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The humpback whale is one of the most common creatures spotted when whale watching. There are about 30,000 to 40,000 humpbacks in the wild today, which makes up about 30 to 35% of the overall population. In the summer, they frequent New England, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Iceland, California, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Antarctica. In the winter, they migrate to warmer climes like the Dominican Republic’s Samana Province, France’s Bay of Biscay, Hawaii, Mexico’s Puerto Vallarta, Australia and New Zealand, Cape Town, Costa Rica and the Tongan Islands. Humpback whales are especially exciting to see during their breeding season, when up to forty males may gather to court one female with tail-lobbing, breaching several feet in the air, tail-slapping, spy-hopping, peduncle throwing and charging.

Minke whales are the smallest of the baleen whales you’ll see on your whale and dolphin watching tour. Minkes spend relatively little time at the surface and dive down for twenty minutes at a time, so they may be hard to spot, but they are curious about boats so they occasionally swim close to sailing vessels. They also travel alone or in pairs, so their appearance is even rarer. Since they were often thrown back to sea when captured because they were “too small,” the Minkes number about 800,000 worldwide. You can spot them in the Isle of Mull in Scotland, County Cork in Ireland and Húsavík in Iceland. During the summer months, the minke whale may also swim along the northern Great Barrier Reef of Australia and in Pacific waters around the San Juan Islands of Washington.

Killer whales are great for whale and dolphin watching because they typically live in large pods of up to 50 mammals. The best locations for watching killers are the coastal waters of British Columbia and the state of Washington. These whales hunt in packs to capture seals, minkes and Antarctic cod. In some cases, even grays, blue and sperm whales, as well as bottle-nosed dolphins, penguins, deer and moose have been hunted by the killers. Iceland, Northern Norway and Alaska are other popular places to spot the black and white cetaceans. As the stars of Sea World, killers are beloved for their above-water antics, including acrobatic leaps, breaching, tail-slapping and spy-hopping (holding their heads above water to look around).

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Azores, an isolated Portuguese-owned island chain in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, is one of the best places to whale watch in Europe. Situated 950 miles from Lison, the Azores Archipelago survives autonomously from cattle farming, fishing and tourism. Many travelers love the nine major islands and eight smaller volcanic islands because it remains one of the few unspoiled paradises on the planet. With massive craters, towering mountains and bountiful wildflowers, this idyllic paradise makes a great setting. Over the summer, you can see sperm whales and short-finned pilot whales, although the best time is February to June, when you can see humpback, fin, killer, sei and blue whales, as well as several types of dolphins. The winter months (November through January) offer little opportunity to see anything, so be sure to plan accordingly.

The World Wildlife Fund named Hawaii one of the “Top Ten Whale Watch Spots in the World.” While all Hawaiian Islands tout their whale watching cruises, the best area is the protected Auau Channel off the warm west coast of Maui. Whaler’s Village near Kannapali Beach is another one of the best places to catch a glimpse of humpback whales migrating from Alaska, giving birth and rearing their young. McGregor Point overlooking Maalaea Bay offers great views of humpbacks during early morning and late evenings, where they breach, fluke and head slap. The ideal time to travel is December through April, although the calving season begins in late January, when you will see the little guys curiously floating up to shore.

No discussion about the world’s whale watch capitals would be complete without mentioning Hermanus, South Africa. The best shore-based whale watching opportunities are located at Walker Bay, the southernmost tip of Africa, where whales leap out of the water, breach and fluke. Each year, Hermanus hosts a Whale Festival to celebrate the return of the southern right whales in May. Here they’ll mate and calve in the warm, shallow waters throughout the spring and summer, although the best time for viewing is in October. Travelers will enjoy Bryde’s, humpback and killer whale watching and, most commonly, southern right whales. With great restaurants, accommodations and local attractions, Hermanus is a great place to vacation.

Sarah Lomas is a foremost expert in treating yeast infections field. Her work has been extensively published in various online publications in the areas of natural cure for yeast infection. For more information on the treatment for yeast infections, visit Remedyforyeastinfection.com.

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Veteran cruiser Bob Messina of Georgia recalls one horrific experience in February of 2007. After 11 days aboard the MSC Lirica, he and his wife decided to book passage aboard a whale watching boat for $71 out of Samana, Dominican Republic. The passengers boarded a 24-foot open-air boat with 30 seats, no bathroom and no cover. Despite the 6-8 foot swells, the tour operators handed out seasickness pills and assured them everything would be fine. Two women seated next to Messina started throwing up within minutes. “For the next hour and a half, we experienced rough seas and what we called ‘whale chasing,’ not whale watching,” he explains. Five boats in the prime watch area would wait to see a spout and take off at full-speed to get a closer look, despite regulations mandating that whale watching boats stay at least 100 feet away. Messina recalls, “After about two hours, people started barfing everywhere, due to the rough sea conditions. Most of the passengers wanted to go back to the ship, but the operator said he needed to stay out for at least three hours.”

Travelers usually expect to see something on their whale watch trips and tour operators desperately want to make that magic happen, and at any cost. Once the initial seasickness had subsided, the boat arrived at the prime whale watching area, along with five other boats full of eager tourists armed with cameras. In this distance, a couple humpback whales leapt out of the water. The tour operators fired up the engines and began pounding over the surf in pursuit of the majestic giants. The travelers were hanging on for dear life, fighting seasickness and trying to catch a glimpse of anything besides the walls of water before them. “Then the guy behind us puked all over us,” Bob Messina recalls. “My wife almost joined in! At this point, everyone was yelling ‘take us back to the ship!’ The boat turned back finally, but halfway there, they shut down the engines and offered us some coke or water. They again said that they needed to stay out for at least three hours to get paid. I guess the lesson is don’t count on the cruise line to watch out for your safety; all they want is the mighty buck.”

To get the most out of whale watch trips, be sure you do your research first. Find out what whales can be expected at what time of the year. Look at the weather and the tide schedule to pick the calmest day. Go early to get the most sightings, since whales tend to be most active in the mornings. Take your seasickness medication, eat a carbohydrates-filled breakfast, grab your ginger ale and dress up in warm layers (even if it seems like a nice day). Do bring your camera, but make sure you have a strap around your neck and a covering to protect it from possible water damage. Make sure all your batteries are fully charged. Remember, patience is a virtue. Waiting for humpbacks or blue whales to come up closer to the whale watching boat is probably worth your while, since the more you zoom in, the grainier your photo will be and the jerkier your video recording will be. Lastly, there is no guarantee you’ll spot anything, so don’t let one bad whale watching cruise ruin your opinion. Next time, try a different day, a different spot or a different operator and you just may be pleasantly surprised!

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Gloucester whale watching tours are popular because the city is conveniently situated 12 miles from Stellwagen Bank and 8 miles from Jeffrey’s Ledge, which are two prime whale feeding grounds. In these areas, there is a 99% chance you’ll see minke, finback, sperm, sei, beluga, humpback and blue whales, in addition to dolphins, harbor seals, sea turtles and marine birds. There are many popular tour operators out of Gloucester, including the award-winning 7 Seas Whale Watch (www.7seas-whalewatch.com), the family-owned Captain Bill and Sons (www.captbillandsons.com) and the experienced Cape Ann Whale Watch (www.caww.com).

Boston whale watching tours in MA are convenient because you’ll be right in the heart of city entertainment, yet just 25 miles from Stellwagen Bank Marine Sanctuary, which is teeming with humpback whales, finback whales and minke whales. This 842-square-mile sanctuary is also home to dolphins, marine birds, sea turtles, harbor seals and trophy fish. To experience a Boston whale watching tour, the three major tour operators include Boston Harbor Cruises (www.bostonharborcruises.com), the Massachusetts Bay Line (www.massbaylines.com) and the New England Aquarium Whale Watch (www.harborexpress.com/whalewatch).

Its close proximity to the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary makes the Provincetown port the best place to take whale watching tours in MA. Most of the Boston tours spend 45 minutes or so cruising down to whale territory, but visitors to Provincetown can often see the gentle giants breeching from the beach. On your whale watching cruise, you may see humpback, finback, right and minke whales, as well as marine birds, dolphins and sea turtles. A popular operator is Dolphin Fleet, which runs a comfortable 100-passenger vessel with indoor and outdoor decks, not to mention a galley offering full breakfast, lunch and cocktail menus. For more information you can visit www.whalewatch.com or www.provincetowntourismoffice.org.

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In the North, Washington and Alaska offer the most popular whale watching tours. From Seattle, the season for whale watching runs from April through September, where sightings of killer and gray whales are 98% guaranteed. Popular tour operators include Clipper Vacations, Island Adventures Inc, Outdoor Odysseys, Puget Sound Express or Mystic Sea Charters. The nearby San Juan Islands are one of the world’s best places if you’re interested in seeing southern resident orcas or transient killer whales. For more information, check out San Juan Safaris, San Juan Outfitters or San Juan Excursions. Island Mariner Cruises based out of Bellingham, Washington offers views of minkes, killers and grays. In Alaska, start out of Seward, Whittier or Homer to glimpse hundreds of humpbacks and orcas, particularly in August when the whales are most active. Tour operators include Alaska Whale Watching, Kenai Fjords, Alaska Whale Watching Tours and Sikumi.

In the West, you can take whale watching tours out of California or Hawaii. The great whale migration takes place all down the California coast, making whale watching in California some of the best in the world. Here you may see blue, humpback, gray, sperm and killer whales, not to mention other unique animals like Pacific white-sided dolphins, porpoises, loons, pelicans and puffins. Visit San Francisco Whale Tours, Whale Watching Southern California, Captain Dave’s Whale and Dolphin Safari, California Whale Adventures, Harbor Breeze Cruises or Monterey Whale Watching for more information. Hawaii is the most popular playground for more than 6,000 humpbacks from November through May, so check out operators like the Pacific Whale Foundation, Aloha Hawaii Vacations or Hawaiian Discount for more cruise information.

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This accord is entitled the Environment Protection Protocol and is part of the Antarctica treaty. This agreement has been set by the nations of the world to keep Antarctica free of commercialism and industrial development. The treaty was approved in 1991 by 26 leading nations including the United States, Russia, China, India, Japan, Argentina, Brazil and most major European countries who had interests in the area.

The agreement ended the more than 15 years of diplomatic discussions and lobbying by environmental groups by codifying regulations. Not only was mining and oil exploration prohibited, it also specified that the 35 stations operated in Antarctica would clean up their sites and remove all disposed material. Raw sewage is not allowed anywhere near the waters of Antarctica, even from tourist vessels.

Explorers such as the Norwegian Roald Amundsen, the first to reach the South Pole in 1911, depended upon sled dogs for their transportation. But the treaty bans dogs completely because in recent years, dogs have killed Penguins amongst other native birds. Also banned from being brought into Antarctica are pesticides, polystyrene packaging and non-sterile soil. To get a closer look on adventure antarctica tours visit this site.

The continent lies under a covering of ice that averages a mile deep.  The area supports limited plant life such as moss and grasses. The ice in Antarctica holds about 70% of all freshwater on Earth. The water surrounding the continent is full of whales, seals, fish and sea birds.

Antarctica is a very fragile ecosystem. Growth is extremely slow in constant sub zero temperatures. Any disturbance may take years to recover. For instance, a footprint in a bed of moss may remain the same for 10 years.

The original Antarctic Treaty, executed in 1959, prohibited nuclear tests and any military maneuvers in the area. Rules for research were established and Antarctica was declared to be owned by no nation. Even though Antarctica can not be owned by any nation, there are some countries which claim to own every square inch of it.

Conservations laws were pushed for in the 1980’s when scientists discovered oil reserves, coal, copper, gold, iron, zinc, manganese, uranium and other minerals off the coastline. During the energy crisis of the 1970s, some companies began discussions on the feasibility of drilling in Antarctica. With the price of oil going up and technology becoming more advanced, it’s possible that further interest will be felt.

While it is law in all twenty-six countries, each nation would enforce the regulations individually. If a citizen from another country violate the treaty and its government does not intervene, other nations will then have to apply pressure to solve the problem. Many are in agreement that the treaty constitutes an environmental success story.

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What cruise lines offer a whale watching cruise?

There are numerous cruise lines dedicated specifically to whale watching. You can try the Hyannis Whale Watcher Cruises located in Cape Cod. If you want a shorter cruise and happen to be in California you can check out Sanctuary Cruises. They sail out of Monterey Bay national Marine Sanctuary and offer cruises that are around four hours long. If you are interested in visiting Mexico you may want to check out whale watching cruises from Aztec Adventures. If cold weather is more your style and you want to check out the whales around Alaska you should sail on the yacht Discovery from www.alaskacharters.com. As you can see there are plenty of cruises to choose from and they all differ in prices and length of time.

What time of year is best for a whale watching cruise?

If you are going to take a whale watching cruise you have to check with the individual cruise line to see when they depart. Most major cruise lines do offer whale watching cruises but they are only during certain period of the year. The most common time to go on a cruise where you can see whales is during the early spring months and the late fall months depending on the hemisphere. Weather does play a huge part in where and when a cruise line departs from so you need to double check with the cruise line first. You definitely would not want to take an Alaskan cruise in the middle of winter because of the ice floes and packs that can occur near the Bering Strait.

What other activities can I participate in while on a whale watching cruise?

A whale watching cruise is not just for watching whales though that is the primary reason you are going. If you are on a weeklong cruise you are going to have some downtime from whale watching. This is a perfect opportunity to enjoy some of the shipboard activities. Most cruise ships have dance classes, casinos and even rock walls you can scale for a great workout. There is always something going on so you are sure not to be bored. And if you still want to check out wildlife many do take the time to have informational classes on other aquatic life in the area which you will be traveling. You may get the opportunity to check out dolphins, sharks and all manner of sea life.

How can I book my whale watching cruise?

You can go through websites such as www.priceline.com, www.expedia.com or you can check with your local travel office. You need to specify that you want to go on a whale watching cruise. You can also check out reviews of cruise lines on the internet. Find out what area of the world you want to visit and then see if there are cruises specifically for whale watching. Each of the websites should have booking information you can use.

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There are many factors that make whale watching in California a cut above the rest, particularly the Monterey Bay harbor cruise whale watching. For instance, Monterey Bay is one of the few places you can witness killers hunting grays. Normally, the grays will stick to shallow waters during their mid-December to April migration. However, the grays must venture much deeper into killer whale territory to cross the Monterey Canyon, which often results in bloody conflict. During the rest of the year, visitors will see humpbacks and blues hunting smaller prey like anchovies and krill. “This year there’s been so much krill it looks like the sea is stained with red,” explains Keith Stemler of Princess Monterey Whale Watching. And more krill means more whales, he adds.

CA whale watching will take you out on a boat for the trip of a lifetime. While some whales are rather elusive, the humpback whale in particular is a curious beast. “By law, boats are required to stay one hundred yards away from whales,” explains Benji Shake of Princess Monterey Whale Watching. However, they can’t help that whales sometimes express curiosity about them! Monterey Bay marine biologist Nancy Black adds, “Humpback whales will sometimes show strong curiosity about the boat.” In fact, it’s not unusual for one to swim right up alongside you — rolling on its back, spouting up water and looking to catch the eye of a human passenger.

Here are some tips for first-time CA whale watching guests. First, dress warm, as it’s much colder at sea than it is on land, even when the sun it out! Second, wear sunscreen and shades, fog or no fog. Third, take sea-sickness medication an hour before boarding. Even for the most hardy sea voyagers, the choppy waters can be too much. Fourth, wear flat, rubber-soled shoes to avoid getting caught off-guard on a slippery deck. Lastly, don’t forget your cameras and binoculars with secure straps to get the most out of your whale watching trip!

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A lot of opportunities to go on a whale watching trip are available 40 minutes north of Boston in Gloucester, Massachusetts. However, Boston Harbor Cruises offer a popular three-hour whale watching cruise from Long Wharf (one block from Faneuil Hall). Each trip features narration from whale research professionals from the Whale Center of New England, the region’s foremost authority on whale populations, so you’ll be sure to learn all about the behavioral and migratory patterns of the whales. Each Boston whale watching tour takes place aboard a high-speed catamaran so most of your time will be spent watching the whales, rather than getting out to sea. The boat features three outdoor decks, a climate-controlled cabin with cushioned seating, a state-of-the-art video system and free Wi-Fi, as well as a galley with food or beverages. You may see humpbacks, minkes and finback Whales, as well as white-sided dolphins. Tickets are $39.95 for adults, $35.95 for seniors and $31.95 for children ages 4 to 12. For more information, visit www.bostonharborcruises.com.

In addition to the Boston whale watching cruise, you might want to take a whale watching trip 40 minutes north in Gloucester, Massachusetts, which is conveniently situated between two major whale feeding grounds. The 7 Seas Whale Watch Company has been featured in National Geographic Magazine and the Discovery Channel, not to mention rated the “#1 Attraction in Gloucester,” according to www.tripadvisor.com. As one of the leading whale watching tour operators in the state, 7 Seas has been operating for more than 27 years and guarantees sightings with every trip. In addition to seeing the usual humpback, minke and finback whales, travelers on these harbor cruise whale watching excursions have also seen beluga, sperm, right, sei, pilot and blue whales. The “Privateer IV” is a massive 108-foot sailing vessel with both inner and outer viewing decks. Tickets for the 3.5 hour trip are $45 for adults, $39 for seniors and $29 for kids 3 to 16. For more info, visit www.7seas-whalewatch.com.

If you want to get away from the more popular Boston whale watching cruise experience and see something a little more remote, then you can take a pleasant 40 minute drive north to Gloucester. Here, you are conveniently situated between two prime feeding grounds; Stellwagen’s Bay and Jeffrey’s Ledge. Down in Stellwagen, you’re likely to see humpbacks, minke and finback whales, as well as white-sided dolphins. At Jeffrey’s Ledge, you may see sei whales, northern right whales and harbor seals. Captain Bill and Sons is a family owned and operated Boston whale watching tour company currently in their fiftieth season. You’ll travel for 3.5 hours on a comfortable 100-foot sailing vessel with both inner and outer decks. Tickets are $45 for adults, $38 for seniors, $28 for children under 16 and free for babies under 3 years of age. For more information, visit www.captbillandsons.com.

As a leading expert in the field of anxiety or panic attacks, Beth Kaminski is always on the lookout for ways to treat panic attacks. Visit her site for more information on treating panic disorder and much more.

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