Dolphin Fleet Whale Watch

Dolphin Fleet Whale Watch Dolphin Fleet Whale Watch originated whale watching on the U.S. East Coast in 1975 and is a family owned business. Celebrating 50 years!
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Dolphin Fleet Whale Watch operates four motor vessels (100-foot and larger) out of the port of Provincetown from April to November with the express purpose of providing expertly guided trips out to Cape Cod Bay and Stellwagen National Marine Sanctuary to view marine wildlife including humpback whales and calves, fin back whales, dolphins, basking sharks, sea turtles and pelagic birds which live at sea. Group tours and student field trips are a speciality.

SUNDAY FUNDAY IS CALLING 🐋Have you ever seen a whale launch itself out of the ocean? Because... we have. A LOT. Like, a ...
06/07/2026

SUNDAY FUNDAY IS CALLING 🐋

Have you ever seen a whale launch itself out of the ocean? Because... we have. A LOT. Like, a suspicious amount, just in the last few days. These are just a few of the many breaches that we managed to capture.

We're not promising anything, but we're also not not promising anything–this is your chance! Weather is gorgeous, seats are open, and the whales are ACTIVE.

Trips at 10 & 2PM today!

Book at whalewatch.com! 🐋

6.5.2026. First Breaths 🐬 In our decades of whale watches, there are still moments that stop us in our tracks. Yesterday...
06/06/2026

6.5.2026. First Breaths 🐬

In our decades of whale watches, there are still moments that stop us in our tracks. Yesterday, Naturalist Carolyn witnessed one of them. Here is her account.

Today, I think we witnessed something truly incredible — the birth of an Atlantic white-sided dolphin, and its very first breaths of life.

It started with reports of dolphins in the harbor, feeding on thousands of squid that had been chasing baitfish close to shore-many of the squid becoming stranded as the tide receded. Just after leaving the dock and rounding the breakwater, we could see at a distance that they were still there! They stayed in the harbor throughout the day, and we stopped for another look after leaving the dock for our 2pm trip.

This time, the dolphins were packed tightly together — there was quite a commotion going on. It was then that I noticed the tiniest little baby dolphin, no more than three feet long, breaking the surface for what I believe were its first few breaths of life. Early summer is a calving period for Atlantic white-sided dolphins, and we could see other young calves moving through the pod — but this one was different. What really struck me was seeing its dorsal fin flopped completely to one side — this is seen in the earliest stages of life, when the fin's connective tissue remains pliable to ease the calf through the birth canal, stiffening gradually over the first hours and days as circulation increases. Some of our crew and a few passengers also noticed blood in the water, which is typical right after a dolphin birth and dissipates quickly.

Witnessing this, being lucky enough to be there with them at such a profound moment — it's a first in my career, and certainly an experience I will not soon forget. 💙🐬

Check our comment below for video of this new calf!

Today’s 10am sightings—it’s a great time to get on a boat. The weather is superb, the whales are here, and the humpback ...
06/03/2026

Today’s 10am sightings—it’s a great time to get on a boat. The weather is superb, the whales are here, and the humpback calves have been active!

A long overdue sightings update from what has been a remarkably curious season for humpback whales. So many whale eyebal...
06/01/2026

A long overdue sightings update from what has been a remarkably curious season for humpback whales. So many whale eyeballs peering up at us over the last couple of weeks!

We've also been lucky to spend time with many calves, a few juveniles, and adults that have chosen to swim close while we sat drifting. It's been wonderful to see so many of our favorite humpbacks as moms this year–last season we had only a handful of trips with a calf present. A-Plus's calf has been a particular highlight. When not investigating the boat and its passengers, this calf has been seen tail breaching, full-body breaching, and rolling at the surface. And of course, we had our very curious unidentified young humpback whose extended mugging in glassy, flat-calm seas is one for the books.

Several trips have also had excellent sightings of fin whales and minkes feeding in the area. One returning fin whale, is known to us as Scorpion. Naturalist John, who catalogs individual fin whales each season, shares: "I first met Scorpion in 1983–she is in fact the first fin whale I learned to recognize as an individual, which is easy given the distinctiveness of her dorsal fin. We have been seeing Scorpion off Cape Cod consistently since at least 1981, photographed in 27 of the past 46 years, and over that time she has returned with a minimum of four known calves, including a whale we know as Alacran.".

Beyond whales, shearwaters and Wilson's storm-petrels have been moving into the area in greater numbers, gray seals were spotted hauling out to rest on Long Point for the first time this season on Memorial Day, and we had our first basking shark sighting of the year.

If you love these trips and wish you could spend more time offshore, we have just the thing: our first all-day whale watch of the season–featuring special guests from the IFAW Marine Mammal Rescue team–is scheduled for June 27th. Come join us!

Humpbacks Sighted:
3.14
Arroyo and calf
Bowline
Bolide and calf
Boutonniere
Crinkle
Dashdot
Eruption
Firefly and calf
Jabiru and calf
Milkweed and calf
Nile and calf
Photon and calf
Pleats and calf
Pele
Peninsula
Sprinkles
Spell
Schism
Tear
Tenpin
Venom and calf
And others were still working to ID!

* Dolphin Fleet proudly contributes its data to the GOM Humpback Whale Catalog maintained by the Center for Coastal Studies

Photos taken in compliance with all Whale SENSE Northeast region whale watching guidelines. As always, when whales choose to approach our boat closely, engines are in neutral (no props spinning) and we do not move until they have moved a safe distance away.

🐋 June 27th All-Day Whale Watch 🐋We’re a month out from the first of four all-day whale watches this season—and it’s a s...
05/29/2026

🐋 June 27th All-Day Whale Watch 🐋

We’re a month out from the first of four all-day whale watches this season—and it’s a special one.

We’re thrilled to welcome guest speakers from the ifaw Marine Mammal Rescue team aboard for a talk on their work responding to cetacean strandings right here on Cape Cod.

For more than 27 years, IFAW has paired the highest standards of animal welfare with rigorous science to become a world-recognized leader in stranding response. They’re based on Cape Cod for good reason: our coastline sees more frequent mass dolphin strandings than anywhere else on Earth. Every response is a chance not only to rescue and deliver cutting-edge veterinary care to these animals, but to fuel the groundbreaking research and innovation IFAW shares with collaborators around the globe.

It’s bound to be an unforgettable day on the water in search of whales (and other marine life), with the chance to hear directly from the people on the front lines of marine mammal rescue.

Tickets are limited—book your spot at whalewatch.com

*Good to know before you book: Because we’ll be traveling longer distances, this trip is best for ages 16+ and may not be ideal for those sensitive to seasickness. We also ask that you leave pets at home for this one.

The last few days on the water have been absolutely unforgettable. We've got a ton of photos to share from recent trips ...
05/28/2026

The last few days on the water have been absolutely unforgettable. We've got a ton of photos to share from recent trips — but tonight, we're leaving you with this shot of A-Plus's rambunctious calf spy hopping this afternoon – eyes wide open. Stay tuned for story time about this "little" whale and her amazing mom. 🐋

A full sightings update from the last several days is coming soon (so many photos to come!) — but we couldn't wait to sh...
05/24/2026

A full sightings update from the last several days is coming soon (so many photos to come!) — but we couldn't wait to share this fun interaction we observed with Arroyo's very curious calf on yesterday’s 10 am trip.

Her calf swam up the side of the boat, eyeing passengers before he swam toward a floating patch of seaweed and lifted it up on his pec flipper for a few moments. (And yes — HIS flipper! The calf rolled at the surface and we got to confirm he's a boy. Turns out he had a surprise gender reveal planned for us 💙). This behavior is called KELPING — when a whale shows interest in seaweed and interacts with it by touching it, rolling through it, or lifting it up with their flippers, flukes, or rostrum. It's been documented in many cetacean species.

Researchers think kelping may serve a range of purposes: play, a tactile sensory experience, a social activity within a group of whales, or even skin care — since seaweeds contain antibacterial compounds with therapeutic properties.

More from these trips soon!

Dolphin Fleet proudly contributes its data to the GOM Humpback Whale Catalog maintained by the Center for Coastal Studies

Photos taken taken in compliance with all Whale SENSE Northeast region whale watching guidelines. As always, when whales choose to approach our boat closely, engines are in neutral (no props spinning) and we do not move until they have moved a safe distance away.

Sightings Update — 5.16.2026 All-Day Sea Birding TripLast Saturday, we left MacMillan Pier with a group of seriously ded...
05/22/2026

Sightings Update — 5.16.2026 All-Day Sea Birding Trip

Last Saturday, we left MacMillan Pier with a group of seriously dedicated birders aboard — folks who spent most of the 7.5-hour trip on their feet at the rail, binoculars up, scanning every patch of water and sky under sunny skies and light winds that built through the day. That kind of focus pays off, and the sightings rewarded it.

A few of the seabird highlights included:
* A juvenile Great Cormorant on the Provincetown Breakwater
* A banded, telemetry-tracked juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull
* Thick-billed Murre and Razorbills
* NINE gull species in one day, including Bonaparte's Gulls, a Black-legged Kittiwake, an Iceland Gull, and a rare Franklin's Gull!
* A few Sooty & Manx Shearwaters
* Common, Least, and Roseate Terns
* EIGHT Northern Fulmars soaring together just above the swell — a top sighting of the day
* A Northern Harrier well offshore of Race Point — a first to see over open ocean in naturalist John's 45+ years on these waters
* 12–15 Humpbacks, including Fern with her calf, Palette (a mom last year), and others we're still working to ID — some showing leftover rowdiness from their recent migration up from the breeding grounds. A lovely bonus on a seabird-focused trip.

A huge thank you to our spotters Peter and Melinda — Peter's pelagic experience spans decades and continents, and his ability to pick a distant bird out of the chop is hard to overstate. Paired with Melinda's sharp eye and decades working as a naturalist, the two of them kept calls coming all day long. And Captain Mark deserves equal billing: 45+ years running these boats, an exceptionally skilled and respectful operator around wildlife, and a seriously good birder in his own right. He worked us steadily closer to the raft of Fulmars and the offshore Harrier in ways only someone who reads both the sea and the birds can. It's a hard team to beat, and they're the reason days like this one come together.

If you joined us, share one of your favorite images in the comments. We'd love to see!

12/31/2025

Memories of 2025 🐋

Address

5 MacMillan Wharf
Provincetown, MA
02657

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 9pm
Tuesday 7am - 9pm
Wednesday 7am - 6pm
Thursday 7am - 6pm
Friday 7am - 9pm
Saturday 7am - 6pm
Sunday 7am - 9pm

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