolphins were too quick. Also saw lots of turtles. In spite of large swells, the boat pilot did an amazing job. And we appreciate that they don't overbook, which meant we had plenty of room to move around.

Response from Host, Feb 2026

Thanks for joining us to meet all the wonderful marine wildlife in Huatulco. Turtles, whales and dolphins - our recipe for smiles with all our guests. We appreciate you choosing our little organization and hope to see you both again soon.

Delivers what it promises

Doug_G, Feb 2026

We saw 3 Humpback whales, a pod of spotted dolphins, and 2 species of turtles. Guide had excellent knowledge & english.

Response from Host, Feb 2026

Thanks! We feel lucky to live and work in such a wonderful place. For our little team of Marine Biologists these trips are a chance to connect with our guests and share some wonderful encounters, insights and create memories. We appreciate your sharing your experience and hope to see you again soon.

Saw many turtles,...

Celia_C, Jan 2026

Saw many turtles, dolphins and manta rays. Crew were excellent and our marine biologist was very knowledgeable

Response from Host, Jan 2026

The number of sea turtles in Huatulco is really astounding! Playa Escobilla, just down the coast, is one of 3 places in the world that hosts mass nesting events for the Olive Ridley and many trips we see 20 or more sea turtles! Thanks for choosing our little organization to meet the wonderful marine species of Huatulco. We hope you can join us again for more ocean adventures!

Nature Lover’s Tour

Shelly_P, Jan 2026

Ask questions. It’s not everyday you get hosted by a marine biologist. As a conservation photographer, I learned even more than I already knew. Saw many olive Ridley turtles and watched humpbacks: mom, calf and escort. The highlight was the fever of about 12 mobula rays! Even saw a few jump in the distance.

Response from Host, Jan 2026

Thanks for joining us for some wonderful encounters, it is especially complimentary to get such positive feedback from a Conservation Photographer...we enjoyed sharing some sightings of what makes Huatulco such a special place with you and hope you can join us again for more wonderful encounters. Thanks to you for your work pursuing natural world conservation too!

A great tour to take

Ken_K, Jan 2026

Seeing possibly 300 dolphins in one pod is something we will never forget, spotting a whale would have been like the icing on top of a cake. Maybe next time.

Response from Host, Jan 2026

Huatulco has an amazing marine ecosystem and we agree, getting to enjoy time with 300 dolphins is a real "National Geographic" moment! Thanks for sharing your experience, and we hope to see you again for another shot at encountering the whales too! Happy and safe travels.

Loved it so much I went again

Rosianna_H, Jan 2026

Response from Host, Jan 2026

Thanks for the lovely recommendation, we really appreciate it. The best compliment is when we see friendly faces for multiple trips, hopefully we see you again for more adventures. It really was a pleasure to share some wonderful encounters with you and we wish you many more!

Knowledgeable and friendly staff!

SUE_L, Jan 2025

Very informative venture with experts in marine biology who are conversant in several languages. We saw two pods of dolphins, bottlenose and spotted, many Ridley turtles, yellow-bellied sea snakes, a leaping sailfish. No whales today, but the rest was fantastic. This was an excellent trip!

Response from Host, Jan 2025

Thanks for the wonderful review, we really enjoyed sharing these sightings with you and hope you can join us again - hopefully to see some whales next time - we love whales too!

Morning tours deliver!

MJ_M, Jan 2025

We opted for an early 2-hour tour and it was perfect. Easy to get to from our hotel (marina), and a small group event. Owner Peter along with colleague Tony shared a lot of knowledge about the whales and turtles and quickly located whales to follow. We watched a mama and baby for a while saw a few sea turtles and also a man o ray flipping in the air over the water. All very cool! The boat was very small with little sun protection and could be hot if you are not properly dressed. Bring water and wear a hat & sunscreen! We enjoyed being up front watching all the action!

Response from Host, Jan 2025

Thanks for choosing our little organization to explore the wonderful marine wildlife in Huatulco. We feel lucky to be able to share these moments with our guests. Good points - while there is a canvas roof over the entire boat guests need to wear hats, sunglasses and reef friendly sunscreen. Thanks for joining our little group for all the action!

A once in a lifetime experience

Don_A, Jan 2025

On Jan 15, 25 We experienced the most remarkable whale watching tour with Oceanico in Huatulco. It was truly spectacular seeing dolphins within 15 minutes of the tour. We were treated to the breathtaking display of at least 5 Orcas and 2 Whales joceling for the best seafood about 7km off shore. We also saw at least 15 turtles, many manteray, and even a sea snake. We highly recommend this tour operator for their indepth knowledge of sea life, and giving guests an experience like no other...Thank you

Response from Host, Jan 2025

Thanks for the wonderful recommendation. It was an amazing trip for us as well. Huatulco is a marine paradise and many days we encounter incredible surprises as we explore. It was a real pleasure to share these encounters with you and your family. Memories I think we will all have for a long time.