Hebridean Whale Cruises, Gairloch

Hebridean Whale Cruises, Gairloch ORCA1 THE N #1 WHALE WATCHING BOAT IN SCOTLAND!!! Every year we encounter the most Whales, Dolphins, Seals, Puffins, rare and pelagic birds.
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We are proud to provide our customers with by far the premier sightings from any vessels operating from Gairloch. For at least the last 3 years Orca1 has been the N #1 whale watching boat in Scotland(boat based sightings submitted to the national cetacean monitoring unit)! Mid May to Mid September is traditionally the best time for encountering the whales, peaking from mid June onwards. In the early season the Cetaceans are on the move and occasionally we encounter some of the Great Whales and unusual sightings like Pilot Whales. Minke Whale sightings are quite sporadic until May. From late August we have a wider range of species including Risso’s and White-beaked Dolphins. Occasional Humpback, Fin and Sei whale too. We have four resident Cetaceans in the Hebrides as well –
Harbour Porpoise, Bottlenose Dolphin, Orca (Killer Whale) and Risso’s Dolphin so these can be seen at anytime of the year. Basking Sharks tend to be late arrivals this far north, so it’s usually late August onwards for a good chance of encountering them. Please note that these are wild animals and come and go usually because of the availability of their prey species, so sightings cannot be guaranteed at any time of the year. But we go where no other boats go! It’s not just a trip around the bay we actively seek out these animals and we normally know where the Minke Whales are feeding!

29/07/2026

A few weeks back we were incredibly lucky to have experienced a very special encounter with this inquisitive Minke whale 🐋 Passing under us several times, sticking its rostrum out and even blowing a BIG bubble at us. A truly magical experience for everyone on the boat and as you can tell our crew got quite excited too… HOW COULD YOU NOT!

Enjoy a little compilation of some topside shots and underwater shots by and

08/07/2026

The eagles at the harbour have certainly been putting on a show today in the beautiful sunshine!

I’m sure if you’ve joined us for a trip this season you may have been lucky to have had a wonderful sighting of our local White tailed Eagle pair! Absolutely incredible birds and what a joy to have so close to our office. Keep your eyes peeled if you’re out and about around the harbour 🦅🤩

It’s only taken us a short while… but we are officially A WHALE TRACK SCHEME MEMBER💙🐋Since HWDT launched Whale track we ...
30/06/2026

It’s only taken us a short while… but we are officially A WHALE TRACK SCHEME MEMBER💙🐋

Since HWDT launched Whale track we have aimed to use this app for all of our sightings over the years. Now nearing 1000 excursions completed we are proud to continue supporting and contributing to the amazing work HWDT do here on the West Coast for our wonderful marine life that calls this place home (seasonally for some). You know what they say… THE WEST IS BEST 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🐋💙🐬

Here’s to many more years contributing to citizen science with the wonderful Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust. Keep up the amazing work 💙

*** BOOKINGS FOR 2026 ARE ONLINE *** 🐧🦅🐬🐋🦈Our Online Booking System is online !!! It took a little longer than normal, ...
09/04/2026

*** BOOKINGS FOR 2026 ARE ONLINE *** 🐧🦅🐬🐋🦈

Our Online Booking System is online !!!
It took a little longer than normal, but hopefully all is sorted now.
All who is eager to book, please visit our website and secure your seats for 2026. Hopefully the weather will also accomodate when you visit 🙂 .

As usual we start the season with cruises to the bird colony on the Shiant Islands 🐧🦅, where we can see Atlantic Puffins, Razorbills, Guillemots, Golden & White-tailed Eagles, Grey & Common Seals and possibly whales, dolphins and porpoises en route.
Our Whale & Dolphin cruises 🐬🐋🦈 will start in May, when more individuals start to arrive in the area and where we'll look for them in the North Minch!
https://www.hebridean-whale-cruises.co.uk/

Frequently asked questions -
1) WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO COME?
a) Mid-May/June to the end of October and avoid any U.K. school holidays if you can as it's not so busy and we can stay out a bit longer if required, plus it may be easier to re-book you if the weather isn't so great!
b) Best time for Orcas? Resident all year, but you have to be very lucky! From May to July there's an influx of orca to our region from Iceland. Try combining a cruise with us and a trip up to Caithness/Northern Isles in May-September.
c) Humpback Whales? Best chance in June and September/October.
2) WHAT HAPPENS IF THE CRUISE IS CANCELLED?
We will transfer you to another cruise if we can or refund your payment if we cancel the cruise. Full T&C's are on the booking page. We always recommend spending a few days in the area and booking more than one cruise with us if you are specifically coming up to go Whale watching!!!
3) PRICES AND BOOKING
https://www.hebridean-whale-cruises.co.uk/prices-and-booki…/
We may add more cruises if the demand exists.

Please browse this page for our historical sightings and all the photos that we have taken over the years!
We look forward to seeing you soon!!!

Cheers,
Hebridean Whale Cruises - team

WE ARE GETTING READY TO START OUR SEASON !!!Our season runs from end-April until September/October.We look forward to be...
28/03/2026

WE ARE GETTING READY TO START OUR SEASON !!!

Our season runs from end-April until September/October.

We look forward to be running cruises again in 2026.
- Starting our season with our Shiant Islands cruises end-April / early-May.
- After few weeks we'll shift our focus to looking for Whales and Dolphins as their numbers increase in the waters of the North Minch from mid-May onward.

OUR 2026 ONLINE BOOKING SYSTEM WILL OPEN IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS.

Please check our website or Facebook-page for updates when bookings for 2026 will be available. (Updated 28 March 2026)

EDIT: Our online booking system is open! Please visit our website to book.

09/08/2025

I think it’s fair to say the footage speaks for itself 🤩🐬🐳🐋🦈

Take a look at what Sharkman Dan captured while helping out on cruises recently 📸

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Pier Road
Gairloch
IV212BQ

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