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Monday 9am - 4:30pm Tuesday 9am - 4:30pm Wednesday 9am - 4:30pm Thursday 9am - 4:30pm Friday 9am - 4:30pm Saturday 8:30am - 4:30pm Sunday 8:30am - 4:30pm

Whale Watching Sydney

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Australia
Sydney, NSW
Whale Watching Sydney

Sydney's best whale watching company with more than 25 years of experience. Only 10-15 minutes from Circular Quay to the open ocean.
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o early December tens of thousands of Humpback Whales migrate along the coast off Sydney each year. Your cruise begins with all of Sydney Harbours famous sights such as the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge,
Watsons Bay and many more as we make our way towards the entrance of Sydney Harbour. Then we head to the blue waters of the pacific ocean where we witness these magnificent mammals migrate past
Sydney's famous beaches and rugged cliff lines in the biggest mass migration in the world.

21/08/2024

An unbelievable encounter for our first trip this morning! Mugged by two whales who came within inches of the boat, we could see them swimming beside us as they spy hopped to check us out. The Humpbacks are getting very inquisitive and we couldn't believe our luck!

20/08/2024

3 more amazing cruises today, with lift off from several whales in the afternoon! We had pods heading south and all travelling with playfulness and excitement. A stunning day yet again out on the Humpback Highway!

19/08/2024

A beautiful late afternoon cruise today! We had 3 pods heading south, all at a gentle pace and a couple of very friendly Humpbacks giving us a close inspection as they made their journey back to Antarctica.

19/08/2024

Speechless. We've said it recently, but wow we really need to say it again! That was an experience that truly left us with no words for how incredible it was.

Mugged by a pod of 3 young male humpbacks, who were then joined by a fourth, they circled the boat for an hour, spy-hopping and checking us out the entire time!

We feel so lucky!

18/08/2024

Big swell, and big breaches today!

We had whales in all directions tracking south near Bondi and the Humpbacks put on an incredible show. Head lunge after head lunge, with some huge full body breaches to really get the show going!

17/08/2024

Yet again, I've had my breath taken away from what we saw today!

I don't know where to start.
We left Sydney heads this afternoon on our 3 hour Discovery cruise, we encountered a big pod of dolphins swimming along beside us then discovered a Humpback mother with what we believe to be a calf no more than a few weeks old!

Then, we spotted an active humpback whale so we decided to go have a look and I honestly lost count of how many times we saw this humpback breach!
It was going wild, breaching into the oncoming waves and in the distance we saw other humpback whales getting riled up and breaching as well!

This weekend has been a blast!
Hope to see you out there soon - Have a great weekend 🐋 🐋 🐋

17/08/2024

We're taking every moment to enjoy the soft seas and sunshine onboard our Discovery cruise today.

This morning, we were tracking a pod of 4 humpback whales on their northern migration. We saw their energy levels change throughout our voyage, it began with the humpbacks cruising leisurely along the coast, to then a few flicks of the tail and some head lunges out of the water - which gave us the opportunity to spot some of the unique markings on their chins! 🐋

16/08/2024

Another stunning afternoon out there on our Discovery cruise.

This afternoon we enjoyed beautiful sea conditions and even had the sun peek out from behind the clouds.
We spotted a pod of 2 humpbacks heading south and decided to tag along. We saw lots of pectoral and tail slaps, then spotted some sleeping seals up on the rocks.

Hope you're all ready for the weekend! 🐋

16/08/2024

Lost for words - yet another unforgettable morning! 🐋

Still shaking with excitement from this morning on our 3-hour whale watching Discovery cruise!
As we left the Sydney heads and onto the Tasman Sea, we found two curious humpback whales, or you could say they found us - we were surrounded! We shut the engines off and watched as they swam around us for up to an hour swimming up and "Spy hopping" which is where they poke their head out of the water.
They were so close you can almost reach out and touch them and the amazing experience of feeling the spray of water when they exhaled is something I'll never forget.

Have a look at those barnacles up close!

15/08/2024

How did we get so lucky?!

Breach after breach after breach, with the most active whales of the season this afternoon! A pod of 3 very active whales heading south that gave us every imaginable type of humpback behavior! 🚀

We had over 20 breaches in total, with pectoral slaps, massive tail throws and even some synchronized lunges. Unbelievable stuff!

We'll see you again tomorrow for hopefully another great day on the Humpback Highway!

13/08/2024

A beautiful big breach today on our lunchtime cruise 🐋🚀

It was choppy seas and grey skies but that didn't stop our Humpbacks from coming out to play!

We will be out again tomorrow and there is still space available on our Express cruises. We hope to see you soon!

11/08/2024

Speechless. Thats all we can say. 🐋

That morning cruise was without a doubt the best of the season. Two whales starting off with some huge breaches near the boat, before the best mugging we could ever ask for! Multiple spy-hops within an arms reach. Unbelievable scenes on the Humpback Highway!!

10/08/2024

Eventful afternoon out on the Tasman sea today, folks.🐋

Barely left Sydney heads this afternoon and already in the distance you could see humpback whale activity.

We discovered 2 pods made up of 2 humpback whales per pod, both on their southern migration. One pod was more interested in having a chilled out cruise down south, while the other pod took off with breaches happening the full duration of our 3-hour Discovery cruise. We couldn't take our eyes off them!

I hope you're having a great weekend.
Hope to see you out there soon!

10/08/2024

Wow! What a morning that was on our 3-hour Discovery cruise!

Just as we left Sydney Harbour, we spotted a humpback whale breaching on the horizon, so we set our course that direction and when we arrived, we discovered a pod of 2 humpbacks on their southern migration and another solo humpback on its northern migration. We had 2 inquisitive humpback whales that decided to come say hello and mug us - its ok! we still have our wallets. "Mugging" is when a whale or a pod of whales decide to swim up to the boat to say hello, we stop our engines and just sit back and enjoy the magical moment - close enough for us to have a look at the humpback's "barnacle beard" 🐋

Amazing conditions so far this weekend with still seas and lots of smiles from the sights onboard our Discovery.

09/08/2024

Exciting sights to see on the humpback highway today! 🐋 🚀

We had ourselves an eventful afternoon! We were tracking a pod of two humpback whales slowly cruising on their southern migration back down to Antarctica, then out of no where they put on a show for us, with breaches happening one after the other - which really got myself and everyone else's adrenaline going!

Seeing this really just never gets old and was such a great way to start the weekend!

Come join us, hope to see you soon!

07/08/2024

A beautiful day for cruising the Humpback Highway today, incredibly calm conditions and our blubbery friends came to say hello!

We will be out again tomorrow with both our 2 Hour Express Cruises, and also the 3 Hour Discovery cruises. We hope to see you there!

05/08/2024

We have lift off!! 🚀🚀

Our morning Express Cruise just witnessed two whales with aspirations to become airborne, breach after breach after breach! These two did not stop jumping for us and we couldn't be more grateful, what a show!

We still have space on our afternoon trips tomorrow and for the rest of the week if you would like to come along and join the party! 🐋🚀

04/08/2024

Amazing sights this afternoon with a mind blowing display from a pod of 4 Humpbacks 🐋🚀

We found our whales just North of Sydney Harbour, and as we cruised along with them, they decided it was time to pull out all of the best moves! We had breaching and tail throws, muggings and spy hops.

Join us tomorrow and for the rest of the week as our Express Cruises will be leaving Circular Quay every day!

04/08/2024

What a morning that was! 🐋😍

Without a doubt one of the best mornings, after a week of heavy swell without being able to run our usual trips. Today the whales were back with a bang! We left the harbour and headed North, and we were mugged by a beautiful and very curious whale who stayed with us for one of the longest encounters we have had this season. Spy Hopping right next to the boat and putting on a show just below the surface. We were so enthralled with this young whale that we almost missed the breach show in the distance from another excitable Humpback!

We do not get any better than that. We have spaces left on our cruises for this week so if you would like to join us, book you ticket today!

We hope to see you soon!

27/07/2024

Lots of humpback whales spotted today, some whales going north and others going south 🐋

This morning on our 3-hour Discovery cruise we came across a pod of 2 humpback whales cruising along the coast just near Bondi beach, we said hello then we decided to go for a wander up north and just a few kilometres of Manly beach we discovered a large pod of 5 humpback whales stirring the water with they're strong tails and splashing about - we believe the pod to be a competing pod of males following behind a fully grown female!

Hope you're also having a great weekend!

26/07/2024

Wow! Today was a breathtaking day onboard our 3hr Discovery cruise!

We had many tail slaps, pectoral slaps, tail throws and breaches!

Conditions were amazing today with soft seas and a warm sunny day to our enjoyment, and as you can see to humpback whales enjoyment as well.

Majority of humpback whales are still on their northern migration but we managed to spot a few whales already on their southern migration - so think of it like a 2 lane way highway now with whales going both directions!

Have a good weekend and hope to see you soon!

25/07/2024

What an incredible day!!! 🚀🐋🚀

Our morning Discovery cruise was mugged by a very inquisitive Humpback who gave us a brilliant breach, before we found two whales giving the most amazing, synchronized tail slap show we've seen in a long time.

We didn't think we could do any better, until we came out of the heads for our afternoon trips. We could not have been more wrong. Two whales breaching again and again, with tail throws and head lunges thrown in to the show! As we headed back we found one more whale that didn't want to be out done, with a last minute breaching session just as the trip finished. A perfect day on the Humpback Highway.

24/07/2024

Midweek action on the Humpback highway with incredible conditions again. We had pods moving both North and South again today and even a few head lunges and half breaches at a distance! Our morning cruise was especially lucky with some nice close whales and sunny skies! Definitely our favourite way to spend a Wednesday!

We have space available on our Express Cruises leaving Circular Quay tomorrow, and our Discovery Cruises will be running again for the longer 3 hour trips departing from Circular Quay and Darling Harbour. We hope to see you on board!

23/07/2024

The past two days we have enjoyed some incredible sea conditions and bright sunny weather to view our Humpback friends, and it's starting to get even more exciting out there! We've started to see the first few pods of whales now on their Southern migration. Heading back to the Antarctic waters. Which means we have whales swimming in both directions along the coast! We even had sighting of one of this year's new calves!

There's never a better time to join us for a cruise and we will be out every day leaving from Circular Quay!

21/07/2024

An absolutely stunning morning for us today, with lots of life out on the ocean! Including some very new life. We headed out and found two large whales escorting a young calf along the coast 😍 We gave the pod some extra space so not to disturb the young whale, and were treated to a display of huge and powerful tail throws!

As we approached the Harbour entrance we spotted a large bait ball that bought the Dolphins and Seals out to play! A perfect morning!

20/07/2024

Wow, what a morning on our Discovery cruise!

The first amazing image belongs to one of our other photographers - Adam

As we left Sydney Harbor this morning we decided to explore down south and spotted a very active whale a few kilometres off Maroubra beach.
We decided to stay with this humpback whale for quite some time as it was putting on a huge performance, showing us breaches, tail slaps and lots of head lunges!

On the way back, we decided to say hello to the seal colony and saw many seals sunbaking on the rocks, even some of them diving off the rocks into the water!

Hope to see you out there soon!

19/07/2024

No matter what kind of day it is - nothing stops our humpback friends from having a crash and bash in the waves! 🐋

What you can see in the second image is the 2 pectoral fins of a humpback whale with its belly facing to the sky, all the while slapping its pectoral fins on the surface of the water making a huge racket for us onlookers nearby to enjoy.

Hope to see you you there soon, folks!

18/07/2024

After the sea conditions stopped us from heading out yesterday, we were excited to get back out on the Tasman Sea today, and it did not disappoint! Our Express cruises were even treated to some very close encounters with a pod of 4 whales that gave us an inquisitive visit before heading on with their journey. We had big fluke up dives and lots of massive blows from all pods out on the water. Some amazing whale behaviours that make these trips so special. 🐋

Its great time of year to be out here and we cant wait for you to join us!

16/07/2024

Tail Slap Tuesdays!

We had a great day on the water today, with the highlight definitely being a few massive tail throws from one whale on our afternoon cruise!

Humpback Whales have one of the largest and most powerful muscles in the animal kingdom, the Peduncle muscle. It's the muscle that connect the fluke to the body of the whale. Throwing their tails around like this requires an extraordinary amount of strength and we were treated to a perfect display of it today!

15/07/2024

Party time on the Humpback Highway today!

Breaches on all three Express Cruises today with a wild show to finish the day. One whale breaching over and over again for us! So many breaches that we lost count! We hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did!

Address

Circular Quay/Wharf 6
Sydney, NSW
2000

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	9am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	9am - 4:30pm
Thursday	9am - 4:30pm
Friday	9am - 4:30pm
Saturday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Sunday	8:30am - 4:30pm

Website

https://www.whalewatchingsydney.com.au/

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Videos

Boxing Day 2023

Our Whale Watching season may have finished, but Boxing day and our Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race cruises are now only 2 weeks away! Boxing Day is one of the most exciting days on Sydney Harbour, and there’s no better way to enjoy it than on one of our Boxing Day cruises departing from Circular Quay, Darling Harbour and Manly. Join us on December 26 as we get amongst the action of the Rolex Sydney to Hobart yacht race, with front row seats watching the start in the harbour and then chasing the fleet out of the heads as far down south as Maroubra! Friends and family of race crew are most welcome! We attempt to work back through the fleet once out of the harbour to say a final farewell all those with loved ones on boats heading south. Book online: https://www.fantasea.com.au/special-events/boxing-day-cruises/

Not only did our regular passenger Mark take some great photos on the weekend, he also managed to capture some of the breaches on video. 🚀 Makes you want to go whale watching, doesn't it? 😆 School Holidays are coming up and we should have a great time with all the mothers and calves coming down the coast over the next couple of months. If you want to join us book online at www.whalewatchingsydney.com.au

Charging Together Towards a New Dreaming by Kamilaroi artist Bianca Gardiner-Dodd

As part of The NRMA Group, we are delighted to reveal Charging Together Towards a New Dreaming by Kamilaroi artist Bianca Gardiner-Dodd, which represents the Group Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) and our shared vision for reconciliation. Go behind the scenes to learn more about the artwork, Bianca, and the NRMA Group reconciliation journey.

Whales and Dolphins

Today we watched two humpback whales off Maroubra and Bondi Beach, but we still have some great video to show you from our whale an dolphin encounter from yesterday, so we will go with that instead. This was one of the best interactions between the two species we ever had with them playing with each other for more than an hour! You just never know what you will see on a whale watching cruise! We have been doing this for many years and still get to see something we have not seen before! Who knows what we will get tomorrow?! Next cruise departs from Darling Harbour at 11:00 and Circular Quay at 11:30 tomorrow. www.whalewatchingsydney.com.au

Breaching Mother and Calf

In anticipation of our first cruises this weekend here is another throwback to a great trip from a couple of years ago. Weather forecast is just about perfect as all this rain will have eased by Saturday & Sunday and we are expecting some moderate westerly winds which are PERFECT for whale watching as waves will stay pretty small, but whales tend to put on a bit of a show! Especially with the number of mothers and calves we have off the coast at the moment! You heard it here first, but we are predicting some breaches!! :) Our midday cruises are now sold out, but we still have some room on our 10:00 and 15:00 cruises. Book online at www.whalewatchingsydney.com.au

Breaching calf from 2020

Here is a throwback to almost exactly one year ago when we came across this little humpback putting on a show not far from the harbour entrance! We can't wait to take you whale watching from this weekend again and as our cruises have been selling fast, we just added a 3rd departure at 10:00am as well! 😎 book online at www.whalewatchingsydney.com.au or call us on 1800 326 822 to redeem your Dine & Discover voucher, saving you an extra $25!

More Drone footage

Some more tomfoolery from the same pod of 4 we came across yesterday between Bondi Beach and Bronte. :) 7 days to go until we can finally take you whale watching again! It should be a great 6 weeks of whale watching with the southern migration being in full swing now, with hundreds of mothers and calves cruising past every day. Book online at www.whalewatchingsydney.com.au

Our 3pm Express and Adventure cruises got pretty lucky today! A sunset double breach!! 🐳🐳 This video was sent to us by one of our passengers. Thanks for sharing Natalie :)

First video of 2021

Humble beginnings of our 2021 whale watching season. 🐳 This short clip was filmed amongst the annual Bondi to Watsons Bay Swim on Sunday morning with two juvenile humpback whales going straight through the middle. 🏊‍♀️ We are back on the water again from Wednesday and can't wait to watch some more whales! Book online at www.whalewatchingsydney.com.au and use promo code Save20 to get 20% off cruises in May 😎

So that whale we watched on our afternoon Discovery Cruise just went ballistic for the 3pm Express Cruise 🚀 First day of the season and we already have 20 breaches in the bag! Cassie, our marine biologist obviously likes it! 😂

As you might know, Whale Watching Sydney also operates the Manly Fast Ferry service between Manly and Circular Quay. Our boats go past the harbour entrance dozens of times each day and we are starting to eagerly look for any signs of whales. We have spotted 2 already in the past couple of weeks and its only a matter of days until our blubbery friends start showing up in larger numbers. It all begins in 2 weeks 🐳

Boxing Day - Sydney To Hobart Yacht Race Cruise

Playful calf

A few snipets from today's awesome cruise. The floodgates for mothers and calves have definitely opened now, with 3 pods found within minutes of leaving the harbour. Expect a lot of breaching calf photos and videos to come over the next 5-6 weeks. Or even better: Come along for a ride :) School Holiday Special: Use promo code "SchoolHolidays" to get 20% off our 3hr Discovery Cruise. www.whalewatchingsydney.com.au

Playful, relaxed whales in Sydney

We had some very relaxed and playful whales on our cruise yesterday. They kept roling around, gently flicking their tails and pectoral fins, while slowly drifiting along next to out boat. This is Cassie's first video (our marine biologist / now also photographer). I hope you like it! :)

Humpback Whale Breach

Big whale + big breach = Pretty big splash! 😳

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Our Story

At Whale Watching Sydney we have been watching Humpback Whales off our beautiful coastline since 1993, so we know the great feeling that people get seeing these whales up close and personal. Our experienced crew is looking forward to welcome you aboard Sydneys best custom built, fast and spacious vessels to give you the best day possible out at sea. It's an unforgettable experience! From mid May to early December tens of thousands of Humpback Whales migrate along the coast off Sydney each year. Your cruise begins with all of Sydney Harbours famous sights such as the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Watsons Bay and many more as we make our way towards the entrance of Sydney Harbour. Then we head to the blue waters of the pacific ocean where we witness these magnificent mammals migrate past Sydney's famous beaches and rugged cliff lines in the biggest mass migration in the world.