Faial Whale and Dolphin Watching Holiday

Experience cetacean spotting at its best on our Faial Whale and Dolphin Watching Holiday.

The Atlantic Ocean has always been at the centre of life for the people of Faial. Since the first settlement of the islands in the 15^th century, Faial and its main city Horta have played a key role in trans-Atlantic travel. ‘City’ is perhaps a misleading title. Relatively-speaking, Horta looks and feels more like a small, friendly town with a cosmopolitan, maritime culture. The historic Pousada da Horta is your home – literally a stone’s throw from city’s colourful marina, and the stepping off point your four whale and dolphin watching trips.

The waters around Faial are one of the best places in Europe to observe ocean wildlife. Resident pods of common and Atlantic spotted dolphins, families of sperm whales, loggerhead turtles, blue sharks and cory’s shearwaters can be seen from April through to October, with the big migratory sea-giants, blue whales and fin whales, passing through in the spring.

The sights on land are equally remarkable: the historic architecture of Horta, the cloud-tipped Cabeco Gordo caldera and the beautifully-barren Capelinhos peninsula. You’ll also have the opportunity to pop across the channel to the neighbouring island of Pico – famous for its UNESCO-protected vineyards and the vast 2351m high Mount Pico volcano, Portugal’s high mountain.