{"id":18501,"date":"2016-02-12T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-12T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/?p=18501"},"modified":"2021-10-28T16:50:12","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T16:50:12","slug":"best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/","title":{"rendered":"Best spots for whale watching on Oahu"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Winter is the best time of year to spot humpback whales in Hawaii. Every year, usually starting around December, the whales come in droves from the Gulf of Alaska, where they spend the summer feasting on fish. Like any sensible creatures, they come to escape the cold for warmer water where they mate and birth and rear their young. They usually hang in Hawaii through April, then head back north to eat.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5;\">Naturally, this means the months of January, February, and March comprise prime time for watching these whales in the wild.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5;\">While the protected waters between Maui and Lanai are the single best spot to glimpse these leviathans doing their thing, the water on the leeward side of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.expedia.com\/Oahu-Island.d180077.Destination-Travel-Guides\">Oahu<\/a>\u00a0is pretty good for whale-watching, too. Here, then, in no particular order, are some of my favorite options for seeing whales on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.expedia.com\/Oahu-Island-Hotels.d180077.Travel-Guide-Hotels\">Oahu<\/a>, Hawaii\u2019s most populous island.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5;\"><strong>Atlantis Submarines<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Not every vessel at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/things-to-do\/atlantis-premium-submarine-adventure.a197219.activity-details?srp=true&amp;location=Oahu\">Atlantis<\/a>\u00a0is, in fact, a submarine. The vessel that pilots take past Diamond Head to look for humpbacks actually is a catamaran with special technology that provides a super-smooth ride. On the way out, Atlantis Naturalists share insightful information on the humpback whale&#8217;s behavior and biology. Once you come upon whales, captains keep their distance and turn the boat so passengers on every side can see.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"small-width-image-container lansdscape-41fe3ca7-50ee-63e1-bbde-ff000073f150\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"landscape-41fe3ca7-50ee-63e1-bbde-ff000073f150\" src=\"\/images\/default-source\/user-matt-villano\/oahuww_content-[size_512x290].jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Title\">\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5;\">For grownups, this array of perspectives is a real treat. For kids, the ability to join the Keiki Program is something worth excitement, too.\u00a0Atlantis even has a whale-watch guarantee:\u00a0If an Atlantis Naturalist does not spot a whale during the cruise, guests are given a complimentary return whale watch cruise. (Before you start thinking this is a good deal; there are so many whales, it rarely happens.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5;\"><strong>Hawaii Nautical<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>While other cruises incorporate whale-watching, snorkeling and general sightseeing, tours on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hawaiinautical.com\/whale-watch.html\">Hawaii Nautical<\/a>\u00a0are dedicated just to whale-watching.\u00a0The outfitter leaves from two different destinations\u2014Waikiki and West Oahu\u2014and offers sailing or motoring excursions on giant catamarans.\u00a0 All boats offer sodas and snacks, and sightings are guaranteed.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5;\"><strong>North Shore Catamaran<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Whale-watch passengers also can go out on catamarans through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/things-to-do\/waikiki-coast-whale-watching-cruise.a266421.activity-details?srp=true&amp;location=Oahu\">North Shore Catamaran charters<\/a>. This company is renowned for offering personalized attention, uncrowded boats, and informative crews. Typically, North Shore trips have no more than one other group per trip, giving you an incredibly intimate experience with the whales. The small-group setting also enables adventurers to get more one-on-one time with crew members, making it seem as if the crew comprises a team of personal tour guides.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5;\">As the name of this outfitter implies, the boats depart from the North Shore\u2014Haleiwa, to be exact. This means you might spot Hawaiian Monk Seals and\/or surfers, too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"line-height: 1.5;\">Viewfinder Tip: Be sure to apply sunscreen to your face before heading out on a whale-watch. The sun\u2019s rays bounce off the ocean and can burn your skin if you\u2019re not prepared.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5;\"><strong>Star of Honolulu<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Finally, though it\u2019s not a catamaran, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/things-to-do\/premium-whale-watch-cruise.a197929.activity-details?srp=true&amp;location=Oahu\">Star of Honolulu<\/a>\u00a0boasts that it offers the most stable (read: least likely to cause seasickness) vessel on Oahu for whale-watching. The boat, which is more like a small cruise ship than a whale-watch ship, also has a 60-foot-high observation deck (which is good for spotting at distance) and four walk-around decks (good for panoramic perspective). There\u2019s even an aft deck that hangs out over the back of the boat so you can look straight down (in case there are dolphins swimming in the wake).<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5;\">As the father of three young kids, I also like the \u201cStar\u201d because one child gets on board for free with each paying adult. That means when the five of us go, we only have to pay for two adults and one child. It also means we have more money to spend on souvenirs at the end of the trip.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5;\">Whichever whale-watch outfitter you choose to see whales near Oahu, remember to bring some backup supplies just in case something unforeseen might happen. Often these supplies include chap stick, swim trunks, a backup phone battery, and snacks. Take it from one who has been there and done this before\u2014you never can be too prepared for a day on the water.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"line-height: 1.5;\"><strong>Where are your favorite places in the world to watch whales?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5;\"><em>Photos courtesy of Hawaii Tourism Authority and shot by Tor Johnson.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marveling at giant marine mammals in the waters of Hawaii<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":18502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1789,1900,1813,1782,1777,1890,1788,1792,1914,1774,1776,1807],"tags":[],"authors":[2227],"class_list":["post-18501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventure","category-animals","category-beach","category-destinations","category-family","category-hawaii","category-interests","category-nature","category-oahu","category-occasions-and-seasons","category-type-of-vacation","category-winter","authors-matt-villano","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Best spots for whale watching on Oahu | Expedia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Best spots for whale watching on Oahu | Expedia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Marveling at giant marine mammals in the waters of Hawaii\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Expedia Travel Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-02-12T04:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-10-28T16:50:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/oahuww_header-size_491x340.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"491\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"340\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jamie McNeely\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jamie McNeely\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/\",\"name\":\"Best spots for whale watching on Oahu | Expedia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/oahuww_header-size_491x340.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-12T04:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-10-28T16:50:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/593dbd40dd1d061c8d049105752b2c5e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/oahuww_header-size_491x340.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/oahuww_header-size_491x340.jpg\",\"width\":491,\"height\":340},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Explore\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Interests\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/interests\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Adventure\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/interests\/adventure\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Best spots for whale watching on Oahu\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/\",\"name\":\"Expedia Travel Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/593dbd40dd1d061c8d049105752b2c5e\",\"name\":\"Jamie McNeely\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c6c5fcb9612549bc286e9121c24dc652?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c6c5fcb9612549bc286e9121c24dc652?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jamie McNeely\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.waveinteractive.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/author\/jamie-mcneely\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Best spots for whale watching on Oahu | Expedia","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Best spots for whale watching on Oahu | Expedia","og_description":"Marveling at giant marine mammals in the waters of Hawaii","og_url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/","og_site_name":"Expedia Travel Blog","article_published_time":"2016-02-12T04:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-10-28T16:50:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":491,"height":340,"url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/oahuww_header-size_491x340.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jamie McNeely","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jamie McNeely","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/","url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/","name":"Best spots for whale watching on Oahu | Expedia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/oahuww_header-size_491x340.jpg","datePublished":"2016-02-12T04:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-10-28T16:50:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/593dbd40dd1d061c8d049105752b2c5e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/oahuww_header-size_491x340.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/oahuww_header-size_491x340.jpg","width":491,"height":340},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/best-spots-for-whale-watching-on-oahu\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Explore","item":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Interests","item":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/interests\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Adventure","item":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/interests\/adventure\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Best spots for whale watching on Oahu"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/","name":"Expedia Travel Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/593dbd40dd1d061c8d049105752b2c5e","name":"Jamie McNeely","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c6c5fcb9612549bc286e9121c24dc652?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c6c5fcb9612549bc286e9121c24dc652?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jamie McNeely"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.waveinteractive.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/author\/jamie-mcneely\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18501"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18501"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56600,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18501\/revisions\/56600"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18501"},{"taxonomy":"authors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/authors?post=18501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}