Every year, from July to October, the Southern Right Whales bask in the warm waters of the Hermanus coastline. This full-day whale watching and sightseeing tour will not only take you the Hermanus coastline, but will guide you along the scenic coast.
Posted By : paolo0586
Beautiful experience. We had already seen whales in St. Lawrence Bay in Canada, but this experience was absolutely no different. Definitely worth the expense.
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Posted On : 2023-11-14 12:19:32 
Posted By : David B
Firstly, the day out we had, bore no resemblance to the previous reviews. It does illustrate however, how much the weather and/ or guide can influence the enjoyment or otherwise of this trip. Pick up was on time, the only surprise being that there were 7 others in the mini bus on the same trip - but this did mean we then got charged the reduced fee for a 'group'.
Our guide was personable and chatty and gave us a running commentary of what we could see and some of the history behind South Africa.
The botanical gardens (£ included) were a bit of a dead loss purely because it was the wrong time of year, but served as useful 'stretch' stop en route.
The boat based whale watching (optional - £ not included) was helped by the fact that it was wall to wall blue sky and mill pond like sea state. This was early Sept and during the 2 hrs or so, we saw probably 5 or 6 whales with calves close up and a pod of bottlenose dolphins.
Lunch was in Hermanus (£ not included) and you could go to whichever restaurant/cafe that took your fancy.
On the way back to Cape Town we stopped at a vineyard for a wine tasting session (£ included). All very nice.
Overall a full day out 08:45 to 18:00 - no complaints at all.
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Posted On : 2019-09-10 11:54:51
Posted By : Kieran_M
A very scenic drive along the coast to Hermanus along with a visit to a penguin colony and a, winery tour before lunch and then a great two hours of constant whale sightseeing from the tour boat Highly recommend this tour
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Posted On : 2019-09-08 02:40:33 
Posted By : bseo-pero
I had high hopes for this tour, since I was told that it would be an ocean safari. The day started with the driver, Adolph, showing up at the hotel 30 minutes late. Then, I spent the majority of the time in a tour van. We stopped once for 10 minutes, and there we saw the first whale. We were told that the boat tour was optional, but after much complaining, we were put on a boat. This boat was made for 40 people; there were 60 of us on it. Wth choppy waves and high seas, it was clearly unsafe. In 6 hours of driving, we stopped for 15 minutes TOTAL which included a bathroom break. Adolphwas more concerned about getting his lunch and tips than taking care of the customers. He sped up and down the mountains with little to no regard for the 8 of us in the van.
During the six hours, we went to a garden but was told not to look around and only se their bathroom, and we were forced to have once at a restaurant of his choice, not ours. Finally, we stopped at a diamond place so he could use their credit card machine to take our payments, since he forget his machine. Finally, I was charged an extra R60, for no reason, and more than EVERYONE else in the van. It's as if Adolph's goal was to get kick backs at every stop we made.
The most disturbing thing about this whole situation is that whale season ended the first week of November, and it's now the fourth week, and they're STILL taking reservations. I learned of this situation AFTER the tour began. I understand that it's nature, and the disclaimer is that we may not be able to see any animals. Nevertheless, to actively take reservations during the off season and play up that whale watching is a possibility is unethical. If there was a 0/5, I would have picked that score, but 1 is the lowest, so I chose the 1.
People who read my reviews know that I usually try to find a bright spot. In this case, the fellow sufferers were a joy to be with during this travel ordeal. I've travelled a lot over the years, and I've never experienced this kind of disregard and shadiness ever in my experiences. I deserve an apology and a refund, but I know I won't receive either of them. Ergo, this review.
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Posted On : 2018-11-21 15:36:27
Posted By : JTspurs
We booked the Hermanus Whale watching tour with African Eagle Day Tours. We did this tour July 2018. We were picked up in Cape Town, it had been raining over night and it was a overcast morning. The driver/guide told us we would drive along the scenic route to Hermanus. It was very scenic and we stopped in Betty's Bay where there is a high colony of penguins. We were told we had 20 minutes to view them. You pay 20 Rand to go onto the viewing platform. This was the highlight of the tour we saw lots of wild Penguins and Dassies. When the 20 minutes was up we went back to the guide. He informed us there would be no whale tours because of the choppy sea. We were disappointed but there was nothing the guide could do. It's a shame we then didn't spend longer time at Betty's Bay. Also one of the tour group asked if were going to the Botanic gardens which was advertised on the trip. He was told we wouldn't be going there as there wasn't much to see! So we drove off around the Hermanus area trying to spot Whales. The area is very pretty, the landscape is beautiful. We didn't see any Whales which was a shame but there wild and it's not like we were going to a zoo, so it's just bad luck. We were then dropped off in Hermanus for us to wander round on our own for two hours. Town is ok but very small and it started to rain heavily and there isn't much shelter around, so we couldn't wait to be picked up again. The guide didn't seem sure what to do next as it was only 2pm and it was a full day tour. He then said he would take us to a Winery, so we were driven there and that was shut! So we went to a viewing point which was very pretty over Hermanus. We were then told we were going to be driven back to Cape Town by the motorway it was only 2.30. We had another stop off on the way back at a farm shop where the guide did his food shopping. Got back to Cape Town at 4pm. Not what I call a full day tour. I can understand that it's not the tour company fault that the Whale tour was called off but there was no plan of what to do if the whale tour was cancelled. So it wasn't well organised by the company they need to have an iteniary/ back up plan if there is no whale tour. Not wander aimlessly to a shut winery and watch your guide do his shopping in a service station off the motorway. Disappointing!
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Posted On : 2018-08-05 16:46:20
