Marine Tours from Ventry to the Blasket Islands, Dingle Peninsula, Kerry, Ireland

Yes, there are whales around the Blaskets and in Dingle Bay.

No, they are not there all the time and sometimes they are as hard to find as hens teeth or leprechauns!

The main whales we encounter around the Blaskets are;

Minke Whales:

A small sized whale up to 10 metres in length that is more or less resident in varying degrees all year round. Relatively unspectacular with a couple of slow rolls just showing the top of the back and the dorsal fin. But a feature of 2010 season was the number of times we saw minke whales breaching [ about 4 different occasions and different locations] and caught it once on video – type in- wildblasket- on www.youtube.com .

Hunpback Whales:

2010 was disappointing for sightings of humpback whales, apart from some seen far offshore at the latter end of the season by telescope from Slea Head but conditions were not suitable for going out.

In 2009 we had a humpback resident for three days in Dingle Bay, just one hours steaming from Ventry Harbour and a few miles north of Valentia Island,Co. Kerry. The best chance to see them is in late August, September and October. An adult grows to about 15 metres in length.

Fin Whales:

Again mostly viewed from the shore with telescope travelling north of Sybil Head and Inish Tuaisceart, or south-west of Foze rocks and Inishvickilaun at end of season, Sept/Oct. and conditions are not always suitable for going out. Better chance to see them on [12hrs] offshore pelagic trips to continental shelf edge, in calm weather, where we also have chance to see pilot whales and hopefully some day blue whales which are known to traverse these deep offshore waters. Fin whales are smaller than blue whales, the biggest animal ever to live on the earth, but they still grow to about 22 metres in length.

These trips are by special arrangement and preferably with small group.

12 hours in a [relatively] small boat on the open ocean can be trying, so make sure you are up for the trip before you make this booking.

Our normal inshore trips are of 2 ½ and 3 ½ hrs duration.

Killer Whales:

In 2010 we spotted two killer whales just a few miles south of Skelligs and they stayed with us for about half an hour. They are always a bonus to see and always spectacular. Other sightings have been off Sybil Head, south of Great Blasket and in Blasket Sound. They usually don’t hang about and are on passage and can be seen at various times of the year.

They grow up to 10 metres in length

Harbour Porpoises:

At 2 metres adult length the harbour Porpoise is our smallest cetacean and smaller than an adult common dolphin. They are quite numerous and the seas surrounding the Blasket Islands are an E.U. Designated marine S.A.C. [Special Area of Conservation] with special reference to Harbour Porpoises. Unlike dolphins, for which they are often mistaken, they are shy and avoid close contact or interaction with boats. Also you really need very calm water to spot them.

So join us on one of our trips and see if you can spot the difference between a porpoise and a dolphin!