Hebridean Whale Cruises We are proud to provide our customers with by far the premier sightings from any vessels operating from Gairloch. Every year we encounter the most Whales, Dolphins, Seals, Puffins, rare and pelagic birds.
For at least the last 3 years Orca1 has been the N#1 whale watching boat in Scotland(boat based sightings submitted to the national cetacean monitoring unit)!
Mid May to Mid September is traditionally the best time for encountering the whales, peaking from mid June onwards.
In the early season the Cetaceans are on the move and occasionally we encounter some of the Great Whales and unusual sightings like Pilot Whales. Minke Whale sightings are quite sporadic until May.
From late August we have a wider range of species including Risso’s and White-beaked Dolphins. Occasional Humpback, Fin and Sei whale too.
We have four resident Cetaceans in the Hebrides as well –
Harbour Porpoise, Bottlenose Dolphin, Orca (Killer Whale) and Risso’s Dolphin so these can be seen at anytime of the year.
Basking Sharks tend to be late arrivals this far north, so it’s usually late August onwards for a good chance of encountering them.
Please note that these are wild animals and come and go usually because of the availability of their prey species, so sightings cannot be guaranteed at any time of the year.
But we go where no other boats go! It’s not just a trip around the bay we actively seek out these animals and we normally know where the Minke Whales are feeding
