We recently went on a whale watching tour with Cape Ann Whale Watch in Gloucester, MA. Whale watching has been a huge bucket list item of mine! I was so excited to get to experience seeing whales in the wild!
I found a deal on Groupon for $26 per person and was super excited! I was also excited that the boat was only filling up to 35% capacity during our tour. We weren’t able to book it for a weekend using the Groupon deal (well unless we wanted to do the 8:30 am tour and I’m NOT a morning person, LOL!) so we booked the afternoon tour for a Thursday afternoon.
We arrived at the parking area 1 hour prior as directed in the email. The parking is free and we were directed to a spot by a parking attendant. We checked in and then hung out for 30 mins as we waited to board. You board 30 mins prior to departure time. There were some porta potties for those who needed them. Mr. B chose to take some dramamine but my daughter and I did not. None of us had any issues not feeling well on the boat.
We were in the first part of the line to board since we had arrived early. This worked to our advantage as we were able to get on the top of the ship as they only allow a certain number of people up there. The views from the top and it made it easier to move from right to left depending on what side the whales we on.
On board we had warm soft pretzels from the snack bar as well as an apple cider mimosa, yum! 2 pretzels, 1 mimosa, and 1 coke was $16. So prices weren’t horrible at the snack bar. There were also 4 bathrooms on board on the main level as well.
It’s about an hour boat ride out to the area with the whales and then you spend time watching them and moving to different locations to spot them. The staff was fantastic and super knowledgable about the whales. They even know their names based off their fins/tails!
We seen 8 whales that were pretty close and quite a few more off in the distance. We also even got to see a sunfish, that was a unique experience!
I love how you can see how impressive their size is when they came up near this fishing boat while we were out.
On our trip the whales did not get right next to the boat as I’ve seen from some other people’s experience, but they were still close enough for us to enjoy! We loved watching them and seeing their tails come out of the water. Their breathing/blow was so loud as well so that was a neat experience. I’m so excited that we got this experience checked off our bucket list!
Cape Ann Whale Watch is an amazing experience if you want to experience whales living in the wild. It was a fantastic adventure and I’d highly recommend doing it at least once in your life!
Know Before You Go
What: Cape Ann Watch in Gloucester, MA. Note this is seasonal from June to Oct due to whale migration so plan accordingly.
How To Get There: It’s located approx. 45 minutes from Hanscom AFB.
Parking: There is free parking available for those who have booked a whale watching tour. It’s a large sized not near the check in building/gift shop.
Cost: $50 for adults, $35 kids ages 4-16, and $10 for kids 3 and under. They do offer a military discount of $5. You can also check Groupon as well. Just note that the Groupon slots are limited per tour so it may be hard to book a weekend trip.
Extra info: You can bring a soft sided cooler with snacks and drinks. No glass bottles or alcohol. Also bring warm layers as it can get a bit windy and chilly when the boat is heading out and back in. Snacks, drinks, and alcohol are also sold at the snack bar on the boat.