Canary Island Port Excursion Help

[gbits]

Looking for some help with shore excursions for our September cruise on Vista (do not like cruise ship excursions). I tried the Ports board and not finding answers. We want to do whale watching in either Funchal or Tenerife ~ has anyone done this in either (or both) ports that could help us decide which place to do it in and/or have a company they would recommend?  Does anyone have a tour they would highly recommend for Casablanca? Open to any suggestions. Thanks!

[Vallesan]

A whale watching trip will be far more readily available in Tenerife.

 

I’ve not done a whale watching trip myself but know the island quite well.

The main/nearest area for a trip will from  be Los Cristianos, about a 50 or 60 minute drive from the port in Santa Cruz.  About another 20 or 25 minutes further down the coast you have Costa Adeje which is the next area that you will find trips leaving from.

Check out Viator or use the ship’s tour depending on how long you have in port.

[Harters]

I visit Tenerife annually, staying in the south. As Vallesan has mentioned the whale tours are only from that side of the island. The whales are resident in the waters between Tenerife and La Gomera and sightings are pretty much guaranteed. It's many years since I did a whale trip but am sure we sailed from Los Cristianos (not least, as Costa Adeje hadnt yet been developed for tourism) and that's the nearer departure port for you. 

 

It may be a bit tricky as I note you want to avoid ship's excursions. Whilst there are a goodly number of trip operators (and more agents acting for them), their transport arrangements are usually focussed on tourists staying in the southern resort areas. So, the tricky bit might be finding an operator who picks up in the north and can  fit in with the cruise ship schedule. Other than that, you may be looking at travelling between Santa Cruz and Los Cristianos by taxi. Takes about an hour and costs around €100 each way. 

 

(EDIT - I've just looked at the ships excursions for Tenerife and see that there isn't one including whale watching)

Edited January 15 by Harters

[Harters]

As you've looked at the Ports forum, I presume you've seen this recent discussion.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2958667-tenerife-whale-watching/#comment-66400215

 

FWIW, I regularly play on the Tenerife Tripadvisor forum and have asked the question for you there. 

 

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g187479-i153-k14637594-Whale_watching_trip_from_Santa_Cruz_cruise_port-Tenerife_Canary_Islands.html

 

John

[Vallesan]

Another option may be to take a  whale watching trip from La Palma?