Our Cruises
Hebridean Whale Cruises operates from Gairloch, a village on the West Coast of Scotland.
We will take you out to the open waters of the North Minch,
where we will try to bring you closer to the Whales and Dolphins that roam these waters during our season.
where on clear days you’ll be mesmerized by the beauty of the landscape!
We start our season with cruises towards the Shiant Islands, where we are not only enchanted by the stunning beauty of the Islands, but also by the presence of hundred thousands of nesting birds (including Puffins, Razorbills, Guillemots). The Shiant Islands are also the home of hundreds of Grey and Common Seal and the ideal location for Golden and White-tailed Eagles to roam the sky.
Around mid-May we start our cruises more focused on Whales and Dolphins. We increase our cruise schedule with both our 2.5h ‘Whales and Wildlife’ and our 4h ‘Ultimate Orca 1’ cruises running on a daily basis* in order to coincide with the better weather and more whales and dolphins being in The Minch.
From mid-September we’ll be running more flexible cruises to adjust to the environmental conditions.
Whale Watching
The Shiant Islands
To have the best chance of seeing Whales and Dolphins, Hebridean Whale Cruises takes on an offshore voyage into the open waters of the North Minch, the sea between the mainland and the Western Islands, where we’ll bring you close to their feeding grounds.
The North Minch is one of Scotland’s recognized hotspots for whale and dolphin sightings. Undersea mountains beneath the Minch deflect powerful currents up to the surface. The waters above these mountains are rich in nutrients and are frequently visited by whales, dolphins and many other marine species, together with an abundance of exceptional seabirds.
We constantly monitor three key feeding grounds in the North Minch :
– Rona Bank (north of the island of Rona),
– Staffin Peaks (off the northern tip of Skye) and
– Burma Bank (east of the Shiant Islands).
We also watch the waters beyond the Rubha Rèidh lighthouse.
And we take you to where whales and dolphins are currently most likely to be found.
At the start of our season we run cruises towards the Shiant Islands where hundred thousands nesting birds reside from mid-April till mid-August.
* bookings and weather permitting
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