Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Whale Watching in Hermanus

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Whale Watching in Hermanus

I am planning on being in Cape Town next year, while the Whales are in the area. I want to take time to do a little Whale watching.I am wondering if I can see the Whales good enough from shore or would it be better to go out on a boat tour? Have any of you done this? Thanks a lot

Hello Jackie, The whales arrive in Hermanus from late middle August to a late as mid November. The period that is best to see them would be from mid September to end October. You can view whales from a land or sea base. To see these fantastic mammals via a boat tour is quite an extraordinary experience which I would highly recommend however if you only settle for a land base viewing you will also not be dissapointed. The choice is yours. Enjoy. Selwyn Davidowitz

In Hermanus's town center, there's a rocky promenade from which you can view the Southern Right Whales - the best time is early fall. Taking a boat out is preferred, but it will depend on wind and waves conditions. But you can see them very clearly from the shore - perhaps 100-200 yds. away, and oftentimes even closer. For a fabulous meal, try the Seafood Restaurant in the main hotel. Nice small town - with an excleent walk along the cliffs. And easy two hour drive from Capetown - and when you do, switch to the coastline ASAP, for a terrific ride. Do not miss out on SA's excellent wines!

Hermanus holds an annual Whale Festival each year - just this past week in fact. I don't know what the dates are for next year but it would be great if you time your trip to co-incide as the town really does go all out for the event!

Pardon my ignorance. If the whales are in the bay around Hermanus do they remain there for some time? If I plan to go for the day will I see the whales. I will be in CT in a few weeks and am hoping to take a day trip.

If you go to Hermanus anytime during August and September you will probably see whales. I hesitate to say definitely because you never know, but I would say that you are 99% covered. If you are in Cape Town for a few weeks during this period you will probably spot whales from just about any spot along the coastline. I have fond memories of spending an afternoon watching two whales having a whale of a time (couldn't resist that!) in Gordon's Bay.

I was in Hermanus yesterday and I could not believe what I was seeing. Whales were breaching out of the water wherever we looked. It was absolutely incredible. Bear in mind that I see whales frequently when I travel with my visitors but even so this past week was an incredible week for me when it came to watching these fantastic mammals. I reckon from my past experience that this situation will prevail for at least the next 4 weeks so make sure that if you can you are you are in Hermanus before the end of October although I am sure that one will see whales in the first 2 weeks of Novemeber too. Last night we stayed at the Windsor Hotel http://www.windsor-hotel.com/ which has sea facing rooms. The accommodation was so-so but let me tell you for what we were viewing out of our windows in terms of whales that were 100 yards away from us I would have paid double to reserve the room for myself. Selwyn Davidowitz. Selwyn Davidowitz

I just got back from South Africa yesterday... I spent 3 days in Hermanus during the whale festival... It's a neat little town and there were lots of street vendors and stuff for the festival. There were lots of whales in the harbor and viewing from shore was great. Stayed at the Marine Hotel. Very nice and we could watch the whales from just outside our windows...

Thank you all for taking the time to post the very useful information on Cape Town. My wife andI were in Cape Town last March(2002) and had a marvelous time. We had time to take many of the tours. Don't miss the all day tour of Cape Town and Table Mountain. Also take the tour to see the seals at Hout Bay and the penguins in Simonstown. In Cape Town we found local buses quite OK during the day. We travelled from our Hotel to the V&A Waterfront several times. The food is just great and in terms of the exchange rate, very reasonable. Don't forget to take a wine tour too. Really a lovely trip and interesting vistas and Wineries. We also went on a safari in Kenya and had a wonderful time. We saw three game preserves and had great food and accommodations. We liked it so much we are going back to South Africa Nov. 15th for a 18 day South Africa tour including Cape Town again,the Garden route,Port Elizabeth,Durban,Kruger National Park for a safari,short visit to Swaziland and back to J"Berg for our return. We have used 2AFRIKA.com as our travel agent and they exceeded our expectaions on the first tour and expect the same on this. By the way, I have no connection with them other than a user of their services. I'll write about our upcoming trip upon our return. If I can help anyone please email. and again thank you all for the additional information. Safari Salama & Hambla Kahle