whale watching off the french riviera
 

Hi,
I will be going to Cannes in June for a week and while doing some research on the holiday, stumbled upon this whale watching trip off Villefranche-sur-Mer in the Pelagos Mediterranean Sanctuary.

http://www.nicetourisme.biz/en/fiche_pratique.php?id=12

However, apart from this, am not getting much info in the net about other operators doing similar trips.

Can anyone out there help me with more info.

Thanks.

Sounds interesting, but whales are pretty sparse in the Med., and I should think your chances of actually seeing one blow, much less getting close, are pretty slim.

One moonlit night many years ago, sailing from Corsica to Monaco, one did broach close aboard on our starboard side. Scared the wadding out of me at the helm, and my companion, who was dosing in the cockpit, nearly jumped overboard. Since the beast was upwind of us, we got a good whiff, too. Smelled like a rotten haystack.

A once in a lifetime experience, and if you really have a chance of a sighting, I'd say go for it. At worst, you'll get a day at sea.

:-)

I agree that it sounds interesting. We visit the riviera every summer, but I've never heard of anyone seeing whales, not even those who sail a lot there.
If you do go, please post again after your trip. I'd love to know about this.

The firm running boats at Villefranche is AMV. Their website has some details, but schedules are still shown for 2006:
www.amv-sirenes.com/cetaces.htm
Trips to see whales also operate from nearby Italian towns, including Sanremo (www.sanremowhalecruising.it), and Imperia, Alassio and Andora (www.whalewatch.it).

That is what's bothering me also...I ve friends who've visited the riviera but have never heard about any whale watching trips. On the other hand, it sounds very exciting & the link that I stumbled upon looks genuine enough. I also found a brief mention about it in a guide book on Cote d'Azur, so maybe, it does exist! :)

One way to go about it will be to visit the tourism office in Nice, when I am there & figure out.

I am also sending a mail to AMV (thanks GH for the link), let's see if they revert.

And if I find any other details, will surely be posting here.

Thanks.

Excuse my skepticism (a New Yorker here...), but you have a better chance to see whales from the plane than out the French Riviera coast in June...

Sasha, there are like a hundred thousands unique places and things in the area you will be visiting. Use your limited time wisely. If you want to see whales, save it for a trip out the USA east coast-- Cape Ann, Cape Cod (MA), etc, etc...

A great boat ride from Cannes (if that's what you are into) is to Ille St. Marguerite, the island where the Man in the Iron Mask was jailed.

Have a great time in France!