Best Whale Watching Cruises on East Coast Australia

Off the coast of course!

Seriously!Though you can watch whales from land, you just won't get quite the same view as being on the water with the Australian Humpback Whales.

In Australia there are a few restrictions put on whale watching cruise boats and the general public. Whether you are a commercial vessel or a pleasure boat you must not approach closer than 100m for a general whale and up to 300m for special interest whale such as Migaloo the famous all white Australian humpback.

Whilst you cannot approach closer than 100m, that does not mean that is as close as the whales will come to you. When I have been whale watching, the whales approach the boats with interest and seem to enjoy putting on a show! At times they seemed close enough to touch. Breeching, tail slapping, fin slapping, spy hopping, blowing their spouts, watching us and swimming under the boats!

Humpback whales are enormous creatures! And are incredibly powerful. They could easily knock around smaller craft, so it pays to adhere to the rules.

I have friends who have a reasonable sized pleasure catamaran that they take up to the Sunshine Coast from the Gold Coast. During the whale watching season there have been times when they have encountered whales.

As much as they have found the experience incredible, there is always an element of fear. Especially as the whales pass under the boat. What if they were to decide to give you a bump! Scary stuff. That is why I prefer to limit my encounters to the larger boats!

Back to the best whale watching cruises. To make sure you have the best experience whale watching it pays to do a bit of research.

My whale watching horror story is my sister who ended up spending two hours on a semi-inflatable for 12 people several miles off the coast of Northern NSW in the middle of winter. All in the name of whale watching!

She paid the same a one if she had gone on a much bigger boat with more creature comforts. The time with the whales was awesome, but the getting out to see them and the getting back was pretty uncomfortable and not exactly what she had planned.

If you pick one of the larger whale watch cruise operators you are bound to have one of the best whale watching experiences.

Here are a few things to check out. Look for operators who meet these criteria:

• have been established in the area for at least a few years or have similar experience in another similar location.
• have larger boats with several viewing platforms. Gives you perspective of the whales not just at eye level but also from above. Bigger boats are also better for people who suffer from motion sickness.
  
• have a catamaran. Stable for whale watching and also more comfortable for those who do not travel well on boats.
  
• offer a guarantee if you do not spot a whale on your cruise. This can be a return trip or money back. Most offer return trip.

On the east coast of Australia you will find several areas that have large whale watch cruise operators. These are often the best whale watching cruise options. The more operators in a location, usually the better the whale watching experience will be. If it wasn't good then the industry could not support more than one boat.

Suggestions of locations for whale watching.

Best NSW Whale Watching Locations

• Coffs Harbour
• Port Stevens
• Tweed Heads

Best Queensland Whale Watching Locations

• Gold Coast - Coolangatta, Surfers Paradise, Main Beach
• Brisbane - Moreton Bay
• Sunshine Coast - Mooloolaba
• Hervey Bay
• Whitsundays
• Cairns and Port Douglas - Great Barrier Reef
  

The Gold Coast is becoming very well known for whale watching. It has 5 main operators and some pretty big whale watching boats taking over 100 passengers each. For more information about the best whale watching cruises in the Gold Coast head over to my whale watching guide.