RFI: Tenerife cetacean trips (1 Viewer)

Probably going to be on Tenerife for a few days week after next. Does anyone have recommendations as to the best options for whale and dolphin trips? Which operators are most focused on finding cetaceans (as opposed to sunbathing, etc.)?

Thanks

Nick

We took the usual boat trip (can't remember their name at all) out of Los Gigantes in Dec '11 and they found the pilot-whales and bottlenoses easily enough and followed them for a while getting good views. Then the boat moored in an inlet by the cliffs where you could snorkel if you wanted (surprisingly bearable after the initial shock of jumping in!! ) and then chugged back to port.

Check out www.planetwhale.com

birdboybowley said:

We took the usual boat trip (can't remember their name at all) out of Los Gigantes in Dec '11 and they found the pilot-whales and bottlenoses easily enough and followed them for a while getting good views. Then the boat moored in an inlet by the cliffs where you could snorkel if you wanted (surprisingly bearable after the initial shock of jumping in!! ) and then chugged back to port.

Click to expand...

I went on a similar trip in January 13 out of Los Gigantes (3 hours, 20 euros each). We found the pilot whales quickly enough and had great views, then off to the Masca inlet and the swimming for those who wanted a dip, with the promise of a look around the headland for some dolphins. When I felt how warm the water was I wished that I'd taken some swimming gear, but for reasons never explained the dolphin visit never materialised and after the swim and lunch of chicken legs etc we went straight back to port.

It was the wrong time of year for the big whales, but we knew that before we booked. The pilot whales were good.

What was a little surprising was the almost total lack of bird life in the time we were afloat. Only one or two yellow-legged gulls on the trip out and while we were watching the whales. When we got to Masca there were a few more yellow-legged gulls that turned up and followed the boat for scraps thrown over from the remains of lunch and a kestrel flew briefly around the cliffs above the inlet.

Thanks for the info and suggestions folks. Much appreciated.

Have not had close views of Pilot Whales before so great to see that they are very likely.

Cheers

Nick

Short-finned down there, so you can get an extra tick when you see Long-finned up here later on, as well.

John

Thanks again for the comments. We had a trip out of Los Gigantes last week with Ocean Explorer (http://www.ocean-explorer.net). Highly recommended - it was a small boat (takes up to 11 passengers I think but there were just four of us on board) so easy to see off both sides, etc. We were out for two hours, started off with Pilot Whales - around ten loafing around on the surface, then off to look for dolphins. The skipper thought Bottlenose most likely but we actually encountered a pod of Common Dolphins - maybe 100 or so. Then back to port via the sea cliffs. A two hour trip for €20.

Views of both groups of animals were fantastic and the boat seemed to be operated responsibly enough as these things go. Certainly no hassle to the animals in excess of simply being alongside them.

Cheers

Nick