One of the highlights about our trip to the Azores was booking a boat trip to go whale and dolphin watching, while staying on the island of Faial. The weather on the Azores is very changeable throughout the day, so by the time we got out to sea, the weather had turned a bit rough.
Infamous cloud cover over the Azores
But nevertheless, it was worth braving the wind and rain to see the whales come up to the surface (after feeding on squid at the bottom of the ocean for 45 minutes = regular intervals).
sighting of a sperm whale (female, 12 m in length)
The dolphins were the most fun to watch as they did little tricks for us without any prompts. Snorkeling with the dolphins is sometimes available, but only if they do not move away too fast, as this was our case.
Returning to the port of Horta
At the end of our close to four-hour boat tour, our guide, a marine biologist, answered more of our questions. If you are thinking about joining one of the few organizations offering whale watching tours, then I can recommend the following:
Our whale/dolphin watching guide in front of "DiveAzores".
* Boat tickets are € 55 for adults , €35 for children.
* No facilities on board!
* Bring your rain coats as there is always some rain clouds just waiting to unload out on the open sea.
