Whale Watching Cruise In Puerto Vallarta & Nuevo Vallarta
Description
Embark on the ultimate winter whale watching expedition across Banderas Bay aboard a spacious double-decker catamaran! Witness majestic humpback whales leaping and interacting in their natural habitat, offering a breathtaking wildlife show you cannot miss. ✨ WHAT MAKES THIS TOUR UNIQUE: • TWO MEAL SERVICES INCLUDED: Enjoy a hot Continental Breakfast (pancakes, fresh fruit, yogurt, bread, coffee) followed later by a delicious buffet Lunch (marlin burritos, paninis, ceviche, and chips). • INTERNATIONAL OPEN BAR: Sip on unlimited alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks from our premium selection throughout the cruise. • DOUBLE-DECKER COMFORT: Sail safely on a large, stable catamaran (up to 120 travelers) with open-air viewing zones perfect for professional-grade wildlife photography. • DUAL DEPARTURES: Convenient boarding options from Nuevo Vallarta (8:30 AM) or Puerto Vallarta (9:20 AM).
Tour Options
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Refunds will not be issued if tour/activity is missed due to late or non-arrival of cruise ship
- May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
Reviews(413)
Mikes Fishing was an excellent host. From the giant boat, the amazing food and drinks, and the service was spectacular. Top it off they had us on whales the entire time. Highly recommend this group!
Hi! 🐋✨ Thank you so much for the review and for the 'top notch' praise! We are thrilled to hear that you enjoyed our giant boat and that the food, drinks, and service were spectacular. Our main goal is always to provide the best possible sightings, so hearing that you were on whales the entire time truly makes our day! It was a pleasure being your host in the bay, and we truly appreciate your high recommendation. We hope to see you back on board for another spectacular adventure soon! ⚓🍹🌊
We and our teen daughter went on the whale watching tour out of Riviera Nayarit Marina today. The directions provided to us for the pick up spot were detailed and perfect. The boat was, surprisingly, a huge 93 foot luxury yacht that would have held 100 people. The ship was accessible in that there was lots of seating and the bar and food were on the main deck, but there is also a top deck and the bathrooms were down some windy stairs from the main deck (not wheelchair accessible). Twenty of us or so embarked from Nuevo at 8:30 AM, then we sailed to Puerto Vallarta to pick up another 25 people. There was coffee, fruit, pancakes and sweet bread for breakfast, and we were served mimosas, Bloody Mary, or any other drink we wanted from the open bar. There were servers who brought the drinks so we didn’t need to miss a moment of the ocean viewing. We stopped with engines and music off at a few spots where there were Mama and baby humpbacks and enjoyed watching them frolic. The crew are all part of the whale conservation effort and were very respectful of giving the whales their space. The chef then prepared some turkey and cheese sandwiches, delicious marlin salad with tostadas, vegan ceviche (which was a mixture of fruits and veg and was absolutely delicious) and chips. The open bar and drinks service continued for the whole voyage. The tour guide, Israél, was knowledgeable about the ocean animals and whales in particular and gave lots of interesting info in both English and Spanish. He was very funny too, and made the trip super fun. There was a pro photographer onboard who took photos of the guests and all the whale sightings. Her photos were available for purchase. The crew was all very friendly and the ship safe and clean. We also saw sea turtles and dolphins! We would highly recommend this tour! Pro tip: If you embark at Nayarit you are first on the boat and can choose your viewing spot first, and you get extra time as you’re dropped off last. Muy bueno!
Hi Leah! 🐋✨ Thank you so much for this 'top notch' and incredibly detailed review! We are thrilled that you and your daughter had such a wonderful time on our 93-foot luxury yacht. It’s great to hear that our directions made your arrival easy and that you enjoyed the breakfast spread—nothing beats starting a whale-watching adventure with pancakes and mimosas! We’ll be sure to share your kind words with Israel. He takes great pride in being both funny and knowledgeable about our humpback friends, and we’re glad he made the trip so much fun for you. It’s also wonderful to know you enjoyed the lunch, especially our marlin salad and the vegan ceviche. Seeing the mama and baby humpbacks while maintaining a respectful distance is exactly how we love to operate, so thank you for noticing our commitment to being an ethical tour. Topped off with dolphins and sea turtles, it sounds like you had the 'full house' of marine life! Lastly, thank you for sharing that pro-tip about embarking at the Riviera Nayarit Marina. It's a fantastic piece of advice for future travelers who want to snag their favorite viewing spot early. We can't wait to welcome your family back on board for another adventure! ⚓🍹📸
Nice boarding and the crew was great
Hi! 👋 Thank you so much for the 5-star rating. We are glad to hear you had a 'nice boarding' experience and that our crew made your trip great. We hope to see you back on the water with us very soon! ⚓✨
Whales, Dolphins, and Turtles, oh my! We saw many humpback whales, mostly mamas with their babies. We also saw a pod of dolphins and several sea turtles. One of them swam right alongside our boat. The drinks and food were great and the staff and service were fantastic. Highly recommend
Hi Lisa! 🌟 Whales, dolphins, and turtles—oh my! We are absolutely thrilled you got to see the 'full house' of marine life, especially the humpback mamas with their babies. It’s wonderful to know one of the sea turtles swam right alongside the boat for you to see! Thank you for your kind words about our food, drinks, and staff service. We truly appreciate the high recommendation and hope to see you again! ⚓🍹✨
It was well worth the time. We saw many humpback whales, dolphins and sea turtles. The service was great! Plenty of food and drinks! The crewmembers were great.
Hi! 🤩 Thank you for the 'awesome' review! We are so happy the tour was well worth your time and that you had such a productive day of sightings with humpbacks, dolphins, and turtles. Our crewmembers take great pride in keeping the food plenty and the drinks flowing, so we’re glad you felt well taken care of. Cheers to a great time in Vallarta! ⚓🐋🍻
Caught the catamaran conveniently right outside Paradise Village (our resort). The crew was excellent and so attentive. Izzy was our guide and very knowledgeable about the humpbacks. The food was good service was too! Plenty of drinks were served. It is going to get very hot I suggest a hat!! All in all a great experience! Started at 8:30am and back at the dock by 12:30 pm plenty of time left in the day to do other activities
Hi! Thank you so much for the review. We are glad you found our departure point at Paradise Village convenient; we love making the start of the adventure as easy as possible. We’ll be sure to pass your compliments to Izzy! He is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to our humpback friends. Also, thank you for the pro-tip about the hat—the Vallarta sun is no joke, and we always want our guests to stay cool while enjoying their drinks and ceviche. We’re happy you still had plenty of time left in your day for more fun! See you next time! ⚓✨
Fantastic time!!! Crew was amazing!!! Took very good care of us. Highly recommend the tour.
Hi there! Thank you for the fantastic review. Hearing that you had a 'fantastic time' and felt well taken care of by our crew is exactly what we strive for every day. We truly appreciate your high recommendation and can't wait to have you back on board for another amazing tour in the bay! 🐋⚓
Was a wonderful day on the water… watching whales, enjoying the water, and a sunset cruise. The crew was fantastic, hosting and caring for us… will definitely book this company again for a day on the water!
Hi there! Thank you so much for your kind words. We are thrilled you had such a wonderful day enjoying the water and our sunset cruise. Our crew loves hosting and making sure every guest feels cared for, and they’ll be so happy to hear they made your trip fantastic. We can't wait to welcome you back for another day on the water! ⚓✨
Amazing time! The crew was absolutely incredible! We did more of a custom tour that was 5 hours, it was very affordable and a great size boat for our group 17!
Hi! Thank you for sharing your experience. It was a pleasure hosting your group of 17 for that custom 5-hour tour. We take pride in offering spacious boats, high-quality service for larger groups, and we’re glad the crew made it an amazing time for everyone. Hope to see you all on board again soon! 🛳️🎉
2nd year in row of booking Mike’s Whale Watching tour. Excellent tour all around, very comfortable,spacious boat with a tremendous crew. Funny, energetic and informative, all you could ask. Open bar if you choose, coffee, snacks and a nice spread of food put out at 11AM. After a slow start, whale sightings were frequent and in a couple cases, very close to boat, providing great entertainment. The Capitan even gave us some bonus time due to activity of whales. Exceeded our expectations in many ways as we know it’s close to end of season for whales, but to our delight they were still here. Even without the whales this is a great way to spend 3-4 hours on the water and would be good value. Highly recommend, and we will go again
Hello Ken! It was an absolute honor to have you back for the second year in a row. We are so glad we could exceed your expectations again, especially with those frequent and close whale sightings! Our Captain always tries to go the extra mile with 'bonus time' when the whales are active, and we're happy you enjoyed the snacks and open bar spread as well. Even as we approach the end of the season, moments like these remind us why we love what we do. See you next year for round three! ⚓🐋✨
