Hermanus Whale Cruises in Hermanus

What a amazing day, unforgettably. Best crew ever. Thank you

Price is high. 1200Rand for just going near whales and no too close .. just like wrapped up the boat trip about 40 mins and too many people onboard which feels the price is too high. Whales werent too far to watch, just in 20 mins we were around whales so not price worthy.

The staff is just amazing! Thank you 😊

Bad service, booked trip, but when we get there boat had mechanical problems, no alternate arrangements. Travelling from Gauteng this was big disappointment

We booked a cruise the day before and they didnt told us they have a technical problem with their boat although the boat has a serious problem back than. We came on the day of the cruise and than they told us the cruise might depart 2 hours later if the problem will be fixed because they didnt fixed the problem yet.

Cancelled the boat tour without any notification to anyone or back up plan

Too busy

Lovely tour, very friendly staff and what a day we have there to watch whales.

#Stunning

Friendly helpful crew, we were lucky to have good weather conditions we saw at least 2 whales.The number of guest was too much for the size of the boat, yes everyone has a seat but when it comes to watching the whales standing around, the place was crowded and many didnt have the chance to watch "comfortably" and get good pictures.They didn’t serve any thing not even water but also we didn’t ask if they have anything on board.

Beautiful place, not much to do tho

Boats all going out to the whales! Good sunny day in Hermanus.

Wonderful and memorable experience. Were able to see quite a few whales up close

Had the most amazing experience with this company!Despite the harsh conditions (strong winds and currentsthey still dared to take us out. Before going on the boat, they explained that its never a certainty to see the whales. When a whale is seen, theyre only allowed to go as close as 50 metres (whale might get closer to the boat, but not the other way around).When we got out onto the ocean, we eventually got surrounded with whales! We saw about 8 in total, and spend about 20 minutes in between te whales. All in all the whole cruise took about 1.5/2 hours.

Amazing tour & the staff are so friendly & really make the trip worth while. My 2 guests from Switzerland were very happy. Definitely recomend to use them.🐳Funtastique Shuttles &Tours 🚐

Great experience to spot the whales. The guys know what direction to head in. We were not lucky to get the whales close to the boat but that shows their respect for nature

Highly recommend!!! Amazing guides Amazing sites!! Definitely a must do!

Saw multiple whales and a great crew, very enthusiastic and caring for those who felt seasick due to the rough seas

Crew was very enthusiastic and spotted quite a few whales. Saw a total of 5 whales and a handful of seals as well. Weather conditions werent great but still had a good time nonetheless.

We had a great time, we saw a whale, and it breached (the guide said this was likely down to the incoming bad weather). Bit of a tricky thing to review as youre completely at the mercy of the whales. We book with these guys last minute as our original booking was cancelled as they said bad weather was coming. The guide was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable.

Strongly not recommending this company. We had a whale watching boat trip with them on Thursday this week, at 12:00 and we didn’t see any whales. Trip took a little less than 1,5 hour (normally should be 2-3h). Ocean was very wavy and it rocked the boat a lot. During the cruise, crew stated that in this conditions it’s super difficult to spot a whale, I would ask how could you not be aware about the weather before the trip? Later I found that other companies in the harbor cancelled their trips on that day because of the weather. I would advise Hermanus Whale Cruises to do not care only about their pockets, but also to respect customers time and money!

Should better be called Whale chasing rather than Whale watching!Weve been chasing one for half an hour now, speeding at her every time she goes out of the sea to be as closed as possible, not even 10 meter away.I guess its good for business and Instagram pics, but even if Im obvisouly not a scientist nore a whale expert, Im not sure she enjoyed it or if its good for whales. ​We dont need to be that closed from savage animals. If so, Id go to aquariums (where I actually dont go).Im pretty conscious its easy for me to unadvise people to book for a boat trip as Im actually in the boat, but really, if you do love animals, dont. Im so ashamed and regret it deeply.And the guide clapping his hands and screaming out loud for the whale to come out as if we were children was way too much for me!

First time out and I saw some whales. Great crew and great fun.

We made a reservation the day before and as we arrived the told us the trip is canceled. Nobody informed us before so we planed the whole day around it and were driving all the way to there for nothing. They didnt offer us any solutions or checked with the other companies if they can take us with. In my opinion an horrible service and no feeling for making business. I would recommend everyone Southern Whale Right company.

Definitely recommend that one experiences this adventure. An awesome experience. Cruise and crew great.

We had a great time! Awesome crew and nice boat!

Shane tried his best to get us on a tour but the weather was unsuitable for touring. Shane however, gave us great tips to try to do land viewing of whales and all sorts of other things to do around Hermanus.

Takes you close to pod! Great experience. Take your camera

Unfortunately I couldnt get a booking on the Whale Cruiser, it was fully booked. The locals are taking advantage of reduced prices as there are no International Tourists around due to Covid.

I was there with my whale research team and the company was outstanding in performance. From explaining all the details beforehand, the cruise itself and of course- had great encounter with the whales.

Extremely poor experience.1. We reserved 2 tickets for 7:00. After we came and in the middle of the preparations the crew told us that the boat is broken and cannot be started. We had to wait 2 hours for the crew to fix the problem.How can you be so irresponsible? people in their holiday woke up so early to find out the boat is not working? why nobody tested the boat at least an hour before the cruise? at least you could start working on the problem earlier or call the people so they could decide if to come or cancel.2. Misleading photos. The reality is that the boat is staying very far away from the whales and you barely see them as a spot in the water.3. They get stuck over the same whale for 2 hours and dont even try to search for others species or other whales that might be more friendly.4. the captain in the boat always faced the whales from the same side. so if you happen to sit in the opposite side, you are screwed. all the people from the close site are standing with their cameras and all you see is hands with smartphones and a black dot far in the distance

We only sow two whales and its like they are not very well organised

Amazing place for whale cruises

Disappointing! Too expensive (900 ZAR p.P.for what it is. We stayed all the time at one place while other boots were moving around to spot the whales. We just saw two whales on a two-hour-trip, but from a distance. Crew didn’t give any explanations, service wasn’t good either. As I said very disappointing. Can’t recommend this trip. But I heard from many others that tours in Gansbaai are much better - you even see penguins, dolphins, seals, sharks, next to whales (the marine big five).

Unbelievable! Extraordinary! Informative! Educational...And absolutely AMAZING!!!What a rrrrrussssshhh! You have to be here to live it, to experience it!!!Just mindblowingly AMAZING!!!Never knew the ocean was so beautiful!WOW!!!☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆A DEFINITE 10 STAR EXPERIENCE!!!

Very expensive for a max 2 hour trip. And there is a extremely high change of seeing whales.Crew is good and helpful.

We have originally booked the trip with another provider, who cancelled on us due to the weather conditions. Hermanus Whale Cruises were the only guys still going out so we took our chances with them. Unfortunately, the trip was very disappointing. After driving for about 30 minutes, we only had about 20 minutes of actual whale watching. Then they decided the wind was too much and we had to return. The overall trip didnt even last 1,5h. Afterwards we found out, that the more reputable providers cancelled their tours since whales are much harder to spot in windier conditions. It seems that his company is only out for the money and doesnt value the experience of their guests too much.Stick to the competitors nearby.

Ok..they do what they promise...as we saw TWO whales.We left the port after another company, as they gave some chat about whales before and therefore the other cruise took the best whale spot.We just kept tourning arround the other boat in order to see the whale properly, and waites until the competence fled.Once they did, we could properly see the whales (just 2), but we also could see that the other boat made other stops in other areas (where we could see there were animals at the distanceand ours didnt, just remaining the whole time on the same spot.At the end, we returned even earlier than the other ship, having seen less whales or animals.It is true that we were given a snack onboard but the price we paid for the tour was not worthly.The worst of all, they asked for tips!!

The place has a access to the great views, you have people swimming, in the shallow waters, and also can see the seals, and a panoramic views of Hermanus. The are also eateries with great food and beers.👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾 there are also friendly car guards on hand to assist you. If you are in Hermanus please do visit this place for your whale viewing.

Theft during Cruise by the crew!!!Hello,on 26th of June my family and me did a 2 hours whale watching tour with Hermanus Whale Cruises.As there were no other passengers on board, it was only us 4 and the crew members.In the beginning the crew recommended to stay downstairs because of the cold wind. After approx. 30 min they asked us to come upstairs to watch the whales and leave our bags downstairs, what we did..When we returned we noticed that all our bags had been moved. Obviously all bags were rummaged because on late afternoon we noticed that all the money of my Mom was stolen out of her wallet which was in the bag. It was 270€ (ca. 4300 Rand).We are totally disappointed with the crew and wouldn´t book a tour with this company again.If you have the chance, I recommend to book with another, trustful company and be always cautious on board, especially when it is only you and the crew!Best regards,Hendrik

Travelled all the way from Cape Town (2 hoursand the previous reviewer stated they had lied about the boat going out. Happy to take your money knowing FULL well the ship was still being repaired. They could have easily told us to go to another cruise company knowing their boat wasnt ready but instead took our money and continue to take other peoples money. We also spoke to another family who told us this the second time this has to happen to them.The poor family from Italy who had waited all day to be told it will happen and at 3.30 said the boat wouldnt be going out. After travelling all that way we decided to look at another company in the harbour who were really sympathetic and told us the we werent the first people to come to them after weve been let down by this awful company and it was too late to accommodate us... As a customer, all we ask for is honestly. We could have found another company at 2 pm when they knowingly knew your boat was broken.I wouldnt use this company and would recommend you use another company in the harbour.

We had a whale watching tour booked as part of a tour package, booked it several days in advance and had called a few days before to make sure everything was still as scheduled. When we came here for our 9am cruise after a 3h drive, we were told that a big tour group had spontaneously made a booking and the boat was completely overloaded by that - there was no possibility of getting on as scheduled, we were offered a spot on the next cruise two hours later

This was a super cool experience. We got so close to the whales, we were practically on top of them. The guide was enthusiastic and made sure we got to see the whales breaching. A bit overpriced IMO but a nice experience.

Ooooo i.love hermanus..its very peaceful.nd serene..nd the people are friendlybound..i was at Hermanus @Home fr two days oh the hostess very nyc couple..i would definately go back..even Whale Coastal.Lodge they hav also very nyc people..

Mostly depends on the whales, you need to go early, late afternoon the sea gets choppy and the whales are in no mood to see more humans !

We were told to be at 6:30 sharp at the premises as the boat was leaving at 7:00. Dont mind waking up early for such an activity as long as the company commits to its time. Due to 3 or 4 customers that were delayed (out of around 60 guaranteed customers that they already hadwe had to wait another 45 minutes before leaving the dock. Also due to that, the boat rushed to get back to do their 9am tour and we didnt get much time to see the whales. There was one good shot to see the whales and i could have slept at least another hour. If I could give 0 stars, I would... but unfortunately i have to give at least 1 star for the unprofessional company!

Just commerce! All others cancelled their Tour but they didnt! I asked them and they told me everything is fine we can start! Then we go and it was horrible!!!! A third of the people get sick during the weather and waves! We had two tours before in Plettenberg and they were very nice but this here was a big boat with nearly 100 People. During the weather we must go to the lower deck and their where not enough seats. Also my pregnant wife has to stand. I asked the people to sit her and they said : look if someone stand up. So bad service. This is no family business its pure commerce! Never ever in my life. And yes we saw whales but we saw it also from the same distance from land, due to that the big boat is not allowed to go nearby! In Plettenberg with smal boats it was so much nicer!

Let me start by saying all tour operators in Hermanus offer the same thing. We sail out the same time, direction, and cruise along the same whales.With Hermanus Whale Cruises, the boat was spacious (more than othersand the host was very kind. We get to enter the bridge with the captain to stay warm, while enjoying the view of whales and other marine life. We saw many whales, dolphins, sea lions, and birds. At one points, all were actually together so it was super existing.This is a small family business, so they even arranged for a local meal for us after the trip so we can taste the local flavors. We really enjoyed our time with Hermanus Whale Cruises.Join them if you can. Francois and Philippes helped us a lot. Thank you!

Hermanus is a must for anyone, friendly town with loads to do. From craft markets, great food and ofcouse the whales.

Whales galore. Booking essential.I absolutely loved the boat tour, the guides were amazing so attentive and good at spotting. We saw no less than 6 whales moms and babes.