It’s Whale Watching Season

Each year from December through April, a growing number of travelers head to Puerto Vallarta just to watch the whales frolic in scenic Banderas Bay. That’s because this is one of the finest whale watching areas on the planet.

During this period, the rare migrating Humpback whales can be seen traversing Banderas Bay. From December through April, these gentle giants put on a show as they breach out of the water as parents and instruct their baby calves on how to thrive in their watery world. Local eco-tour operators, licensed by the National Environmental Agency of Mexico, offer exciting excursions to see these magnificent mammals – at a respectful distance so as not to disrupt their habits. One tour company even sports its own spotter plane which radios sightings to their boat captains to ensure your watching excursion is successful and rewarding.

A Word On Humpbacks

Fascinating creatures that have long captured the popular imagination, Humpback whales are the noisiest and most imaginative whales when it comes to songs. They have long, varied, complex, eerie, and beautiful songs that include recognizable sequences of squeaks, grunts, and other sounds. The songs have the largest range of frequencies used by whales, ranging from 20-9,000 Hertz. Only males have been recorded singing. They sing the complex songs only in warm waters, perhaps used for mating purposes. In cold waters, they make rougher sounds, scrapes and groans, perhaps used for locating large masses of krill (the tiny crustaceans they eat).