The best whale watching tour in Tenerife for most people is the small-group sailboat from Los Gigantes: ★ 4.9 from 2,265 reviews, three hours, ten people, lunch and the shortest run to deep water on the island. The cheapest proven alternative is the 90-minute eco-yacht from Los Cristianos, ★ 4.7 from 19,265 reviews, from €29.90. Below: the top ten of 72 boats, each with a reason to book it and a reason to skip it.
Best boat for most people
Ninety minutes, cheapest proven
Lunch and pickup, no car needed
Best boat for most people
Ninety minutes, cheapest proven
No-chase catamaran, 90 min
Lunch and pickup, no car needed
Shortest run, cheapest
Small luxury yacht, pickup
Sailboat, private option
Evening catamaran with pickup
Small sailboat, food and snorkel
Local skipper, lunch, pickup
#1 Los Gigantes Whale Watching Cruise by Sailboat (★ 4.9 from 2,265 reviews, from €75): book it if you want the most time with the whales for the money and a small deck; skip it if you burn easily or need step-free boarding.
#2 Travelin' Lady: Eco Yacht Whale & Dolphin Safari + Swim (★ 4.7 from 19,265 reviews, from €29.90): book it if you want a cheap, steady, 90-minute first trip with a toilet on board; skip it if you want a quiet deck — it takes up to 70–80 people.
#3 Eco No-Chase Respectful Whale & Dolphin Encounter (★ 4.6 from 15,307 reviews, from €28): book it if you want a respectful, no-chase trip with underwater viewing; skip it if you use a wheelchair — the listing says it is not suitable.
#4 Marine-Life Tour with Transfer, Buffet and Drinks (★ 4.8 from 2,213 reviews, from €63): book it if you have no car and want lunch and a swim stop arranged; skip it if you want a small group.
#5 Dolphin & Whale Watching Cruise with Swim Stop (★ 4.7 from 5,712 reviews, from €28): book it if you want the shortest, cheapest trip from the port closest to the whales; skip it if you want food or a toilet on board.
#6 Whales and Snorkelling Tour on a Luxury Yacht (★ 4.9 from 512 reviews, from €95): book it if you want a small luxury yacht from the quiet Las Galletas marina; skip it if you are prone to seasickness.
#7 Whale-Watching Sailboat Cruise (★ 4.9 from 266 reviews, from €79): book it if you want a Los Gigantes sailboat you can also book privately; skip it if you need step-free boarding.
#8 Sunset Catamaran Tour with Transfer, Buffet & Drinks (★ 4.7 from 946 reviews, from €64): book it if you want an evening trip with pickup, buffet and drinks; skip it if you want the best light for watching — evening light fades.
#9 Sailboat Tour with Whale Watching, Food and Snorkeling (★ 4.8 from 702 reviews, from €60): book it if you want a small sailboat from Puerto Colón with food and snorkelling; skip it if you want shade.
#10 Whale & Dolphin Tour with Local Skipper (★ 4.8 from 504 reviews, from €63): book it if you want a local skipper, lunch and an optional pickup; skip it if you use a wheelchair.
We started from all 72 whale and dolphin watching listings on GetYourGuide for Tenerife on 23 Sep 2026 and kept only boats with at least 100 reviews — 34 of them — so that a rating means something. We then weighed the rating against the review count, favoured shorter runs to deep water (Los Gigantes first), and checked what each price buys: food, a swim stop, a toilet, the group size.
Price did not decide the order; value did. The €75 sailboat ranks first because it combines the best rating among the busy boats with the smallest group and the shortest run. The €29.90 eco-yacht ranks second because nothing cheaper has anything like its 19,000-plus reviews. No operator paid for a place — we do not take payments from operators, and bookings go to GetYourGuide.
Travel forums and Reddit threads repeat the same handful of tips: book a smaller boat, go in the morning when the sea is calmer, pick the port nearest your hotel, bring sunscreen and expect pilot whales rather than giant baleen whales. We do not quote individual posts, but every one of those tips matches the listing data.
Smaller groups are on the sailboats and yachts; mornings are calmer because the trade winds build in the afternoon; the three south ports and Los Gigantes all reach the same resident pod; and the species you will almost certainly see is the short-finned pilot whale, with bottlenose dolphins close behind. The one thing forums get wrong is the idea that you must go in a particular season — the whales are resident all year.
sailboat★ 4.92,265 reviews“Super welcoming, warmhearted and mindful guides! We really recommend this tour with Eileen, David and Jaime! Private atmosphere, knowledge, good food and drinks and they really care about the environment and the guests a”
eco yacht★ 4.719,265 reviews“We saw pilot whales and sea turtles so amazing. There was shade and enough seats for everyone to see. When we went for a swim it was easy to get back on the boat with their good ladder. The trip was great.”
catamaran★ 4.82,213 reviews“the little children were a little bit loud bit the crew was top, i'm looping for apotheek trip with the same crew this week”
All 72 boats: cancel up to 24 hours before the start for a full refund.
source · partner listingsEco-yachts built with a low centre of gravity are the steadiest; mornings and September–October are the calmest water.
source · operator listings · AEMETLicensed boats keep 60 m from the animals and nobody enters the water near them. The swim stop is a cove afterwards.
source · Decreto 178/2000About 24 noticeable days a year, longest in January–February. Visibility drops but trips still run.
source · AEMETSwimwear, a towel, sunscreen, a hat and a light layer for the run out.
source · operator listingsLos Gigantes Whale Watching Cruise by Sailboat — ★ 4.9 from 2,265 reviews. 3 hours from Los Gigantes, from €75 per person, with food and a swim stop; up to 10 people.
Whales and Snorkelling Tour on a Luxury Yacht — ★ 4.9 from 512 reviews. 3 hours from Las Galletas, from €95 per person, with food, a swim stop and hotel pickup.
Whale-Watching Sailboat Cruise — ★ 4.9 from 266 reviews. 3–4 hours from Los Gigantes, from €79 per person, with a swim stop.
Puerto Colon: Dolphin and Whale Watching Speedboat Tour — ★ 4.9 from 134 reviews. 2–3 hours from Costa Adeje, from €50 per person, with food and a swim stop.
Marine-Life Tour with Transfer, Buffet and Drinks — ★ 4.8 from 2,213 reviews. 3 hours from Costa Adeje, from €63 per person, with food, a swim stop and hotel pickup.
Sailboat Tour with Whale Watching, Food and Snorkeling — ★ 4.8 from 702 reviews. 3 hours from Costa Adeje, from €60 per person, with food and a swim stop.
72 boats run whale watching trips in Tenerife. 54 sell seats by the person, from €26.40 to €129 (middle price €55.50); 15 are priced for the whole boat, from €300 to €935. 23 last up to two hours and 49 last three hours or more.
Of the 72, 44 include food, 59 stop for a swim or snorkel, 15 include hotel pickup, seven mention a toilet on board, three sail at sunset and two are adults-only. Together they have 90,153 reviews on GetYourGuide, with a review-weighted average of ★ 4.65. Five are too new to have reviews.
Which boat to book in Tenerife, by what matters to you: if you want the shortest trip, Puerto Colon: Dolphin and Whale Watching Speedboat Tour (€50, ★ 4.9 from 134 reviews); if you want lunch on board, Marine-Life Tour with Transfer, Buffet and Drinks (€63, ★ 4.8 from 2,213 reviews); if you want a swim after the whales, Los Gigantes Whale Watching Cruise by Sailboat (€75, ★ 4.9 from 2,265 reviews); if you have no car, Whales and Snorkelling Tour on a Luxury Yacht (€95, ★ 4.9 from 512 reviews); if you want the boat to yourselves, South Island Boat Trip and Sea Excursion (€350 per boat, ★ 5.0 from 29 reviews). Each pick is the best-rated boat that meets the condition, among those with enough reviews to trust the score.
We read the most recent reviews of each boat on the island — 244 in all, written between 9 Oct 2020 and 23 Sep 2026, averaging ★ 4.9. 122 mention whales, 74 mention dolphins, 25 mention turtles, 131 mention the crew or the guide, 30 mention the food or drinks, 50 mention the swim, 8 mention seasickness and 3 mention waiting or a late start. Seasickness comes up in eight of them — worth taking seriously if you are prone to it; the steadiest boats are the eco-yachts and the catamarans. This is a sample of the latest reviews, not the whole record; the rating next to each boat covers every review.
How we compare: every number here comes from the GetYourGuide listings as we read them on 23 Sep 2026 — price, duration, what is included, the rating and the number of reviews — and from public sources we name next to the figure. We rank by rating only among boats with a hundred reviews or more, because a ★ 5.0 from three reviews says little. Where a listing does not state something, we say so instead of guessing. We earn a commission on bookings; it is the same for every boat and does not decide the order.
For most people the three-hour sailboat from Los Gigantes: ★ 4.9 from 2,265 reviews, ten people, lunch and a swim stop, and the shortest run to deep water. For a cheaper, shorter trip, the 90-minute eco-yacht from Los Cristianos.
Los Gigantes has the shortest run to deep water (about 18 minutes, operator data); Puerto Colón has the most choice; Los Cristianos has the most-reviewed short trips. Choose the one nearest your hotel unless run time matters most.
The cheapest ticket is €26.40; the cheapest proven trips are the two-hour boats from Los Gigantes at €28 (★ 4.7 from 5,712 reviews) and the eco-yacht at €29.90 (★ 4.7 from 19,265 reviews). Both are good value; neither includes food.
Yes — the resident pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins of the Tenerife–La Gomera channel. The boat changes comfort, crowd and time with the animals, not the species.
Only boats with at least 100 reviews; rating weighed against review count; then run time to deep water and what the price includes. Nobody paid to be listed.
Book a smaller boat, go in the morning, pick the nearest port, and do not expect a guarantee — which matches the data on this page.
If you want a small group and comfort: the Las Galletas luxury yacht (★ 4.9 from 512 reviews, from €95) or a private boat. The whales are the same.
The 90-minute eco-yacht from Los Cristianos: short, steady and with a toilet on board. The family guide lists age limits for every boat.