The whales visit Oahu from roughly Christmas through Easter.
 Whale Watching Tours on Oahu |
 Hawaii Nautical - Whale Watch off the leeward coastline |
| Navatek I - Whale Watch and Lunch |
| North Shore Catamaran - 40' Catamaran |
| Star of Honolulu - Lunch and Whale Watch |
Oahu Whale Watching Tours and Humpback Whale Watch
Oahu whale watching tours are another great reason to visit Oahu in the winter months.
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Related Info |
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Tom Barefoot's Travel Forum - Oahu Whales |
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Hawaii Whale Watch - Whale Watching Tours on All the Islands |
The whale watching season is usually under way by the 15th of December and usually lasts through April. The very best months are February and March when whale sightings are almost guaranteed. Oahu whale watching tours are a particular delight for visitors coming to Hawaii to escape the winter chill and the Humpback Whales seen on these whale watches can often be seen from the shoreline of Waikiki or Honolulu.
Here are some interesting facts about some of the whales that visit the Oahu coast:
Humpback Whales we see on our Oahu whale watches swim to Oahu from Alaska and the shores of Canada, spend the whole winter here, then make the long journey back home leaving Oahu in the spring, usually in April and May.
The Humpbacks have a long history of visiting Oahu for the winters and they spend their entire time here mating, baring their young and nursing them until they are large enough and strong enough to make the journey back to Alaska.
Amazingly, the Humpback Whales don't eat at all during their entire time in Oahu and swim all the way back to Alaska before having another meal.
The lungs of an average humpback whale are the size of a small car.
Whale babies born on Oahu spend much of their days nursing and grow at a rate of 100 pounds a day and it is a marvelous experience to see them on our Oahu whale watches.
In contradistinction, adult Humpback Whales lose weight during this period and actually will have lost a full 25% of their body weight by the time they get home.
On your Oahu whale watch, when you see a whale on the surface you are lucky in the sense that they spend the majority of their day diving below the surface. When you see the whales dive below it is called "sounding" and they usually spend between 10 and 45 minutes below before they resurface again.
Most Oahu whale watch boats are equipped with hydrophones and you can listen to the whales underwater songs. Remarkably, all male whales will sing the exact same, but very complex, song at the beginning of each whale season and this song will change in the same way for all of them as the season progresses. The next years song will begin where this year's song left off.
Scientists are "clueless" as to what why these Humpback Whales sing these songs and no-one really knows what they actually mean.
The best way to observe humpback whales, however, is by taking one of the many whale watching tours on one of a variety of whale watch boats off the coast of Oahu. Pick-up and return are generally provided from your Waikiki hotel. Whale watch tours usually last about 2 hours which is plenty of time to visit these gentle humpback whales. Almost all whale watching tours will include whale naturalists to explain the fascinating whale behavior such as breaching, sounding and the various mating rituals displayed.
The Humpback Whales come this time of year to give birth and to mate and you can often see baby Humpback Whales swimming closely with their mothers.
In any event, if you're here in Hawaii during the winter months (or better yet you should plan to be in Hawaii during the winter months) be sure to take one of our many whale watching tours to see the spectacular Humpback Whale.
Tom's Tips - Oahu Whale Watching Tours and Humpback Whale Watch.
If you want a smaller and faster whale watching boat that is closer to the ocean surface check one of the zodiac type boats or Rigid Hulled Inflatable's.
Coast guard regulations require all boats to remain at least 100 yards away from the whales so don't expect to be getting right up next to them. The whales however, can and do, come up close (sometimes under) the boats on their own volition.
Morning time is usually the best time for Oahu whale watching as the ocean waters are generally calmest and allow for better viewing and the whales are easier to see in the distance as they break the surface.
Whale Watching Tours and Whale Watching Rides in Oahu - Options Below:
Hawaii Nautical Whale watching is a big event during the winter months on Oahu and one of the wonderful companies we have that takes you out to see the whales is a company called Hawaii Nautical. Hawaii Nautical leaves from Kalaeloa Harbor or Kewalo Basin on the forty-eight foot power sailing catamaran "Honi Olani" which takes small groups of 48 persons or less. This is a guaranteed whale watch and the folks at Hawaii Nautical are so certain you will see whales the their policy is that if you do not see any whales…(more info) | Price Range: (From: $79.00 - To: $79.00) |
Navatek I Whale watching will be an extra treat when you take a whale watch cruise on the Navatek. The Navatek covers a few of the essentials and basics required of a good whale watch boat. First it is fast so it is able to get in the vicinity of the whale pod's when they are first sighted. Second, its viewing decks are high off the water's surface so there is great visibility and perspective when viewing these "gentle giants". Third, it is maneuverable and it provides a stable and smooth ride…(more info) | Price Range: (From: $49.00 - To: $74.00) |
North Shore Catamaran Winter months on the North Shore of Oahu translate into two things: large surf and whales. The North Shore Catamaran spends much of its winter schedule visiting these Humpback Whales that find themselves along this coastline during this season. The fact that the whales are located far off the coastline is ideal at this time of year for these tours because the excessively large surf that we often have then can become dangerous if your boat gets too close to the shoreline. The whales are truly…(more info) | Price Range: (From: $75.90 - To: $75.90) |
Star of Honolulu The Star of Honolulu offers deluxe whale watching excursions on the very largest activity and cruise boat in Hawaii. The boat itself is two-hundred and thirty-two feet long, carries as many as fifteen hundred passengers and has four separate decks. As you may be aware the Humpback Whales arrive in Hawaii from their homes in Alaska during the winter months starting around Christmas time and stay to about Easter. These remarkable animals are a site not to be missed. You will enjoy seeing the…(more info) | Price Range: (From: $22.28 - To: $54.90) |
This page contains information about: oahu whale watching, oahu whale watching tours, oahu hawaii whale watching, whale watching in oahu, oahu watch whales, oahu whales, oahu whale tours, oahu humpback whales.
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Whale Watching Tours in Oahu - Whale watching in Hawaii is not to be missed. The Humpback Whales come here, but only in the Winter months roughly between Christmas and Easter. Their main home is in the Arctic waters off the coast of Alaska and Canada but they make the mammoth swim here to Hawaii once a year to mate, bear their young and to generally cavort about and enjoy life. They are absolutely intriguing animals. They for the most part eat krill and plankton which is found in their home waters and is not found here so for their entire five month or so journey to Hawaii and back they do not eat. They literally lose tons of weight during this time and the babies they bear are nourished by their mothers milk and actually gain about 100 pounds a day. They cruise the waters surrounding Maui and the neighbor islands of Hawaii, Oahu, Kauai, Lanai and Molokai but really don’t travel much once they reach here. Dozens of pods of whales can be found in the waters surrounding the islands during the Winter months and the pods often consist of three, four or more whales. The baby whales are beyond cute and are usually seen right next to the mothers. Whale sightings on our whale watches during these months are almost a given and during the peak season it is literally impossible not to find them. If you didn’t do anything else while you were here in the Winter you should do a whale watch. And by the way, don’t forget your camera.
