Close Encounter Whale Watching

About Close Encounter Whale Watching

Our Premium, Close Encounter cruises are conducted on our permitted whale watching vessel “Fatboy”. This permit allows our licenced boat to approach whales up to 50 metres. The whales may then move closer if they wish ... Whales are usually inquisitive and generally move closer and alongside the boat!

Only permitted boats may approach whales to this distance, all other sea vessels must maintain a 300m distance from the whales. ‘Official' whale season, based on the presence of Southern Right Whales along our coastline, runs between July and November, however, we are fortunate to have Humpback Whales between April and January. Bryde's whales are seen along our coastline All year round, so there is always a chance of getting ‘up close and personal' with whales in South Africa.

Ocean Safaris is a proud holder of one of a few Whale Watching permits allocated country-wide as well as being certified by Fair Trade in Tourism. We are SATSA boded and offset our carbon omissions through our affiliation with the Green Ticket.

Taking a cruise with us will assure you of an exclusive, legal and environmentally sensitive encounter with our marine co-habitants while we actively participle in the documenting of valuable research on whales and dolphins that we encounter during your tour. This information is forwarded to government research departments. Sightings all year round include Common, Humpback and Bottlenose dolphins; Brydes whales; various sharks; Cape fur seals and pelagic birds among other surprises. During whale season (July to December) we conduct these awe inspiring close-encounter experiences with Southern Right and Humpback whales.

We pride ourselves on having the right vessels for the job at hand. All our boats are specially designed for maximum viewing pleasure and are safety certified by SAMSA. Join us for the best "seafari" by far! This ocean adventure is nothing short of spectacular.