No, we no longer do this. The main reason is the welfare of the animals, and many years of experience with close encounters with dolphins have taught us that the animals are not always willing to cooperate. Their behaviour changes drastically as soon as the swimmers get into the water, and it can stress out the animals. 

The answer depends on the kind of specie of whale you wish to see. Spermwhales remain around the Azores all year round. Baleen whales (Blue, Fin, Sei, Humpback) start being sighted from March onwards. So, you should plan your trip from the beginning of April.

There is no best time. But if possible, in order to have more chances, you should book your trip in the morning.

We work with lookouts on land, and they let us know previously if they saw any animlas or not.

No, whales move, not always in predictable ways. The lookouts keep us updated on their location. 

Almost never happens! But, if that is the case, and if it is not possible to reschedule, you will receive a refund. 

The law requires companies to have a lookout or another method to find the animals. In our case, we use lookouts and a hydrophone.

It is possible, but depending on the weather conditions, we provide waterproof jacket and trousers.

You can and you should! However, you should use waterproof protection; during the trip, you can store your kit inside the seat as well as your other belongings.

The type of boat we use is the safest there is. Portuguese Coast Guard services (ISN), the Portuguese Navy uses these boats to provide search and rescue services. The length of the boat and the power of the engine provide comfort.

It depends on the child. The trip lasts up to 4 hours, which means you must be patient. We have experience with children of all ages.

You can, but you should always inform the skipper or a member of the crew at the time of your booking. If this is the case, we can advise the choice of another type of vessel.

Congratulations! You can, but we advise against it. In our opinion, it is preferable not to take any risks, and not take part on this trip. If you still wish to do it, we will gladly try to find you another type of vessel.

50 metres. The law is clear, no room for interpretation.

They may approach us, but normally, only the young individuals do so. Whenever possible, it’s our job to manouvre our boat to keep the distance. When not possible, we should stay still, and we should be as careful and attentive as possible.

It lasts between 3 and 4 hours.

No, there is no toilet. 

We collect data on every whale and dolphin watching trip, and we have database files where it is stored for further analysis. We use a platform developed by the University of the Azores, called MONICET (LINK). Our data can be made public on request, but we give priority to the young marine-biologists that have worked with us along these years, so they can use the data for any publication, study or thesis.

We want our company to be inclusive and provide the best services to all our customers. Please contact us and we will discuss the options!