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More Whales on Tour in Costa Rica

The Humpback whale is the species that most people travel to Costa Rica to observe

Most countries offer only one tourist season for visitors wishing to go whale watching. Costa Rica has two, making vacation planning easy. Visitors on whale watching tours to Costa Rica can plan their trips around the comings and goings of three baleens and three larger toothed whales as well an array of smaller dolphin species. Over 100,000 people travel to Costa Rica each year to watch whales. Much of the whale watching in Costa Rica takes place along the Pacific, mostly in the vicinity of the Osa Peninsula.

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Whale Watching Around Costa Rica

Pilot whales are plentiful on both coasts and are usually seen at the beginning and end of the year. Visitors are most likely to see Bryde’s whales during travel to Costa Rica between January and April. Orcas, seis and sometimes blue whales from the north also pass through the waters of Costa Rica. To learn where humpback whales and dolphins are found in Costa Rica, see our articles on these species.

Several national parks dot Costa Rica’s Pacific coastline. South of the country’s most popular park, Manuel Antonio National Park, is another popular attraction, Marino Ballena National Park, named for the whales. Though visitors are more likely to see humpbacks here, it is also a place where sperm whales are observed.

Further south, the Osa Peninsula offers many whale watching opportunities. Corcovado National Park comprises almost half of the peninsula. On the ocean side of the Osa Peninsula in Drake Bay is the Isla del Cano Biological Reserve. Sperm whales may be seen in the waters off the park, most likely in December and January, and blues, coming from the north, pass by sometimes.

Four of Southern Explorations’ guided Costa Rica tours and two of its self-guided Costa Rica trips include leisure time along the Pacific coast in the region where whales are found. These include the seven-day Coast to Coast tour, the eight-day Rainforest and Beaches and Rainforests and Volcanoes tours and the ten-day Classic Costa Rica trip as well the self-guided eight-day Adventure Fly and Drive and the Classic Fly and Drive tours. These fly-drive trips easily accommodate whale watching at these parks.

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