Pilot whales and dolphins, all year
Whale watching in Tenerife
Tony Hisgett, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
- Resident species
- Pilot whale, bottlenose dolphin
- Where
- Teno-Rasca strip, south-west coast
- Season
- All year: these animals live here
- Look for
- The yellow Blue Boat flag
- Prices back
- Within 2 hours, free to ask
Why Tenerife is whale-watching country
One of very few places on earth where pilot whales live all year, a boat ride from the resorts.
You can go whale watching in Tenerife in any month, because short-finned pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins live off the south-west coast all year. That's rare: besides Tenerife, official records name only Japan, Madeira, California and Hawaii as places with known resident pilot whales. Up to 22 cetacean species have been recorded in this strip of sea.
We have plenty of whale-watching boats here, in the part of the Canaries with the most on offer, from Los Gigantes to Los Cristianos. Send your date and group, and available boats and prices come back within 2 hours in business hours, free and with no obligation. Tell us where you're staying and how many of you there are, and we'll find you a trip that fits.
Good boats fly the yellow Blue Boat flag and carry a guide who tells you what you're looking at. The animals are wild, so no trip can promise a sighting on a given day, but these are residents, not passing visitors. Boats keep a respectful distance, so the animals stay.
Where the animals live, and where trips leave from
One protected strip runs along all these coasts, so pick the start nearest your hotel.
Teno-Rasca, the protected strip
69,489 hectares of sea off Buenavista del Norte, Santiago del Teide, Guía de Isora, Adeje and Arona, and the home of Tenerife's resident pilot whales and dolphins. Great depths lie close to shore, which is what brings up to 22 cetacean species within reach.
Whale watching from Los Gigantes
Los Gigantes sits on the Santiago del Teide stretch of the strip, right under the cliffs, so you get one of the great views of the island on the way out. A boat trip with two big shows in one morning.
Whale watching from Costa Adeje
Puerto Colón, in Adeje, is the big harbour on this stretch, with room for 364 boats. It's the easy choice if you're staying in the south-west resorts: short transfer, plenty of boats, and the strip right outside.
Whale watching from Los Cristianos
Los Cristianos lies on the Arona stretch, towards the southern end of the strip. It's a handy start from the southern resorts, in the same waters and with the same resident animals.
How to pick a great trip
One flag, one guide, and a boat that gives the animals room.
Look for the flag. It's yellow, with blue wording, a red-and-white lifebuoy, two white pilot whales and the dates it covers, and whale-watching boats in the Canaries fly it where you can see it. It's the Blue Boat flag, Barco Azul in Spanish, and you can spot it from the quay. Don't confuse it with the Blue Flag that beaches win: this one is all about whales.
A guide comes along on every Blue Boat trip, which turns a boat ride into a real wildlife outing: you learn which animals you're looking at, how they live and why they stay here. Ask them everything. Good guides love the questions.
Want to spend the rest of your holiday on the water too? A private boat day along the Los Gigantes cliffs is a different kind of treat, for swimming and lunch at anchor, and the boat trips page has all the details.
Good to know
Boats give the animals room
Good boats slow right down and keep a respectful distance, so the animals stay relaxed and stay around. Everyone watches from the deck, and that's the magic of it.
No licence, nothing to drive
A professional skipper runs the boat and a guide does the talking. All you bring is a camera and a layer for the ride.
When to go
Any month is whale month. Sightings are recorded all year, because these animals don't just pass through Tenerife: they live here. That makes it a superb winter wildlife trip, and a perfect plan for a calm morning in any season.
The south-west is the island's leeward side and generally calmer under the trade winds, so trips leave from the sheltered coast. Tenerife Sur airport averages highs of 21.7 °C in January and 28.4 °C in August, so bring a layer in winter and a hat in summer.
How it works
Three simple steps to get out on the water.
- Send your date, your group size and where you're staying
- See available boats and prices within 2 hours in business hours
- Choose your trip and get your camera ready
Whale and dolphin watching in Tenerife: questions
Send your date and group through the form, and we'll find you a trip. Within 2 hours in business hours you see available boats and prices. Pick the one you like.
Yes. Asking is free and comes with no obligation. You pay only for a trip you choose to take.
No. A professional skipper runs the boat and a guide explains what you're seeing, so all you need to do is watch.
Nothing to ask: you see the price of every trip in your reply, within 2 hours in business hours. Prices vary with the boat and the length of the trip, so you can compare them and pick what suits your group.
Professional skippers from local whale-watching companies, with a guide on board.
Los Gigantes, Costa Adeje and Los Cristianos all sit on the same protected strip, so choose by where you're staying. Los Gigantes adds the cliffs, and Costa Adeje is the handiest for the south-west resorts.
Very possibly: they live here all year, and sightings are recorded in every month. They're wild animals, so nobody can promise one on a particular day, but few places in the world give you a better reason to try.
Short-finned pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins are the residents, seen in these waters all year. Up to 22 cetacean species have been recorded in the strip altogether, so you never quite know what else might turn up.
It's the yellow flag that whale-watching boats in the Canaries fly, Barco Azul in Spanish, showing a lifebuoy, two white pilot whales and its dates. It isn't the Blue Flag that beaches win. Spot it, and you've found a whale-watching boat.
Yes, on a boat flying the Blue Boat flag. Say you'd like a private trip when you send your date, and your reply shows what's available for your group.
Sources
- Decreto 178/2000, full text (BOC 133, 6 October 2000)
- Gobierno de Canarias: procedure 3120, whale watching with tourist purposes
- Orden ARM/2417/2011: Teno-Rasca designation and ZEC rules (BOE)
- MITECO panel: Teno-Rasca ZEC ES7020017
- RD 1727/2007: protection of cetaceans in Spanish waters (BOE)
- AEMET normals 1981-2010: Tenerife Sur airport
Send your date, see the whales
Tell us your date and group, and get available whale-watching boats and prices within 2 hours in business hours, free and with no obligation.