Expedition Voyages Calendar
This calendar has been put together by our team of experienced specialists. Use it as a guide to help you select the optimum time to visit some of the world's most impressive destinations and enjoy its amazing marine life at its best.
January
- Emperor penguins, (the only 'true' Antarctic bird), breed in the middle of winter. The chicks are still young, so you may see them brooding on their parents' feet or huddling together in large, communal creches.
- A great time to visit Antarctica with a possibility of seeing Weddell, crabeater and leopard seals, while orcas, humpback and minke whales are often seen at close quarters.
- Viewing king penguin rookeries in Antarctica.
- The beginning of humpback whale migration in Saba, seen right through until March.
- The grey whale watching season begins in Baja, Mexico and runs until the end of April. You may also see fin, minke, Bryde's, orca, pilot, and humpback whales, as well as blue whales - the largest mammal on the planet. There are few places in the world where these large mammals can be viewed so easily, and so close up.
February
- In February and March, whale sightings in Antarctica are usually at their best. Minke are found in the ice floes around the Antarctic Peninsula, while humpback, beaked, fin, sei, southern right, and blue whales may be found in the Southern Ocean. Orcas are regularly sighted right up to the Falkland Islands.
- Pilot whales arrive in Kadavu, Fiji and stay until May.
March
- The best month for watching orcas off the Valdes Peninsula in Patagonia, Argentina. These awesome creatures are renowned for deliberately beaching themselves in order to catch seal pups resting in the shallows or at the water's edge.
- Whale numbers in Antarctica reach their peak.
April
- A great month to be in Dominica to watch female sperm whales nursing their young calves.
May
- The peak time to see grey whales off Vancouver Island's west coast as they head north to their summer feeding grounds.
- The prime whale watching season in the Azores begins now and continues throughout the summer.
- Late spring/early summer is the best time to witness the stunning birdlife and marine mammals off the coast of Pembrokeshire, in Wales.
June
- Humpback whales are seen in June in the Galapagos Islands, and from June to November around Ningaloo Reef, off Western Australia.
- Humpback whales arrive in northern Mozambique.
- Off the northern coast of Queensland, Australia, minke whales can be seen from June to August - with the best encounters in June and July. Occasional sightings of humpback whales occur between July and September.
July
- The beautiful Broughton archipelago on Canada's west coast is perhaps the best place in the world to see orcas. The resident pods typically arrive in July and remain in the area until October, following the salmon runs.
- The humpback whale season in Frederick Sound, South East Alaska reaches its peak. If lucky you can witness the spectacular sight of them bubble net feeding. Other marine mammals visible here include orcas, Pacific white-sided dolphins, Steller sea lions and sea otters
- A wonderful time to see the resident population of bottlenose dolphins in the Moray Firth in Scotland. At Chanonry Point, the best spot in northern Europe to see dolphins from the shore, you can see them just a metres off the beach!
- Witness the spectacular acrobatic behaviour of humpback whales in New England.
- Humpback whales migrate from their feeding grounds in Antarctica along the coast of New Zealand to the Pacific Islands. They stay in the waters around Tonga from July to September to court, mate and calve. Take a liveaboard in Tonga, a resort package in Tahiti or island-hop in Fiji.
- One of the best months to see whales and dolphins in the Galapagos Islands.
- Some 500 beluga whales live year-round in the St. Lawrence River in Canada, but around 3000 belugas are found each summer in the estuary of the Churchill River at Hudson's Bay in northern Manitoba
August
- Eastern Canada's coast is home to northern right, minke, humpback and fin whales between now and the end of September.
- From August to September the Gulf of St. Lawrence is home to a high concentration of blue whales; many trips with research vessels operate at this time.
- Humpback whales can be seen off the coast of Tanzania and Zanzibar.
- Pilot whales are seen off the norther coast of Vanua Levu in Fiji.
- From August to October humpback whales - mainly females with their young - are seen around the island of Rurutu, Tahiti.
- Humpback whales can be found off the Australian coast as they head south to the Antarctic from now until the end of October.
September
- A great month for visiting the beautiful Queen Charlotte Islands off the coast of British Columbia, home to humpback whales, orcas and Pacific white-sided dolphins.
- The Cook Islands' whale season runs from September to October.
October
- Southern right whales arrive in the bays of both South Africa's coastline and Australia's south coast to calve.
November
December
- Visiting Antarctica early in the breeding season the Emperor penguin chicks are still young - which makes for great photo opportunities.
- In Hawaii the humpback whale season lasts from December to April.
Browse all our dolphin watching and whale watching holidays.
