The Original
& The Best
Whale Watching
A day on the water designed to maximise your experience. With 2 deck levels and only a maximum of 30 guests you have plenty of room to move around. External viewing from all around the boat on both levels. Friendly, experienced crew, our guides are marine biologists. Great food all day and a 6 hour tour allowing us the luxury of time to work with these magnificent animals and observe all kinds of behaviours.
Did you know Humpback Whales come to Cleveland Bay specifically to give birth? Did you know those mums and calves stay in the same relative area for about 2 weeks as the calf becomes strong enough to start the long migration back to
We get up close under the Cape Cleveland Lighthouse, where many turtles feed, we may also encounter dolphins, sea eagles, sea snakes or even the shy dugong. We travel the “Humpback Highway” with the wind and swell (if any) to make the day smooth and comfortable for all.
$175
$145
$95
$40
Verified A great tour. Excellent tour, had a great time. The crew were extremely helpful and I'd rate it as the best trip in Townsville (having been on two other groups trips). The lunch was superb and quite sensible. I will definitely be on the lookout for a tour with them early in the season next year.Posted on Tripadvisor Doug N21/08/2025Verified An Unforgettable Whale Watching Adventure - Highly Recommended! This was absolutely amazing and we'll definitely be booking again! We chose this tour specifically for the longer duration and the inclusion of Cape Cleveland, and we're so glad we did. The value was exceptional - the pricing was very reasonable and pleasantly surprised us compared to other whale watching tours we'd researched during previous holidays. As Townsville locals, we sometimes forget the incredible magic and wonder of nature we have right here in our backyard. This tour was the perfect reminder of just how spectacular our local marine environment truly is. While we didn't spot any sea turtles, the journey to Cape Cleveland was thoroughly enjoyable and seeing the lighthouse was a lovely bonus. The crew were fantastic - friendly, knowledgeable, and eager to share insights about the local marine life. The wildlife viewing exceeded our expectations! We encountered both dolphins and whales on our way past Magnetic Island, with sightings ranging from distant glimpses to incredibly close encounters right beside the vessel. The crew's expertise really showed as they would slow down and carefully circle areas when marine life was nearby, giving us perfect viewing opportunities. A delightful surprise was the food - we expected just lunch but were treated to delicious snacks throughout both morning and afternoon, which was a lovely touch. This experience will stay with us forever, and we're already planning to make it a yearly tradition. Cannot recommend highly enough!Posted on Tripadvisor Tanya A18/08/2025Verified Whale Watching Totally recommend Townsville Whale Watching. Truly enjoyable day out on the water. 15 whales sited, turtles, 1 x dugong, and 1 x dolphin..amazing. Food on board is plentiful, fresh and very tasty. Plenty of room onboard to view the whales and take plenty of photos! A great crew along with Holly and Jack (dachshunds), makes it an amazing experience you don't want to miss out if not this year make sure you book next year!Posted on Tripadvisor Jill16/08/2025Verified A whale of a time on a whale of a boat A truly amazing, great value for money experience from start to finish. This is a great full day excursion, seeing the best of the best! From a friendly welcome on board, a cruise across to the lighthouse and Cape Cleveland, where we were lucky enough to spot several Green turtles. Then out to more open waters, across the bay, for the excitement of whale spotting. The crew and captain all had their eyes peeled and we weren't disappointed, with a mother and calf frolicking in the open waters. They then put on a magical display of breaching and tail slapping, that was beyond words and makes you feel like one with nature. The captain was good enough to spend plenty of time and made sure everyone got a view and photos, along with an informative commentary. A generous, freshly prepared lunch and a cruise back past the northern beaches of Magnetic Island and a return to Townsville around 3.30pm, to round out an amazing day. Thanks to the entire team for such a great day.Posted on Tripadvisor Michael Bulpitt12/08/2025Verified Highly recommend! Whale watching off Townsville 2025 Saw mum and bub chilling, two males moving quickly and another mum and bub loving life! Eve saw mum teaching bub how to breath by keeping her baby on the surface for while These guys are so beautiful and so large! My favourite sea animal 🐋 Townsville Whale Watching, great crew and provided morning tea, big lunch buffet and afternoon tea!Posted on Tripadvisor Sharon H10/08/2025Verified Excellent whale viewing Went last year and again this year. I absolutely loved the day!! Staff were friendly and informative and the food was good. What a great day viewing these gentle giants. So lucky to see the babies and how the Mum cares for them.Posted on Tripadvisor Fran P03/08/2025Verified 15 Whales frolicking Between Cape Cleveland and Magnetic Island ... It doesn't get any better! On arrival, we were greeted by the enthusiastic crew who provided us with, as well as a thorough safety talk, a preview of the amazing day that we were to experience. First, over to Cape Cleveland where we saw a number of green turtles coming up from breathes. Turning from the Cape toward Magnetic Island, it wasn't long before we encountered our first sighting of whale spouts. As we got closer, we were fortunate to view breeching, flipper slapping and back tails gracefully out of the water. This was a mother and two calves as well as a few individual whales. During this encounter, the crew were able to provide information about whale behaviours. And then the dolphins arrived! Although independent of the whales, they seemed to be filling in the spaces of this grand vista. After a couple more sightings of breeching whales, we came across what we found out was a 'Heat Run' - 3 or 4 male whales trying to impress a female who was protecting here calf. For more than an hour, we saw breeching, tail flips, including noises, which reminded me bull cattle, with some of the males closely circling our boat. In all, we encountered 15 whales as the frolicked between Magnetic Island and Cape Cleveland. Mostly, we were the only boat watching these amazing animals! The lunch provided was a smorgasbord, with many healthy options. Townsville Whale Watching is a great example of amazing ways to spend a day on the water.Posted on Tripadvisor H134XMkent27/07/2025Verified Thoroughly enjoyed by everyone :) We are a support company and our clients were looking for a whale watching tour. Our clients thoroughly enjoyed the tour and had an excellent day watching all the whales. Dave and his Staff were very accomodating and we thank them for the wonderful experience. From the team at Rising Star Supports Ltd PtyPosted on Tripadvisor Kat B02/09/2024Verified Fantastic views, even better crew! Views were amazing, crew was even better! We had a fantastic time and would highly recommend to anyone looking to both whale watch and sight see.Posted on Tripadvisor Sophie C26/08/2024Verified Excellent day lots of whales. We had a fabulous day, didn’t actually believe we would see whales out there but Saw at least 16, mostly mothers with calves and the captain got as close as he could without disturbing them. So we were exceptionally happy with our trip. Nice fresh fruit and lunch was great. Was overall an excellent relaxing day !Posted on Tripadvisor Deborah B22/08/2024