Whale watching in Hawaii is one of the most popular of all activities on the Big Island.

Unlike other locations in Hawaii, the Big Island is not only the seasonal home for the famous Humpback whales but is also home year round to a selection of Sperm whales, Pilot whales, Pygmy Killer whales, the Melon Headed whales and the rare beaked whales. These other species are called cetacean whales, which means they are all toothed whales. Generally these are found further off shore and can be often seen on one of the famous Kona coast fishing charters that ply the deep waters off the Big Island.

No other whale however matches the glitz and pizzazz of the active Humpback Whales which show up from roughly December through April. Hawaii whale watching trips abound through this period with Kona whale watching trips being the most prominent. These beautiful animals make their annual journey from the waters off Alaska toThe Whales are Here! the waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands. Here they mate, cavort and give birth to their young. You can often see babies which were just born traveling with their mothers and learning how to dive, slap their fins or flukes and breach high into the air. One interesting fact about these new born calves is that they grow at the incredible rate of about 100 lbs a day strictly from the milk they receive from their mothers.

Speaking of food, another incredible fact about these annual visits is that the whales, while they are in Hawaiian waters, actually do no eating whatsoever. They just live off the bounty of stored fat they accumulated while feasting on plankton, krill shrimp and other crustaceans in the Pacific waters of North America.

And while we’re discussing unusual facts, lets also mention that the lung capacity of full grown Humpback is approximately the volume that would be take up by a Volkswagen bug. No wonder they can stay submerged for as long as an hour at a time.

There are a very large variety of whale watching trips. Big Island whale watches generally leave both mornings and afternoons.

Contact our Hawaii reservation agents at 1.800.310.0542 for pricing and availability on all our island activities.