4 Small-Group Whale Watching in Mexico to Build a Morning Around

1.SMALL GROUP Whale Watch | Cabo San Lucas | Biologist | FREE Pics

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,106 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $109Our pick

Join a maximum-12-person boat in Cabo San Lucas with a marine biologist such as Oscar, Victoria, or Payo. See The Arch, Lovers Beach, and Pelican Rock before searching for humpbacks, dolphins, turtles, sea lions, and other whales. Free photos and a whale sighting guarantee add value.

“It was amazing. I felt like I was experiencing a new world that I had never seen. I felt a quiet privilege at being able to experience it. Our guide Victoria was knowledgeable and fun.”

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2.Whale Sharks Small-Group Tour in Cancun and Riviera Maya

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 916 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $160

Set out from Puerto Xtabay with a bilingual naturalist guide and a small boat group of up to 10 participants. Watch for whale sharks, swim beside them in pairs, then stop near Playa Norte for ceviche, sandwiches, and a swim. Pickup covers major Cancun and Riviera Maya hotels.

“Nice experience to swim ( very shortly) with this beautiful animal. Hotel pick up was perfectly on time, sea was quite rough and after a few days of rain in that area, it was extremely hard to find whale shark due to fact that plankton was not at surface, so whale sharks also not at surface, but finally, after long cruising, they found one and we were happy to have chance to swim with one, even it was very short due to presence of many other boats”

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3.Small-Group Half-Day Whale-Watching Tour in Puerto Vallarta

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 334 reviews · 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $110

Cruise Banderas Bay from Marina Vallarta in a boat limited to 12 people. Guides such as Thalia and Pilar explain humpback behavior, help spot whales, and may use an underwater microphone so you can hear their songs. Lunch, soft drinks, and a return to the marina are included.

“This was the highlight of our trip! Thalia is an amazingly knowledgable guide. Angel is a great boat captain. Within 9 minutes of leaving the marina, we were watching whales in the bay! Thalia has a masters degree in marine biology and is great at spotting the whales and explaining their behavior. We learned so much about the beautiful animals. Thalia and Angel are also very responsible and respectful of the whales. If there were a lot of boats around a pod of whales, we would move on to find another pod, so the whales would not be distressed by all the boats. We saw two different calves, one as…”

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4.Gray Whale Watching Tour with Marine Biologist and Small Group

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 37 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $376

From La Paz, drive to Puerto Chale for a three-hour gray whale watch limited to six people. Marine biologist Valentina explains whale behavior and conservation, while Captain Mike handles the boat. Fresh seafood lunch, drinks, snacks, and transport are included.

“It is a lengthy drive to get there but it is definitely worth it. FYI bring your passport with as we were stopped at a checkpoint and passports were requested. One of the travelers did not have one, luckily they were allowed to pass but they may not be as forgiving next time. We seen a great number of whales during the trip. We were very fortunate to have a few people on the boat actually touch a whale. I would think that anyone that goes should get to view them within 20-30’ at some point. At one point we could see over 15 whales in the surrounding area in…”

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