Whales and Wildlife

Observe fin, humpback and minke whales, common dolphins, basking sharks, harbour porpoise, sunfish and other marine wildlife in stunning scenery.

Tours

Whales

The Irish Government declared the coastal waters of Ireland a Whale and Dolphin sanctuary during the early 1990’s, the first of its kind in Europe. Since then it is one of the must do’s when visiting the south west coast of Ireland. Our coastal waters are a summer feeding ground for a number of whale species and a year round home for several resident Dolphin species including the Harbour Porpoise. Baleen whales commonly seen off the south west coast include Humpback, Fin and Minke whales, with intermittent sightings of Killer and Pilot whales which makes whale watching in Ireland the best whale watching in Europe.

Dolphins & Sharks

Our coastal waters are a year round home for several resident Dolphin species including the Harbour Porpoise. Common dolphins are West Cork’s most frequently observed cetacean. We see them on most trips throughout the season. We sometimes encounter large groups of common dolphins with mothers and their calves in their midst. During the summer months, we often encounter several basking sharks on our tours, up to 50 sharks on one tour, feeding and displaying around the boat.

Seabirds

On our marine wildlife tours from when we leave the pontoon we can encounter firstly the wading birds including oyster catchers, bar-tailed and black-tailed godwit, whimbrel, curlew, grey plover, dunlin, redshank, grey herons, egrets, several species of duck and at certain times of the year brent geese. As we leave the sheltered harbour, black headed, black backed, herring and common gulls and cormorants are present. When on the water we can see Gannets, Manx Shearwaters, Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills and Kittiwakes. In late summer and autumn sometimes spot Great, Sooty and Corey’s Shearwater along with Great, Long-tailed, Pomarine and Arctic Skuas.

Book Your Wildlife Tour

Don't wait! Why not join us this season in West Cork for a whale and wildlife tour or a fishing trip and make it an experience to remember.

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See what our passengers say!

Highlight of our trip!!! Without a doubt the highlight of our trip around Ireland. To say it was magical is an understatement. The team and crew were highly professional and the tour itself was an absolute blast for both the adults and kids - we saw so many sea wildlife including whales and dolphins. Trish, Mark and their team were extremely hospitable and run an excellent service. The team have a great knowledge of the area and we all came home with with a few catches! Ireland is a beautiful country but this place is a an absolute gem that we all still talk about as the main highlight of the Irish trip.

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Unforgettable Experience, Strongly Recommended Thanks to Mark and his team for organising an unforgettable experience for our group. We had four hours on the sea and had time for music and craic as well as getting a great viewing of the basking sharks off the Seven Heads. Would strongly recommend this to anyone wishing to organise a unique and memorable day!

Seamus O

Magical Experience and Great Service Fantastic experience!! The crew were excellent- very friendly and very knowledgable. The new boat offers great viewing! We saw scores of dolphins and humpback whales. Would highly recommend!

Kieran C

Experience of a Lifetime! We travelled back in early October from Ontario Canada. My son to this day still talks about it to friends and family. You were very dedicated in taking the time to show us the sights of fin whales going above and beyond to insure the best experience! You also shared a vast knowledge about the wildlife, and we learned a great deal that day. We were very fortunate enough that day to see dolphins along with the amazing costal views. We will never forget and are honestly so grateful for your time and not giving up to make sure our experience was a trip of a life time!

Amy B