Whale watching help!!

[Heyyaheyya]

Hi hoping someone can help.
Would love to incorporate a holiday this year with whale watching, specifically orca.
So online, I've found all sorts of info and I'm confused.

Initially thought Canada, Newfoundland. But after searching more closely, it seems like its more humpback 'area'. (Not that I wouldn't be delighted with this!).
I've also read Boston is a good shout.
So criteria is somewhere warm so if we don't see any , we still get a 'holiday'. So no freezing cold like Iceland!!
Looking at during summer 6 weeks holiday.
Family of 6 . Myself and Dp, adult Dc x2 2 teen.
I'm think budget of 15k. (Prob cost more?)
Thanks

I saw Orca after Orca whilst on an Alaskan cruise. I also saw other varieties of whales on the same cruise. In fact we were only 10 minutes out of Seattle when I spotted my first whale.

An Alaskan cruise sound sounds amazing(but expensive).
I know nothing about American as never been. I need guidance about where to fly to etc. Don't want any kind of driving BTW. I forgot to add this.
Very important 😀 would prefer organised trips etc

We went whale watching while on holiday in the Quebec region. They run trips out of Tadoussac and further north I think. We went in June and we saw grey whales and minkes and beluga whales. Belugas are in the St Lawrence river most of the time. We were actually able to see them from our holiday accommodation. As I understand it you can see many other species of whales at different times even blue whales. The weather is generally warm and sunny in that area.

Oh right, just saw what you said about driving. I think it would be hard to get up the coast of the St Lawrence river without a car. I think there is whale watching from Vancouver which probably would be doable without a car.

Sounds good. I'd like it to be warm as I know there are no guarantees whale spotting.
I could ring a travel agent obviously but bid rather here from people who had had actual experience.

Yes i looked at vancouver.
I really don't want car hire. I'd never consider driving. Dh would drive, but it doesn't feel like a holiday to me. Plus I'd find it stressful!!

Based on these articles, it looks like options might be a bit limited in August - https://www.responsibletravel.com/holidays/whale-watching/travel-guide/when-to-go-whale-watching#:~:text=Into%20July%20and%20August%20you,in%20New%20Zealand%2C%20come%20August. and https://en.whaletrips.org/whaleplanner Maybe worth seeing if there's a specialist holiday firm that could give you some advice? I've been whale watching in Iceland twice and it was the coldest I've ever been so I don't blame you giving it a swerve!

How about Norway? We were on a whale watching catamaran looking for humpbacks and instead saw a large pod of orca.

Both the humpbacks and orca were there for the herring and it was a coin toss as to which would be nearby.

It was amazing.

I really don't want to go to Europe. Not just because of the weather but also as I'd like to do somewhere a bit further afield that we have never been. So we we don't see whales, we will have a new experience.

@Sunnyshoeshine
Thanks
That's helpful. Vancouver looks promising?

We went whale watching off of Cape Cod a few years ago. We saw quite a few whales and also very unusually saw a pod of at least 50 dolphins. The guide in the boat said in the many years she had been on the boat she had never seen so many together. We organised it ourselves, it was just a day excursion as combined with a month long road trip visiting relatives in a few places and also staying in hotels. My niece lives in Boston so have done the whole city, it’s the most European American city and great.

I have never done an organised trip except a safari and that’s because it was going off in to the Masai Mara etc and if you mess up well you could be dinner for something. Is it two weeks you are looking at in a tour group? You will have zero agency over your schedule, are you not confident driving? I mean on that road trip we chatted to lots of folk, changed plans found out from locals where best to eat. it was fab, other stuff as well from just picking it up along the way. My fave was a post mistress who has never met anyone British and wanted to chat to us, this was in the back end of nowhere. You go off of the tourist trap areas, treated like royalty. DH did get stopped by a traffic cop, that was an experience, you won’t get that in a tour group.

I was looking at around 10 days. Not sure if Canada probably cheaper than USA.
100% no driving. I don't want that kind of holiday!! It's not a holiday if driving involved IMO.

Cape Town in South Africa has great whale watching and other wildlife (penguins ostriches safari animals). If you don't want to drive it is easy to join a tour or hire a guide.

We saw whales on a boat trip from Monterey California during June.

Not orca, but you can swim with whale sharks off the West Australian coast. Absolutely amazing experience.
www.ningaloowhalesharks.com/

I would love to go to Australia but that's something I'd have to properly plan ahead!!!

BC, Canada is lousy with them. And there are native pods as well as migratory so you should see them year round.

One of my top 5 experiences in life was an Orca watching boat trip from Victoria on Vancouver Island. It was incredible. Pretty sure there is public transport options across to the island from the mainland. And Vancouver Island is a great spot for a holiday anyway - top place!

There's BC Ferries, and the best way... sea plane harbour to harbour. If it is windy, the planes go sideways and if it's bumpy it's the vomit comet. But when it's fine and still, it's magical.

And helijet if you're a gazillionaire.

Second (Third?) the suggestion of Vancouver/Vancouver Island. We've been whale watching out of Victoria a couple of times and seen Orca and Humpbacks

I'm not sure it's the best location if you don't want to drive at all however.

I saw them off Vancouver in September many years ago. Look at the boat type for the trip. Some are quite big / slow where we had more a rib style boat so could cover a lot of ground and get fairly close.

We went whale watching in Kaikoura in New Zealand. It was amazing!

How about the Azores? (although technically Europe, but far from the mainland!). I haven't been myself but my parents were planning trip there before Covid hit.
The islands are supposed to be stunning though so lots to see even if you don't see the whales.

Us too. It was complete amazing and we were able to combine it with a camper van tour around North and South Islands. Cannot recommend it enough.