Headed for two days in Boston. Would love to see whales in feeding grounds near there. Would like to travel in something smaller and more intimate than the big 100-200 passenger boats if possible. Is it possible? Has anyone had any experience whale watching near Boston - even on the bigger boats? Was it a worthwhile experience? Any info will be appreciated. Thanks

There are several whale watching boats in Gloucester, MA which is about 1 hour north of Boston. Even if you don't see any whales it's a nice town. Nearby (approx. 10min)is Rockport which is a quaint little town with local galleries, boutiques, etc. It's also a dry town. You can get to either by commuter rail from downtown Boston. All of the hotels and car rental places in Boston should have brochures in the lobbies about whale watching so you could just walk in and get one.

Hi-the Aquarium has a boat that goes out and in Gloucester area I recommend Capt. Bob’s—Love those gentle giants...

Whale watching is an absolutely terrific experience anywhere off the coast north of Boston. Boats leave from the Aquarium @ Boston, and from Rockport, Gloucester, and Provincetown. All of these boats go to the same spot, so it doesn't matter which you choose in that respect. Some companies have naturalists on board and you will get more of an education about the whales. Most of the boats that I have seen out there are the same size - the trip is at least 1 hour off shore, so you need a boat with enough power to get you out there. I'm not aware of smaller boats that do this, simply because it takes so long to get out there. We always choose to do it in the morning, when the sea is more calm and hopefully there is less wind. If you are staying in the city of Boston, I would pick the aquarium sponsored trip - their boats are safe and there are folks on board to identify the whales for you.
Good luck.

Just returned from a whale watch. We caught the ferry from Boston to Salem, and then went from there. The boat was not crowded at all. We saw lots and lots of whales and had a naturalist tell us all about it. We were told we used a good company. Well worth the money.

I'm glad other people had such positive experiences
with whale watching. I wish ours would have been
a good one. Just mention whale watching to my
husband and his eyes will roll. We took the short
trip and it lasted from about 2p.m. until about
8:30 p.m. way too long! We saw very few whales
and what we did see it was hard to tell they
were even whales because all we saw was their
backs. Very disappointing. We left from the
museum or the aquarium, sorry can't remember
which.

Many thanks to all who replied. I did indeed whale watch with the New England Aquarium tour and it was fantastic. My last whale watching experience from L.A. had been such a bust. Only saw spouts and fins from far away. But this time it was really different. We went into the feeding grounds. The whales came right up next to the boat. At one time we were surrounded by 15-20 humpback whales, several were mothers with calves. One whale kept running along side the boat and jumping out of the water. He was also skim feeding, which means he was swimming right on the waters surface with his mouth wide open to scoop up plankton. He couldn't have been more than 100 feet from our starboard side. I hope my little camera got some good sharp pictures of all of that. Yes, the trip was over 5 hours long, but the time just flew by. Of course, I believe that you must be there at the right time of year, but it seems that August is the very best. I can't thank you all enough for the recommendations and I will surely tell everyone I know to give this a try. TC