Your tour guide, Dan McSweeney, is a researcher and photographer who has spent nearly 30 years observing and studying these beautiful mammals. What I didn't know before planning this tour is that whales do live in and around the Hawaiian waters year-round. What most tour operators focus on are the migration and birthing of the humpbacks, which are only in the Hawaiian waters between December and May. Luckily, tourists can take this tour anytime of the year and be pretty much guaranteed whale sightings. Sure, they might not be humpbacks, but still... YOU ARE IN HAWAII, GO SEE THE OTHER WHALES THAT LIVE HERE ALL THE TIME!!

On our trip we were lucky. In spite of being very early in the migration season to Hawaii, we did see two humpbacks. The first was almost immediately after leaving the marina area. They say that the younger ones come first, and as such, they are a bit skittish about boats in their area. This particular one only surfaced near our boat twice, never to be seen again. We also saw another one about 45 minutes later and stayed with us for nearly half an hour. They spout water out and up, then break the water surface. Before they dive deep (for up to 20 minutes), they will do a "tail slap" on the surface. While a great photo op, it is very difficult to catch this with regular amateur photography equipment. The other species found in these waters include the pilot, sperm, and false killer whales.

The total time of this tour was 3.5 hours. The crew was friendly and very informative. Light refreshments were also provided throughout the morning.

NOTE: Be sure to click on the photo to enlarge it; otherwise, you won't be able to see what is a surfacing whale going back down.