Watching whales and dolphins on Terceira Island
Recommended by 96% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Terceira, Portugal
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
The mid-Atlantic is home to plenty of marine life—with around 28 different species of cetaceans—making the Azores a true oasis for wildlife spotting. Get the most out of your trip on this dolphin- and whale-watching cruise, which maximizes your chances thanks to the knowledge of a local crew. While you sail, your skipper fills you in on valuable information related to these majestic creatures.
- A morning tour leaves the rest of the day free to explore
- Sighting guarantee: rebook or request a refund if no animals are seen
- Spot various dolphin and whale species (depending on the season)
- Feel free to ask your skipper as many questions as you like
What's Included
- Life jacket
- Safe
- Guaranteed Whale and/or Dolphin Sighting
- Materials damage
- Water damage
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Water4fun - Whale Watching Terceira island9700-154 Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal
Angra do Heroísmo Marina, Water4fun store no. 2, next to the Marina Grill by Quinta dos Açores
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Start time.8:30 am
What To Expect
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 26 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
My family & I had an amazing time on this tour. We saw a pod of dolphins & Sei whales and sperm whales. The speed boat was very fun and the guides were very knowledgeable. Would definitely do this again!
Reviews
4.9
based on 198 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Fabulous time on the water looking for whales and our guides found us four different types of whales.
Operator did a great job of finding dolphin and whales. Respected the safety of animals and humans at all times. Kept an appropriate distance from wildlife
Friendly, knowledgeable guides. Saw too many dolphins to count, bride whale and humpback whale. Followed humpback whale, seeing her many times. Great experience!!!
This boat tour was absolutely incredible! We saw so many dolphins (of different species) swimming around the boat, and even spotted two different kinds of whales. It was breathtaking to witness these creatures in their natural habitat.
The ride itself was a thrill: bouncing over ocean waves and feeling the sea breeze. It’s not just a wildlife experience—it’s an adventure!
A huge shoutout to Victor, who made the trip even more special. He’s kind, funny, and always kept us engaged, pointing out exactly where to look so we wouldn’t miss a single whale sighting. Highly recommended!
My family & I had an amazing time on this tour. We saw a pod of dolphins & Sei whales and sperm whales. The speed boat was very fun and the guides were very knowledgeable. Would definitely do this again!
This was a great trip. We saw 3 types of dolphins and they were quite close to the boat. Our guide was very knowledgeable and personable.
Please be punctually at the meeting point. We had to wait about 30 min to delayed partipitiants. At the end we started without them.
But rest of the trip was very exciting. We saw 4 kind of whale species in a short time.
It was disappointing at first since we only saw dolphins due to poor visibility. However as the skies cleared, our spotter helped us spot a Sei whale and a mama blue whale and it's calf! Was super excited to see them. Keep in mind whale spotting is just not in the control of anyone so go during whale season if possible.
Last-minute cancellation by the tour operator. Full price was refunded, but getting up early on a Sunday morning and taking a taxi to the marina is something you can’t get back. 😔
Response from Host, May 2025
Thank you for your review, unfortunatly weather conditions it's something that we're not able to control, we can only analyze weather forecasts, which sometimes fail, as they are just forecasts.
So for safety reasons your tour had to be cancelled.
We hope you understand that safety comes frist.
We had a great time on our morning boat trip - we left on time after some information about the types of whales and dolphins in the area - and we saw lots of dolphins very quickly. Our guide Victor explained lots of things along the way, and we even got to see a whale. A great trip!
3 hour excursion was delightful. We saw three different species of dolphin up close for long periods of time; no whales today, but that's mother nature. I liked that the boat was small - 12 passengers in 6 rows, so everyone had a great view at all times (some competitors' boats had seating of 4-5 across). The seas were not particularly rough, so the experience might have been a little different with bigger swells. The seats straddled a partition and had grab bars, so I always felt safe even when standing up to see across to the opposite side, although for those with limited leg flexibility they might be a little challenging to get in and out of. Potential sightings are reported by a spotter on the top of Monte Brasil so that the boat can be directed over a large sighting area. Our guide Victor presented a lot of useful information both during sightings and also during lulls, about dolphin and whale biology, migration, and also seabirds. It was definitely worth the price of admission even without catching a whale.
Great! We saw both dolphins and whale. The skipper was kindly replying to all our questions, we had fun! Recommend!
The guides were great, great explanations about the different species we saw, good atmosphere on the boat! I recommend!
Fantastic whale and dolphin watching tour. What you see is always up to chance, we got lucky and saw 4-5 sperm whales and 3 species of dolphins. The boat size was one of the best parts because with only 2 seats in each row, you could see the marine life on both sides of the boat.
Whales and dolphins as promised! We had almost ideal weather for our morning tour and it was spectacular! A little challenging to find the whales at first, but patience paid off and we saw several sperm whales, including a mother and very young baby! Then we went to seek out dolphins and saw three species: Risso's, Atlantic Spotted, and Common. Large pods of the latter types right next to the boat! Exciting and beautiful to see! Guide also very informative and respectful of the animals.
Great experience. We saw 3 different whales and 3 different dolphins. It was a good day. The guide was great. Definitely a lot of fun and excitement. The boat isn't too big. There are two rows of seats, one on the right and one on the left. This means that everyone has a good view. The pilot will orient the boat so that the whales are one one side. The close side sits while the far side stands. While sightings cannot be guaranteed, I definitely felt that the sighter was excellent. If there are whales to see, you'll find them.
Exceptional trip and service! We saw 6 different species (3 whales and 3 dolphins). All very close. The boat was small and allowed us to feel very close to the cetaceans. We spent a long time with each pod. This company is very respectful of wild life. We saw false killer whales, sei whales, pilot whales, common dolphins, bottleneck dolphins, and spotted dolphins.
Our tour guide and the boat captain were super friendly and knowledgeable about the marine life. We especially enjoyed the size of the boat for our family and the seating style. We loved the “banana” boat and highly recommend it! Thank you for the great hospitality.
Got to see a whale and many, many dolphins! The whale (Cachalote) was amazing! So worth it! Great tour guides and amazing job spotting these wild creatures.
We saw tons of dolphins of various species and had a wonderful morning. Super nice colleagues. We love it!
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We saw several species, whales and dolphins, but the ordinary dolphins were adorable, walked very close to the boat.
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Excellent experience. Very friendly and professional staff. We were lucky and were able to see whales. Recommendable
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We really liked it. The guide was very friendly and explained the characteristics of the species we saw.
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I recommend 100%! Excellent experience! The team went far beyond our expectations. They did everything to see the whales (we saw 3!!!) and dolphins (which were many!). Of course, we’re talking about free animals and you can’t predict when they’ll be close to the coast, but the team is very prepared and have a colleague who oversees the sea over the Monte Brasil.
Guides are very experienced and give valuable information throughout the tour. It is noteworthy that they are passionate about the work and this is confirmed by the quality of the tour.
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We saw a lot of different dolphins up close. Since I don’t understand much English, I didn’t understand what our very dedicated tour guide told me. Depending on your needs, these whale and dolphin observations could be conducted in German. But it was still a magical experience for me !!!
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If you travel to Terceira it is an activity that you can not stop doing, it is incredible. For us it was the golden snap on our trip. I would certainly repeat.
And thank you to our guide Victor for making us the experience so enjoyable and thank you for all your explanations to help us get to know the marine world better
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Great experience. You don't have to take a bag, but just something to cover up. We were able to see 5 different species, the accompaniments are super friendly and there are not too many on the boat;-)
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Were informed two days in advance that the weather would unfortunately be too bad to drive out. Then left a day later than planned. Were lucky and saw one species of whale and three species of dolphins 😊 was a great experience 👍
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Fui ver as baleias com a família na sexta feira e adorei. Conseguimos ver duas baleias comuns (já raro de se ver nesta altura) e golfinhos comuns. É uma sensação maravilhosa. O Vitor que nos acompanhou neste dia foi muito simpático e explicou tudo muito bem sempre bem disposto.
Eu vou sem dúvida repetir a observação de baleias e golfinhos quando visitar as próximas ilhas 😁
Ah, o barco a motor dá uma certa adrenalina bem boa.
Très belle excursion, nous avons vu 4 espèces de cétacés et les commentaires de l'accompagnateur étaient très biens et très pointus
Member Pricing
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per personWas $75.49(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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