Family whale & dolphin watching holiday, Azores
Three whale and dolphin watching trips anchor this flexible family holiday, with apartment accommodation and plenty of free time to explore Sao Miguel your own way.
Sao Miguel Family-friendly apartment accommodation in Ponte Delgada 3x dolphin and whale tours included Marine biologists on each tour Wealth of fun and adventurous optional activities on free days
Price
£4200To£6200 excluding flights
Convert currency:
More info
Flexible family itinerary.
Includes: 7 nights family-friendly self-catering apartment accommodation; 3 whale/dolphin watching trips; return airport transfers.
Breakfast can be added if preferred, and land activities or additional marine experiences can be arranged separately.
Excludes: flights, travel insurance, meals unless specified and personal expenses. IMPORTANT: International flights are not included.
Direct UK options are more limited for 2027, so please check flights before confirming dates.
Indirect routes via mainland Portugal are available, and we can put you in touch with our flight partner if required.
Includes: 7 nights family-friendly self-catering apartment accommodation; 3 whale/dolphin watching trips; return airport transfers.
Breakfast can be added if preferred, and land activities or additional marine experiences can be arranged separately.
Excludes: flights, travel insurance, meals unless specified and personal expenses. IMPORTANT: International flights are not included.
Direct UK options are more limited for 2027, so please check flights before confirming dates.
Indirect routes via mainland Portugal are available, and we can put you in touch with our flight partner if required.
Description of Family whale & dolphin watching holiday, Azores
Make whales and dolphins the heart of your family holiday in the Azores, while keeping plenty of freedom to explore São Miguel at your own pace.
This flexible seven-night holiday is designed for families who want plenty of time on the ocean without filling every day with organised activities. Three half-day whale and dolphin watching trips are included, giving you several opportunities to experience the remarkable marine life found around São Miguel.
Every trip is different. Sightings can never be guaranteed, but the waters around the Azores are visited by a wide variety of whale and dolphin species throughout the year. Spring is particularly exciting, when migrating baleen whales including blue, fin and sei whales may pass through the islands, while other species are seen at different times of year.
Trips are accompanied by experienced local marine guides who help families understand what they are seeing, from identification and behaviour to the wider marine environment. Children often come away knowing far more about whales and dolphins than when they arrived — and occasionally with a new career plan.
Families with children aged eight and over can also choose to include our Be a Marine Biologist for a Day experience, subject to availability and minimum participant numbers. This full-day marine experience introduces some of the techniques used in cetacean research, which may include observations, photo identification and the use of a directional hydrophone when conditions allow.
Away from the ocean, the pace is deliberately flexible. Spend time swimming, exploring Ponta Delgada or simply enjoying the hotel, or add land-based experiences to suit your family. São Miguel offers volcanic crater lakes, geothermal landscapes, hot springs, kayaking, cycling, jeep tours and plenty of opportunities to get outdoors.
You’ll stay for seven nights in a family-friendly four-star apartment hotel in Ponta Delgada, with indoor and outdoor swimming pools and plenty of space for families. Self-catering apartments make it easy to keep meals flexible, with breakfast available if preferred and restaurants within walking distance.
We can adjust the balance of wildlife, activities and free time to suit your children’s ages and interests.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Flights are not included. Direct UK flight options to the Azores are more limited for 2027 than in previous years, so we recommend checking suitable flights before confirming your dates. Indirect flights via mainland Portugal can work very well, and we can also introduce you to our flight-agent partner if you would like assistance.
Itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive in the Azores and transfer to your family-friendly accommodation in Ponta Delgada. Once you’ve settled in, the rest of the day is yours. Explore the marina and waterfront, find the first ice cream of the holiday, make use of the hotel pool or simply recover from the journey and start getting excited about what might be out there in the Atlantic. |
| Day 2: | Today you head out onto the ocean for your first whale and dolphin watching trip. There is something particularly exciting about that first departure — scanning the horizon for a distant blow, watching the lookouts guide the boat towards activity and waiting to discover what the Atlantic has in store. You might encounter dolphins travelling alongside the boat, a whale surfacing in the distance or something completely unexpected. These are wild animals, so every trip is different and sightings can never be guaranteed, but that unpredictability is all part of the adventure. Your marine team will help you identify what you see and explain more about the animals, their behaviour and the remarkable waters surrounding the islands. |
| Day 3: | No alarms unless you want them. Spend the day swimming, exploring Ponta Delgada, wandering along the waterfront or simply enjoying the hotel. If your family would rather keep adventuring, you can add one of São Miguel’s many land-based experiences instead. Crater lakes, geothermal landscapes, kayaking, cycling and jeep adventures are all possible — but there is absolutely nothing wrong with a strategically placed pool-and-ice-cream day either. |
| Day 4: | Head to sea again for your second whale and dolphin watching trip. By now, children often start recognising some of the species, behaviours and signs the marine team are looking for — and may already have developed a favourite dolphin. For families with children aged eight and over, this can alternatively be the day to take part in Be a Marine Biologist for a Day, subject to availability and minimum participant numbers. Spend longer with the marine team learning some of the techniques used to study cetaceans, such as recording observations, photo identification and, when conditions allow, using a directional hydrophone. Perfect for curious children, future marine biologists — and adults who secretly want to have a go too. |
| Day 5: | Today is deliberately flexible. You might head into São Miguel’s volcanic interior to see the enormous crater lakes of Sete Cidades, explore the steaming geothermal landscape of Furnas, kayak on a lake or take a jeep into parts of the island you might otherwise miss. Or you might decide that yesterday contained sufficient education and today requires swimming and snacks. We support both approaches. |
| Day 6: | Your final included whale and dolphin watching trip gives you another chance to see what is happening offshore. No two days at sea are the same. Weather, sea conditions and wildlife movement all change, so a third trip can feel completely different from the first two. By this point you may be much quicker at spotting a fin or blow on the horizon — although the children may still beat you. Spacing the trips across the week also gives us more flexibility if Atlantic conditions mean one of the scheduled departures needs to be rearranged. |
| Day 7: | No programme. No scheduled departure. No obligation to learn anything. Revisit a favourite place, swim, explore Ponta Delgada, add another activity if the family still has energy, shop for a whale-related souvenir or simply enjoy one last day together in the Azores. |
| Day 8: | Transfer to Ponta Delgada airport for your journey home with some incredible memories and photos of your trip. |
Price information
£4200To£6200 excluding flights
Convert currency:
Flexible family itinerary.
Includes: 7 nights family-friendly self-catering apartment accommodation; 3 whale/dolphin watching trips; return airport transfers.
Breakfast can be added if preferred, and land activities or additional marine experiences can be arranged separately.
Excludes: flights, travel insurance, meals unless specified and personal expenses. IMPORTANT: International flights are not included.
Direct UK options are more limited for 2027, so please check flights before confirming dates.
Indirect routes via mainland Portugal are available, and we can put you in touch with our flight partner if required.
Includes: 7 nights family-friendly self-catering apartment accommodation; 3 whale/dolphin watching trips; return airport transfers.
Breakfast can be added if preferred, and land activities or additional marine experiences can be arranged separately.
Excludes: flights, travel insurance, meals unless specified and personal expenses. IMPORTANT: International flights are not included.
Direct UK options are more limited for 2027, so please check flights before confirming dates.
Indirect routes via mainland Portugal are available, and we can put you in touch with our flight partner if required.
Departure information
Available on flexible start dates throughout the year
Travel guides
With whales in every corner of the ocean, and so many species, how do you begin to plan a trip?
Our guide reveals the best ways to encounter these charismatic mammals in the wild.
Holiday information
Meals:
Self-catering apartment accommodation, with breakfast available if preferred, and the land tours are optional extras.
Dietary requirements:
Dietary requirements should be advised in advance so that arrangements can be checked.
Reviews
6 Reviews of Family whale & dolphin watching holiday, Azores
4.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed on 29 Apr 2026 by Sophia Fannon-Howell
We really loved the Azores and would love to visit the other islands. The host company team who organised our trip via Responsible travel were excellent. Seeing a pod of Orca's swimming right next to the rib boat on a whale watching trip off Ponta Delgada, climbing Mount Pico with my son […] The tea plantations on Sao Miguel are great, and botanical gardens in Ponta Delgada well worth a visit. They have lots of free ranging chickens, which was a lovely surprise! Read full reviewReviewed on 26 Apr 2025 by Jannette Tickle
Fantastic. I took my two young grandchildren and felt safe and supported which meant it was relaxing and able to enjoy the thrills with them.Definitely the dolphin and whale trips. Lots of sightings. Read full reviewReviewed on 20 Aug 2024 by Antonia Bindoff
Dolphin watching, canyoning, kayaking and biking and snorkelling trip. The Azores are beautiful and lush, the people are friendly and there is plenty to do. Well worth a visit. Read full reviewReviewed on 12 Jun 2023 by Nicola Pike
It was a fantastic experience and was a great first introduction to 'adventure' holidays for our son (9yrs). The booking process was easy and everyone from the office staff, to the hotel receptionists and the boat operators were a truly lovely bunch of people. Read full reviewReviewed on 05 Aug 2019 by Elfriede Bretterklieber-Taye
Friendly, helpful and welcoming people throughout! Dolphin Swimming was the most exciting part of the holiday. Read full reviewReviewed on 03 Aug 2019 by Mike Brunt
The most memorable part of the trip was seeing a group of 7 sperm whales diving one after the other. Read full reviewResponsible Travel
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we've screened this (and every) holiday so that you can travel knowing we've worked to maximise the benefits of your holiday to local people and places, and minimise any negative impacts.
Planet
WHALE WATCHING, WILDLIFE AND RESEARCHThe three whale and dolphin watching trips included in this holiday are operated by a long-established local company with a strong marine biology and scientific research programme.
Whale-watching trips provide opportunities to collect information about the animals encountered, including photographs for photo-identification and records of species, location and behaviour. This contributes to ongoing research into the whales and dolphins found around the Azores.
The marine team includes qualified marine biologists, with members of the team involved in cetacean research and scientific collaboration alongside their tourism work.
Guests also learn more about the wildlife they are seeing. Before and during trips, the marine team explains the species encountered, their behaviour, migration and some of the techniques used to identify and study individual animals.
OBSERVING WILD ANIMALS
The wildlife remains completely wild.
Whales and dolphins are not fed or artificially attracted, and our local whale-watching partner follows animal-welfare practices designed to allow wildlife to behave naturally and move away freely.
Traditional land-based lookouts, known locally as vigias, search the Atlantic from elevated positions and help direct the boats towards naturally occurring wildlife offshore.
Sightings can never be guaranteed. Each trip follows what is actually happening in the ocean that day, allowing guests to experience genuine encounters with wild animals rather than staged interactions.
A SIMPLE, SINGLE-ISLAND HOLIDAY
This holiday is based on São Miguel for all seven nights, so there are no domestic flights or changes of island included within the programme.
Ponta Delgada is compact and much of the historic centre, waterfront, restaurants and local attractions can be explored independently on foot during your free time.
People
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AND EMPLOYMENTOur whale-watching partner employs people who live and work in the Azores, including local guides, skippers, lookouts and marine biologists.
This combines traditional knowledge of the Atlantic with modern wildlife research and gives guests the opportunity to learn from people with first-hand experience of the islands and their marine environment.
The use of land-based vigias also represents an important part of the Azores’ changing relationship with whales. The lookout system has its roots in the islands’ whaling history but is now used to locate animals for observation rather than hunting.
During our own visits and conversations with staff working for our local activity partners, employees have consistently spoken positively about their working environment, staff benefits and work-life balance.
EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY WORK
Our local whale-watching partner is involved in educational work with schools, students and the wider community, sharing knowledge about whales, dolphins, the marine environment and the importance of protecting the ocean.
The team also supports marine biology students and researchers through practical field experience, mentoring and scientific collaboration.
Community and environmental projects have included coastal clean-ups and initiatives focused on marine litter and the protection of the Azorean coastline.
CONTINUING IMPROVEMENT
We prefer to work with local partners that can demonstrate practical involvement in wildlife research, education, community projects and responsible tourism rather than relying on broad environmental claims.
We regularly review the companies and experiences we work with and speak directly with local teams about their practices, working conditions and approach to wildlife.
Popular similar holidays
Azores multi activity holiday
From £825 - £1180 8 days excluding flights
Week of fun activities exploring Sao Miguel Island
Azores family adventure holiday, whales and dolphins
From £4500 - £6500 8 days excluding flights
Whales, volcanoes, crater lakes & family adventures together
Blue whale Azores family holiday
From £985 - £1195 7 days excluding flights
Best time to see the blue, humpback and fin whales
