Eco Marine Tours

21/04/2024

Watching basking sharks doesn't get any better than this..

18/04/2024

The basking sharks have arrived in West Kerry in good numbers for the last couple of days, along with some fine, settled sea conditions. They are feeding on surface plankton as the ocean springs back to life, comparable to the greening of our terrestrial environment. This incredible wildlife spectacle only lasts for a few weeks, make sure you don't miss it. You can book your trip with us on www.marinetours.ie.
Drone credits Nick Massett

15/04/2024

Here's hoping for plenty of these soon- the forecast is looking good, finally, from next Thursday on. Bookings for our marine tours and Blasket Island landings are open on www.marinetours.ie. We can't wait to get out there again and see what wildlife we can find on and around the islands!

16/09/2023

It's hard to believe another season is slowly coming towards an end and we're seeing manx shearwater fledglings again stranded all around the peninsula.... here's some info about them and what to do in case you come across one.
The hours between 9 and 11pm seem to be the time when most of them drop out of the sky and end up helplessly stranded on flat surfaces around houses and on roads. If you happen to be out and about around that time keep a extra special look out for them! Maybe put a cardboard box in the car for the next couple of weeks in case you find one.... manx shearwater can potentially live for decades and one fledgling could go on to produce many many offspring in their lifetime to keep the population going. They are the most beautiful birds and picking one up and keeping it save before release might be as close as you ever get to holding a part of a truly wild ireland in your hands....

24/08/2023

A fabulous video taken yesterday by our passenger louise browne on our afternoon eco tour out of ventry. It looks like finally some larger whales (2 fin whales yesterday) are showing up in west kerry waters, along with an influx of minke whales.

14/07/2023

We just received some amazing shots taken by John Murdoch, a serial passenger on our trips with a couple of dozen trips on our boat under his belt. He struck it super lucky last Monday when the two last remaining members of the once 10 strong west coast community of killer whales - John Coe and Aquarius- paid a visit to Di**le Bay. Twas a less than perfect day, with plenty of showers- just goes to show that it's always worth getting out there, you never know what you might see, or miss....
The weather's looking good- at last- next week. You can book your trip on www.marinetours.ie.

20/05/2023

The pod of bottlenose dolphins that we've been observing close to our departure point of ventry in recent days crossed our path again today. Later in the day we managed to find a very productive feeding spot with common dolphins spread over a large area and minke whales in double figures(15-20 of them at least). A lovely day out on the water, and plenty of seabirds as well, especially manx shearwaters and storm petrels. Happy to see the weather forecast promising some calm days in the week ahead to enjoy all this activity out in di**le bay

28/04/2023

The amount of basking sharks in Di**le Bay this spring has quite simply been phenomenal. While their arrival here is an annual spectacle for us as they come to feast on the abundant spring plankton bloom, we have never before seen such large numbers of them.
They might stay around for a good while longer or move on quite suddenly, always following the largest densities of plankton.
We still have availability for all our tours this weekend - see www.marinetours.ie

14/12/2022

We have some special offers this year for our Christmas and New Year gift vouchers, with reductions of more than 25% on our 2023 rates.
You can buy our vouchers on www.marinetours.ie and either forward them digitally to the recepient or print them and post them on.
Nollaig Shona agus Athbliain faoi Mhaise do gach éinne!

20/08/2022

It won't be long before we'll see the first of this year's manx shearwater fledglings stranding all around the di**le peninsula. Please have a read of this article from the West Kerry Live magazine and help us save as many of these amazing birds as possible! Thank you!

19/08/2022

🐋JOIN US THIS SATURDAY FOR WHALE WATCH IRELAND 2022!🐋

We are delighted to invite you to Whale Watch Ireland after a two-year absence!

This annual event comprises free and guided whale watches at 18 local headlands and vantage points, as part of All-Ireland whale watch day.

This free event is suitable for all ages and is aimed at everyone from novice wildlife enthusiasts to more experienced naturalists with an interest in biological recording. All you will need are binoculars (if you have them), your sense of humour, and refreshments!

Inis Energy of the Sea WhaleTrack Ireland Heritage Week Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

23/07/2022

No chance of getting out today or tomorrow with southerly winds and next to no visibility due to a dense fog over the di**le peninsula. It's all the more difficult for us as we know just how much exciting wildlife is out in di**le bay these days. Here's some pictures from the other day- a bubble netting humpback whale, minke whales and common dolphins all around. The puffins will only remain around the blasket islands for another 10 days or so before they leave their colonies, not to return here until next march. The good news is that we might be in for a settled few days next tuesday through to thursday- grateful for any decent spells we get this summer....

14/07/2022

Whale watching doesn't got much better than this- calm seas, blue skies and plenty of blows and tail fluking, and all this right at our door step, just an hour or so steaming out from Ventry pier on the Di**le peninsula

14/07/2022

More big whale avtivity today- two humpback whales bubble netting and a fin whale thrown in for good measure. It's truly remarkable out there these days. Still availability for friday, saturday and monday- weather looks a bit dodgy for whale watching on sunday. You can book your trip on our website www.marinetours.ie

13/07/2022

The passengers and crew on bord the Blasket Princess' were very lucky to witness a humpback whale breaching innumerable times today, along with doing some serious pectoral slapping in between. Here's a short clip taken by our skipper, capturing two of the breaches. And the great news is that the weather is forecast to be just about perfect for whale watching trips over the next few days!

15/05/2022

An es**rt of grey seals along the Great Blasket Island on our morning tour today

08/05/2022

We found plenty of common dolphins yesterday for a group of Ukrainians recently arrived on the Di**le peninsula that we took out for a trip around Di**le Bay!

16/04/2022

It's such a pity the weather is keeping us from sailing this Easter Saturday and Sunday, especially as these big fellows are still around our coast. We're hoping to get on the water again from Monday onwards and hopefully reconnect with these large and majestic -and still quite mysterious - basking sharks. Thanks to Richard Creagh Photography for this short clip!

13/04/2022

At the moment it looks like only the friday of the easter weekend will be suitable for our tours...unfortunately. all subject to change of course but if you want to be in for a chance to see some basking sharks, friday's your best bet. Lovely footage here taken by our crew member richard creagh.

10/04/2022

Our friend Nick Massett sent us this beautiful drone footage of our trip the other day. This was one of the 8 or 9 basking sharks we encountered that day. Our tour boat, the Blasket Princess', is 13 metres in length, and this shark was certainly a large one.... these fish are often referred to as 'gentle giants' as - unlike their powerful toothed relatives, the Great Whites- they rely on gill rakers to filter plankton out of the water. We are very much hoping to see plenty more of them once the weather settles down again from next Tuesday on. There is also plenty of common dolphin activity around Di**le Bay these days, as well as a scattering of minke whales..

08/04/2022

The basking shark season is now in full swing here off the Di**le peninsula and tomorrow is promising to be a lovely calm day for the water.

02/04/2022

We've started our season yesterday and our first day kicked off with sightings of common dolphins, a minke whale, puffins, a basking shark and - to crown it all- one of our regular passengers, Timo, even spotted a juvenile white-tailed eagle over the Blaskets, causing a lot of consternation among the choughs and sea gulls on the islands. Not a bad start to 2022

13/09/2021

Two more Manx shearwater gathered for release tonight, one from castleisland, one from castlemaine. They've gone well astray but most reports are still coming in from dunquin. Put a box in your car, just in case, switch off any unnecessary outside lights and draw the curtains after nightfall. Prevention is better than the cure. Thank you to all the many people who've picked them up over the last 10 days or so!

01/09/2021

For the next month or we are asking people on the di**le peninsula to keep an eye out for any stranded manx shearwater. They are attracted by bright lights, then become confused and strand on roads and in gardens, and due to their feet being set far back along the body they are unable to take off again from flat surfaces. If you come across one if them, please put it securely into a cardboard box and ring one of the volunteers listed below who will collect the bird and release it back to the wild.

Feel free to share and spread the word!

Britta- ventry and dunquin - 087 2435845
Richard- ballyferriter and ballydavid- 086 3168150
Breda- di**le- 087 2438697
Catherine-di**le and ventry- 087 9834823

Please look out again these days for any Manx Shearwater on the roads and in the gardens and driveways of the Di**le peninsula. Their breeding season on the Blasket Islands is now coming to a close and as this year's fledglings are embarking on their first migration to South America some of them become so dazzled by the lights of our towns, villages and houses that they lose orientation and crashland.
Their evolutionary design has prepared them for take off from steep cliffs and from the water but they just helplessly flap their wings when trying to get airborne from flat pavements. Consequently , if left alone, they becone easy prey for cats, dogs and foxes or end up as road kill. If you come across any of these birds in the next few weeks please gently pick it up by getting a firm grip around its body and wings and place it in a cardboard box or some similar secure box. Do not give it any food or water- the chicks were left well fed by their parents and have sufficient fat reserves. Please ring one of the volunteers listed below who will either collect the bird from you or talk you through how best to release the bird yourself. Any release has to be done at night as the shearwaters could otherwise easily fall prey to any herring or black-backed gulls in the vicinity.
Richard(Ballyferriter/Ballydavid) 086 3168150
Britta(Ventry/Di**le) 087 2435845
Catherine (Ventry/Di**le) 087 9834823
Please share to spread the word!

22/07/2021

A beautiful picture of a minke whale in perfectly calm waters, taken by one of our passengers recently. Thank you John! The incredible summer weather coincided with large numbers of minke whales and common dolphins feeding close to the Blasket islands. These are simply fabulous days out there.

17/07/2021

Summer has finally arrived in the west, and along with the sun we've been enjoying sailing alongside innumerable common dolphins and minke whales over the last week. Today we encountered a 'friendly' minke whale - minkes usually mind their own business and don't pay much heed to boats, but once in a while an inquisitive animal comes and checks us out.

13/06/2021

Some parts of the country might have got better weather today than we got here in West Kerry but - we got humpback whales instead! Setting out in overcast conditions with reduced visibility at times, we nonetheless were lucky enough to have encountered four humpback whales on our afternoon trip today. Two of them spent a considerable time in close proximity to our boat while two more were observed a bit further afield. There were also plenty of common dolphins busy feeding all over the place - all in all a fabulous day on the water and we're more than delighted to see the seasonal return of one of our ocean's giants.

10/06/2021

After a lot of dull and misty days it looks like the weather will be improving a lot over the weekend. We'll be doing all our regular tours from Friday onward again. You can check out all our options and book online on www.marinetours.ie.