WHALE WATCHING CAPE TOWN

Seeing these gigantic & magnificent mammals (the size of 12 elephants) alongside your boat is an experience that will stay with you for the rest of your life. Be ready to photograph one breaching or giving you a friendly wave with its tail!

Hump-backed and Bryde’s whales can be see throughout the year along with dolphins and Orcas. Southern Right whales visit here August to October.

Avian Leisure’s accommodation in Simon’s Town (which is on the western side of False Bay) is wonderfully positioned to see these magnificent creatures… right from the wooden deck or even from the main bedroom!

Cape Town ‘s False Bay is one of the best places in the world for land-based whale watching! Between July and November Southern Right whales migrate into the coastal waters of the Western Cape in large numbers. First come the females to calve and nurse their young, and then come the courting groups of males and females intent mating in the sheltered bay. By November most have left on their way back to the Antarctic, although a few seem to stay in our waters all year.

During this period on the coastal roads from Boyes Drive to Simon’s Town, parked cars with groups of people gazing and pointing out to sea will indicate a pod of whales easily visible! Certainly it is thrilling to watch these magnificent creatures blowing, breaching, spy hopping and generally just lolling about….

And throughout the year there are various cetacean species that can be spotted in False Bay , such as Bryde’s whales, Orcas (killer whale) and Humpback whales, as well as large schools of common dolphin.

If you are visiting Cape Town between July and November and want an exciting experience, book a boat-based whale watching trip departing from Simon’s Town . It is illegal to approach within 300 metres of whales in any craft (boat, kayak, aircraft…) and only a few legally permitted boat based whale watching operators in South Africa may approach within 50 metres. Avian Leisure will make your whale watching boat trip booking with the sole permit holder for boat based whale watching for the western half of False Bay – stretching from Strandfontein all the way to Cape Point – The Simon’s Town Boat Company.

Booking procedure:

Book your whale watching trip and accommodation through Avian Leisure: Our self catering apartments in Simon’s Town are ideally located for access to the Simon’s Town harbour.

Tours depart daily at 10:30am and 02:00pm – Subject to weather. Booking is always advisable. Tours are 2 to 2.5 hours in length, dependant on where the whales are located.