There are a number of catamaran companies that operate from Puerto Colon, If you walk along the marina in Peurto Colon you will be stopped by most of the companies offering prices.

Also check the web out.

The one we looked at is here...

http://www.tenerife-dolphins-whales.com/royal-delfin/uk/

When we were there this year (just back last week) we were told that you only ever see dolphins on these trips and that nobody ever sees a whale

I think its the other way round! We have done the trip 3 - 4 times and always see whales (they are pilot whales so not very large) but have only ever seen dolphins once. Think that was only because we were on a glass bottomed boat so we could see them swimming under it, they never appeared on the surface.

We've been on the Royal Delfin several times and have also seen both pilot whales and dolphins. The one and only time we didn't see either was at the beginning of June this year, when the sea was very,very turbulent.
Here's a couple of photos of both, on the surface, from a couple of different trips.

we also have done the trip ( sailed from Los C, just turned up at the harbour and booked the trip) and all we ever saw was the tip of one whale ( in 2 hours!! we had nearly sailed to La Gomera!) The excuse was as it was overcast and windy the whales would not come out to play!

My son had promised to take his wife to see the whales/dolphins on their honeymoon in Tenerife (she is a wild life enthusiast )
They never saw anything because they both had their heads in a paper bag all the time, throwing up.
They walked around that evening both feeling like the boat was still rocking many hours later.
Apparanty, they didn`t miss much, there was very little to see.!

Sanji x

Apparanty, they didn`t miss much, there was very little to see.!

At the risk of offending thats hardly ever the case and unless you`ve been you wouldnt know anyway.

Has someone who has been this is my honest advice (often given here)...

1 Most sighted are pilot whales like a very very large dolphin 15 foot long and they will surface in groups of 5 -6 very close to the boats. Dolphins are less likely unless you are further out and they do seem to be more usual up the coast from LC nearer Los Gigantes.

Very rarely you WILL see the much larger whales (in ones maybe a pair.)

2 Pick your day to go very carefully you need a good calm clear day with no wind. If there is a sllght swell on the shore it will be 10 foot out to sea.

3. Only go on a 2 hour trip if you think you might suffer with sea sickness. They will try to sell you a 5 hour trip.

4. Sit on the open deck ( wearing your suncream high factor and at least a hat or some shade and keep your eye fixed on the horizon whilst the boat is moving this will aleviate most of the seasickness.

Yeah,to be honest, when we were out in June, almost everyone on the boat was sea sick (not me though),they couldn't serve lunch,everyone was getting drenched, and they had to come back into harbour much earlier than planned. But.... as I said before it was the one and only time we didn't see any pilot whales or dolphins....we'd always seen them before, and in hindsight, having had a few iffy days weather, we probably wouldn't have gone out if we hadn't pre-booked it.
Enjoyed all the previous trips out though (all in very calm waters,I have to add).

At the risk of offending thats hardly ever the case and unless you`ve been you wouldnt know anyway

And at the risk of not offending I stated what actually happened regarding my family, I was in Tenerife at the same time as them and met up with them later that evening and they both were soley dissapointed.
That is just MY sons story, I never said it was MY personal story....and I stated what happened on THAT day.....I also don`t regard my son as being a liar.

Has anybody done this trip and is it worthwhile?

In answer to the original question...in my familys case, no it was not, but that doesn`t mean, that it may be the opposite for someone else.

I also don`t regard my son as being a liar.

I should hope you dont and neither do I.

My response was that not sighting anything is hardly ever the case. and I recognise that on certain days people can be unlucky.

Hence my advice to select your day carefully so has to avoid disappointments.

My concern however was with your final comment which appeared to be a definative statement and could be read by those unfamiliar with the area as meaning there was nothing worth seeing..... which is in fact far from the truth.

The word Pedantic springs to mind

Accurate would be my choice.....

Please lady and gentleman the forum can do without the little spat that is developing here. If it continues I shall have no option but to lock it down. both of you have been on the forums long enough to respect someone elses view without having a hangbags at ten paces situation so lets get on with helping others please.

We did the 2hr trip on the royal delfin in june and saw both whales and dolphins,this was our 3rd trip to see them but the 1st time we`ve seen the dolphins,like it says in an earlier post choose your day out carefully,the best bit of advice we were given was go on the early morning trip as the sea is calmer than the later afternoon trips so more likely to see the whales.

Thank you all for your replies!!! wow!!!! My daughter is slightly prone to sea sickness so perhaps I will give it a miss unless I can choose an extremely calm day???
Can't wait to go now (hope it will be a little cooler there, rather than the 36 C we had today in West Wilts ).

Thanks again

We went on the Freebird Catamaran last August. It was a lovely clear calm day, but we didn't see any dolphins, just the pilot whales, and only their backs, not their faces. The Freebird was out for 3 hours, including the opportunity for a refreshing dip in lovely bay down the coast before heading back to Porto Colon. My son and I felt quite queasy after the first hour or so but my daughter made a friend and sat on the edge of the deck, feet dangling in the sea spray, chatting away for the whole trip The swim in the sea was lovely though, and actually helped us feel a bit better. The aloe-vera-suncream-woman on the boat recommended a dip in the sea for anyone who was feeling 'off' and she was right!
I wouldn't do it again, simply because of the sea-sickness and the fact that we didn't see much, despite superb weather conditions. I've never been seasick before, but I've only ever been on large ferries. The queasiness actually started when the boat stopped and was just bobbing around to look at the whales, once we started moving again and caught the breeze I felt a little better, although I still felt like I was on the boat when I got into bed that night (and no, it wasn't the booze...)

I went out on a 2 hour trip on the Katrin from Log Gigantes last week. It was billed as a Whales and Dolphins Cruise.

We saw dolphins and there were lots of them but no whales. I was told later that the whales and dolphins live in different areas, with the whales in the deeper water to the south of Los Gigantes. I suspect that on a 2 hour trip it would not be possible to visit both areas.

Most of our party were a bit queasy, but nobody was actually sick, although a couple of people on the boat were actually sick. It was not the best day for weather and there was a bit of a swell.

We are just back from a trip to LC and went on the glass bottom boat to see the whales and dolphins - saw quite a lot of both - although more whales than dolphins - the guides were very nice and it cost 20 euros for 2 adults and our 2 children went free ...

the glass bottom boat would be best in my opinion as you only get to see the tips of the whales in the catamaran or other boats and i can personally testify that being able to see the whales swimming together in their natural environment is something i will never forget ... we saw quite a lot of baby whales swimming with their mothers and it was fantastic - our children loved it too and none of the passengers felt sick at all ... the guides were constantly on the lookout for other types of whales or dolphins and we managed to spot both - the dolphins we were told spent most of their time around the nets of the fish farms close to the harbour where they managed to snatch a free buffet every now and again and there were lots to be seen ... we were given a tip to avoid much of the sea sickness to go on the 11am departure as this was usually the calmest trip of the day and we were all fine ... happy whale spotting

We have been on the Katrin from Los Gigantes 3 times in 5 years. Always in February.

The first time was fantastic and we saw the pilot whales, which as already written look like large dolphins (to us amateur cetacean spotters!)

The second time we also saw the pilot whales, but it blew up very rough and we turned back early. It was a rough journey back to port, there weren't many of us on board, and we huddled at the back of the boat!

This year, they showed us dolphins which had gathered near the fish farms near the cliffs at Los Gigantes, we didn't go further out because they thought the weather would close in (remember it wasn't a very good winter there this year). The week before we were there, my sister had been in LG, and she said there were no boat trips all week.

I do believe that the captain and crew are very professional, and they have to decide whether to sail each day (which obviously they want to do, as it is their livelihood, and they want to show holiday-makers the whales etc.), then they have to decide how long to stay out at sea, depending on the weather conditions.

I suspect all the boats depend upon a spotter boat reporting back to them where the whales etc. are, it's fun to watch the Katrin and Flipper Uno set off in different directions and then converge on the whales...how do they do that humm??

In winter there's no point going on a long trip but I suspect on a calm day in summer it's nice to have the long trip and swim etc. as well.

Interesting point about the glass bottom boat, dozybint, we have been put off them since a boat trip in Majorca on a rough day, when you could see the sky through the glass bottom bit at times!