by Larry Nocella

Created on: February 19, 2008   Last Updated: March 09, 2009

Almost all of the whale-watching trips I've been on, and I've been on dozens, have departed from Bar Harbor, Maine. Since Mount Desert Island sticks out into the Atlantic, it gives you a head start to get to the whales. Even so, prepare yourself for a least a one-hour cruise out into the ocean where the water is deep enough. During the hour long expedition, your trip will be made more enjoyable depending on the naturalist on-board. The best of these are like stand-up comedians, who also tell you a little bit of the history of the area.

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There are two trips that come to mind as my favorites.

Since you'll be standing out on a boat deck for at least three hours (the best views are out on the deck) you'll do well if you have friends with you or socialize with the strangers you meet. On one trip, we saw lots of Right Whales (these are the whales with the white wart-like callosities on their skin) thanks to the entire group working as a team, looking for spouts all around us. Right whales tend to be friendly and as one naturalist put it, "they like the sound of sneakers on the deck." The whale came right alongside of our boat, so close the pilot shut the engine off. Then he dove under and came up on the other side. We ran from port to starboard and back again, watching him, even feeling the spray when he shot water out his blow hole.

Another time we saw the huge grey whale, but not much of him, he was moving very fast and wasn't feeling very social.

The best whale watching experience I ever had didn't involve whales at all. The sea was calm, the sky was clear, the sun was high and you could see to the glistening horizon. It was a little chilly, but a fun boat ride out. As we reached the point where the whales hung out, we cut the engine and people started looking for spouts. We didn't see any but we had gotten close to a school of dolphins. Tons and tons of dolphins started popping out of the ocean, even a little baby. We cruised along with them, keeping a safe distance. They followed us (or were heading the same way) and they jumped in and out of our wake. This went on for the whole hour of looking for whales. We would zoom around to a different locale, but all we saw were dolphins, no whales.

I could have stayed out there all day, but eventually our time was up and we headed back in.

Recommendations

When choosing a whale-watching excursion, I'd recommend only going on whale watching excursions that "guarantee" a whale sighting. Fortunately, this does not involve any disturbing tactic of harassing the whales, but the simple policy of if you do not see a whale, you get a voucher good for another trip to be used at your convenience.

I'd also recommend bringing a camera, but don't try to catch a whale mid-breach. Despite the spectacular leaps you can see on television, the breach happens very fast, and then the whale is gone. Unless they come alongside your boat, you are not likely to get a decent photo. A camera is still good for pictures of you and your family on the boat, of course. Make sure your camera has a strap around your wrist, or it might take a permanent swim.

If you're prone to motion sickness, take some non-drowsy sickness medicine ahead of time. I'm not the most sea-sick prone person, but enough that one Dramamine pill makes a huge difference.

Whale watches are a little pricey but for those of us who live most of our lives land-based, they're worth it.

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