Dolphin Fleet Whale Watch in Provincetown MA
Looking for a fun family activity to do while you are visiting the cape this summer, consider doing a Whale Watch out of Provincetown. Whale Watch Dolphin Fleet of Provincetown is the first whale watch out of New England. Dolphin fleet Whale Watches are unique. Unlike many other whale watches, their trips offers a wide spectrum of educational tools that go beyond the “average whale watch”. All trips are designed to enhance our awareness of whales, other marine life and the marine habitat that surrounds us.
You’ll be out on the open ocean for 3-4 hours so you should bring sun block, sunglasses (polarized if you want to seethe whales clearly through the water) and some warmer clothing. Wear sneakers or shoes with good traction. Don’t forget a camera to share your experiences with others back home. Binoculars offer closer views of whales, birds and the Provincetown scenery.
Whale Watch Dolphin fleet does have a guarantee if no whale sighting on a regular trip all paying passengers will receive a free ticket for a future trip.
Whale Watching Rates for 2023 Season
$75 ADULTS
$65 SENIORS 62+
$50 CHILDREN 5-12 YEARS OLD
CHILDREN 4 AND UNDER ARE FREE
When reserving you must include all passengers for your boarding passes.
Here is what you may experience on your Provincetown Whale Watch
Whales move around quite a bit following food here on the feeding grounds. Over the past couple of weeks, the humpback activity has been heating up on the Southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. We’re only traveling 4-5 miles offshore, which provides us lots of viewing time on each trip! It’s a great time to get on a boat!
Humpbacks were seen associating in groups of mostly two to four, sometimes coming together as larger groups before breaking up into smaller groups again. Some were feeding sub-surface, while others were engaged in kick-feeding. Kick-feeding is a unique behavior only seen in the Gulf of Maine that is amazing to witness– humpbacks bring their flukes high out of the water and slap them down on the surface to disturb fish before diving below and blowing bubble nets to trap them, rising to the surface with their mouths wide open and full of fish and water.
While the adult humpbacks were busy feeding, we were quite entertained watching a few calves that showed off multiple surface active behaviors from full-body breaches, tail and chin breaches, pec-slapping, and general rolling around at the surface. A few of these behaviors were also seen from adults–when a 40-ton whale breaches, it’s quite impressive!
Not to be overshadowed by the humpbacks, fin whales and minke whales were sighted lunge-feeding in the same area. These lunges are lighting quick and without notice, making the difficult to capture a photo or video, but incredible to witness. Multiple fin whales were also sighted off the backside of Provincetown and Truro in an area known as Peaked Hill.
For non-marine mammal species, we sighted a small basking shark that swam alongside of us for a bit. The summer seabirds are also arriving in greater numbers- Wilson’s storm petrels, great shearwaters, Cory’s shearwaters, and sooty shearwaters. Summer is here!
FAQ
How long is the whale watch trip? Our whale watch trips are typically 3-4 hours. The variability depends on how far we may need to travel to see whales and weather conditions; this is at the discretion of the captain.
Where do I pick up my ticket and check-in? If you purchased your tickets online, that is also your boarding pass! You can get in line to board and present your printed ticket or QR coded ticket that was sent to your e-mail to scan. If you do not have your print out, tickets are available for pick-up in our office in Lopes Square (307 Commercial Street, Provincetown) or at our ticket booth on MacMillan Pier. Upon arrival, give them your last name and Booking Confirmation number.
When should I arrive for my whale watch? Parking can be difficult. We suggest our guests arrive around an hour prior to trip time. This will allow you time to check-in or get your boarding pass. On holidays and during special events, even more time may be needed to allow for traffic congestion and to secure a parking spot.
What should I bring? We suggest you bring sunglasses, sunscreen, a jacket, flat shoes with traction, binoculars, and a camera.
What is the best time to see the whales? The whales are here from April until the end of October to feed. Our sighting percentage is very high regardless of the time of day or month! See our sighting guarantee! Each whale watch is a unique experience and the best time to see the whales is the time that works best with your schedule!
Do you guarantee that I will see a whale? We GUARANTEE whale sightings! In the unlikely event of no whale sightings on a regular trip, all paying passengers will receive a PASS for a future trip (NOT a refund). Passes are not issued to schools or groups.
Will I get seasick? Some people get seasick easily, and some never do. If you think you might be prone to seasickness, you may want to look into taking a motion sickness pill before boarding. Some natural remedies are candied ginger, gingersnaps, pretzels, saltines, ginger ale, and coke. If you find yourself seasick on the vessel, try staying outside and look out at the horizon.
Can I bring my own food and drinks onboard? For security and safety we do not allowing coolers, food, or beverages on-board. The only exception is infant needs. Our galley has food, snacks, beer, wine and other beverages . Please note the galley is CASH ONLY.
Do you take credit cards onboard? No. As we venture offshore we do not have the ability to use credit cards. There is ATM’s in our ticket office and also on the pier.
Check out the reviews on Dolphin Whale Watch
We booked this tour in a hope of seeing lots of whales in there true environment and it didn’t disappoint. It’s 3 to 3 1/2 hour trip and you have to be a little patient as it took about an hour to get to the spot we saw the whales but it’s worth it. We had about 45 mins of a group of 5 humpback whales appearing all around the boat, and it’s not too crowded on board, so everyone was able to get lots of photos/videos. The marine Biologist on board was very informative during the travel and when the whales were appearing. Would do this again if I was to ever travel back to Provincetown.
We do this whale watching almost every year. The staff is knowledgeable and kind and we always see lots of wildlife. The boat is always clean and we have a good time. Kids love to look out for the whales. A must-do on the cape for your family vacation.
My family was amazed at all the whales we saw on our trip. The Dolphin XI is a modern ship with 3 decks. The commentary was very informative. We saw numerous humpback and fin whales. Many were close to the ship. Both the adults and young children were highly entertained during the tour. Highly recommend,
As you board the boat there’s seating on front of boat, back of boat outside, and there was inside seating. The front of boat will be very windy be prepared. The back of boat much less wind bathrooms are there and you will smell exhaust. Inside is comfortable and maybe a bit better to hear all the narration as you go out to see the whales. That was my only complaint I could not hear the narration as we were under way. They have food and drinks for sale. Bathrooms were very clean. The tour lasts 3 hours. Most of the time is getting to and from the whales location. We saw 3 whales!! It was awesome. Be ready for photos. Wear sunscreen, bring jackets for wind and rain. Make this part of your Cape Cod vacation. It is a very fun thing to do.
We weren’t sure what to expect or if we’d see anything but we had a fantastic time. We saw a ton of whales and the staff was very knowledgeable about the whales and were able to identify all the ones we saw by name. A few got very close to the boat which allowed us to get some great pictures and videos. This was probably the highlight of our summer Cape vacation and a great Cape bucket list item to check off. Highly recommend.
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