Best tours for whale watching in Hervey Bay on the Fraser Coast
Would you like to go whale watching in Hervey Bay?
Well, here are my recommendations of the 7 best Whale Watching Hervey Bay tours you can go on in the Fraser Coast.
To make it easy for you to follow, outlined below is how the post has been set out.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. When is whale watching season in Hervey Bay
3. Best time for whale watching in Hervey Bay
4. Best time of day to go on a Hervey Bay whale watch tour
5. Best Whale Watching Hervey Bay Tours
5.1 Spirit of Hervey Bay
5.2 Whalesong Cruises Hervey Bay
5.3 Freedom Whale Watch
5.4 Blue Dolphin Marine Tours
5.5 Tasman Venture Whale Watching
5.6 K'gari Salty Safaris
5.7 Hervey Bay Dive Centre
6. FAQs
I hope you find this post about whale watching near Hervey Beach a useful source of information and it even inspires you to book a tour.
(This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you interact with them).
Read Time: 8 Minutes
Introduction
Hervey Bay is known as the ‘whale watching capital of Australia’.
Impressively, it is also the world’s first whale heritage site. So, if you want to witness humpback whales frolicking and tail-slapping in the Coral Sea, this is the place to go.
The best way to see these magnificent creatures up close and personal is on a Hervey Bay whale watching tour.
However, as quite a few operators run these types of day trips and excursions, it can be difficult to know which one to choose.
That’s why I’ve put this list of the seven best whale watching Hervey Bay tours together.
All of the companies on this list pretty much guarantee sightings of these Megaptera novaeangliae. They are also reputable companies who have been in business for a while.
So, they know exactly what they are doing.
Many experts believe the best time of day to go on whale watching Hervey Bay tours is between 11 am and 3 pm.
When is whale watching season in Hervey Bay?
The whale watching season in Hervey Bay and Queensland generally runs between June to November, although this depends on the water temperature and tidal patterns of the Coral Sea.
During this time, upwards of 40,000 humpback whales embark on a 5000 km journey – affectionately called the Humpback Highway – from Antarctica, all the way up to the northern reaches of Tropical North Queensland.
The primary purpose of this journey is to birth their calves in warmer waters, teach them essential survival skills and generally to have a bit of a play and rest.
One of the most famous whales to partake in this journey is the fabled Migaloo who is an adult, male, white humpback whale who is thought to have been born around the mid 1980s.
Best Hervey Bay Accommodation to book
Best time for whale watching in Hervey Bay
While the Hervey Bay whale watching season runs from June to November, the best time to see them is between mid-July and the latter part of October.
This is the time of the year when they make their way up to Cairns and beyond or back down through the south eastern states of Australia to their home in the Antarctic.
Best time of day to go on a Hervey Bay whale watch tour
Many experts believe the best time of day to go on whale watching Hervey Bay tours is between 11 am and 3 pm.
At this time, whales tend to be more active as they feed and play. Moreover as the sunlight is at its brightest, visibility tends to be much clearer at this time too.
Therefore, you have a better chance of taking the perfect Insta-worthy shot or video.
Best Whale Watching Hervey Bay Tours
If you are holidaying on the Fraser Coast and are interested in going on a whale watching in Hervey Bay tour, there are several you can go on.
Here is a selection of some of the most popular operators you can book with.
Spirit of Hervey Bay
If you are travelling with children, the Spirit of Hervey Bay does a fabulous half-day, morning tour.
The great thing about going on this whale watching Hervey Bay tour is that the vessel has five separate viewing decks, one of which is a spacious underwater one. This means, you should have no trouble finding an area to settle in to spot these marvellous creatures.
Thoughtfully, the vessel has several activities for kids onboard such as activity books, toys and WI-FI, which could reduce any potential boredom they might feel if the whales are not in view. They also provide them with a free whale DVD souvenir to watch when they get home and offer a morning or afternoon tea.
Perhaps best of all, the tour operator offers a free cancellation policy, which is very handy for if the kids are throwing a tantrum in your hotel room about not wanting to go.
You can find out more information about this tour here.
Whalesong Cruises Hervey Bay
Unfortunately not all whale watching Hervey Bay tour operators are set up to accommodate those in wheelchairs or with disabilities. However, Whalesong Cruises are.
With wide decks and ramps on the rear and side deck, this family-friendly tour is accessible to everyone. They also have a multi-lingual crew who speak FIGS (French, Italian, German and Spanish), so can communicate with people from many continents around the world.
Passenger numbers are lower on this four hour trip than on other whale tours Hervey Bay has to offer. While it operates throughout the day, if you can, I would suggest taking the afternoon sunset tour.
You will be able to enjoy the sight of whales splashing area while you sip on champagne and the sun begins its dip to the horizon. You can also eat a delicious buffet dinner, though you should let them know of any dietary requirements you might have in advance.
But perhaps the best thing to like about this whale watching Qld tour is how committed it is to reducing its impact on the environment.
This family-run, eco-certified tour takes place on an eco-boat that has fuel efficient engines. Its main USP is that it uses only a third of the amount of oil other boats do. Additionally, it has eliminated all usages of single plastic onboard.
Here are some more details about the tour.
Freedom Whale Watch
Whale watching in Hervey Bay Qld might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. So, it is understandable that you will want to spend as much time as possible doing it.
With Freedom Whale Watch, you can book a full day tour which lasts for approximately six hours. During this time, you will be able to see humpback whales frolicking around the protected waters of the Great Sandy Strait Marine Park.
On this whale watching Hervey Bay tour, everything is set up beautifully for you. So, all you need to do is relax, kick back and enjoy a delicious range of food options for morning tea and afternoon tea, as well as a delightful tropical buffet lunch. Just be sure to keep your eyes on the water at all times.
If you want to hear the whale singing, the vessel has a state-of-the-art hydrophone onboard to capture their voices.
Check out this link for more information about this Hervey Bay Australia whale watching excursion.
Blue Dolphin Marine Tours
While you should be able to see the whales on most of the tours on this list, none gives you quite as intimate an experience with them as Blue Dolphin Marine Tours.
This award-winning whale watching Hervey Bay tour takes place on an eco-friendly catamaran that offers tourists small and customised tours that are capped at just 24 passengers. Therefore, you can get to enjoy them away from a potentially noisier crowd.
As you are lounging about on this luxury vessel with a nice glass of red in hand, you may well forget that your primary purpose for getting on it was to see some whales.
However, you will soon get a real up-close and personal with these curious creatures as they pop up for a squiz at the vessel’s immersive in-water platform.
The tour is run by Pete Lynch, the skipper, who has over 35 years of experience with whales. In fact, he helped to rescue and rehabilitate a number of stranded marine mammals both overseas and in Australia.
Really, it’s his passion that makes this whale watching Hervey Bay tour so compelling. If you happen to visit Hervey Bay Queensland after the whale watching season has finished, Blue Dolphin runs cruises where you can see Indo-Pacific humpback and bottlenose dolphins along the coast of the Great Sandy Strait.
For more information about this Hervey Bay whale watching season tour click here.
Tasman Venture Whale Watching
For over 30 years Tasman Venture has been running exceptional whale watching Hervey Bay tours. Indeed, they are so good, they have won TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice Award, as well as receiving recognition from the Queensland Tourism Awards and Australian Tourism Awards.
They offer half day, four hour whale watching tours which are perfect for those who have a spare morning or afternoon. These take place on a speedy, three-levelled catamaran that not only has five viewing decks, but also several underwater viewing windows and a hydrophone to capture the whales in full voice.
If you are after a K’gari (formerly Fraser Island) whale watching experience, this adventure takes you to the western side of the world’s largest sand Island, where you should see them in all their glory.
You can also choose to partake in 4WDing on the island as an optional extra.
Find out more about this Hervey Bay QLD whale watching tour here.
K’gari Salty Safaris
For those on a budget, one of the best whale watching Hervey Bar tours to book is the one offered by the Boat Club Adventure Cruise.
However, just because they might be cheaper than others on this list, don’t think for a minute that the budget price leads to a lesser experience. This excursion comes with an expert crew and tasty refreshments, and takes place on a contemporary vessel that features an underwater camera, three viewing decks that have been purpose-designed and a hydrophone.
The tour is skippered by Phil House, who has been running whale watching tours in Queensland for over 15 years. He is a very knowledgeable guy who is only too happy to share his wisdom with tourists about these magnificent creatures.
Overall it provides you with a lovely day out, even if you don’t get to see as many whales as you would like to. You’ll be having too much fun cooling off from the heat of the Fraser Coast sun on a boom net ride as skirt K’gari’s picturesque western beaches.
You can learn more about what this Hervey Bay whale watching tour entails here.
Hervey Bay Dive Centre
Seeing whales live in the flesh is one thing. But how about swimming with them near Hervey Beach?
If this is something you’d like to tick off your bucketlist, then you should check out the tours offered by Hervey Bay Whale Watch and the Hervey Bay Dive Centre.
They provide the opportunity to spot and swim with them over a three quarter day. However, this will only occur if the crew has determined that the weather conditions are right and the whales are in a good enough mood to let you swim with them.
If they are, you will need to put on a mask and snorkel and make your way into the water. You won’t need to swim up to them, they will come to you. If you are lucky, and they like you, they may even sing you a song too.
This once-in-a-lifetime experience takes only 33 guests at a time, so it’s nice and intimate. The best chance for this to happen is in July to the beginning of September. Outside of these periods, sightings are typically of mothers with their calves, and legislation prohibits anyone from swimming with them.
If you want to find out more about this whale watching Hervey Bay tour please click here.
FAQs
Here are some answered to frequently asked questions about whale watching Hervey Bay tours and excursions.
When is whale watching in Hervey Bay
The whale watching Hervey Bay season runs from June to November, during which time upwards of 40,000 humpback whales migrate from the freezing cold waters of Antarctica to the warmer parts of the Coral Sea up past Cairns in Tropical North Queensland.
How much is whale watching in Hervey Bay
The price of whale watching Hervey Bay tours varies depending on factors like where you are going, when you are going, for how long and what you will do when you are there. Typically, you can expect to pay between $115 to $350 per person as a rule of thumb.
How long have people whale watched in Hervey Bay
The first commercial whale watching Hervey Bay tours commenced in 1987. Each year, roughly 50,000 tourists go on them.
