Above all we want your holiday to be fun as well as informative. We hope to inspire you with the wildlife and the country you visit to such an extent that you will be keen to travel with us again on the world’s wonderful seas.

We enjoy a very high level of repeat bookings, which speaks for itself and is the clearest possible indication of the quality of WildOceans tours, and our high degrees of customer satisfaction. Many of our clients retain some of their tour memories for a lifetime.

WildOceans is a responsible operator: We take great care to ensure that our holidays are conducted responsibly, with the welfare of the wildlife uppermost in our minds. We work only with local operators whose practices are in keeping with our own conservation ethic and, wherever possible, we use local hotels rather than international hotel chains. Group sizes are kept small to minimise the impact on the environment, and to enable us to provide a more personal service. Our leaders not only share natural history information and deal with logistics, but also offer conservation information and ensure that environmental guidelines are followed.

Tour leaders, naturalists and researchers: Our leaders are highly skilled at finding and identifying cetaceans and have the knowledge and experience to ensure that you will have an enjoyable and successful holiday. They are competent individuals chosen for their organisational abilities, enthusiasm, sense of humour and desire to share their extensive knowledge and love of wildlife. From a practical point of view, especially when travelling to remote places, their considerable experience of international travel can help to smooth the way. On some trips, there are two or more leaders and we frequently seek the assistance of local experts, who have an intimate knowledge of their home areas to help to further enhance the experience. In some cases, our leaders will accompany you from the moment you leave the UK until the moment you return, in others you will be met on arrival at your final destination. All boat excursions include the services of a naturalist guide. On many trips, you will enjoy an evening recap or log with your leader, and a briefing for the coming day’s activities.Cetacean and other wildlife sightings: There are no guarantees, of course, having no control over either the weather or the wildlife, we can never predict exactly what we will see - but that's all part of the fun! Nevertheless, we put a great deal of time and experience into identifying the best locations and the best times of year to maximise our chances of seeing the most interesting species. We also try to keep our itineraries flexible to deal with unforeseen circumstances and to take advantage of new opportunities. Previous trip highlights are shown for many of our tours.

Fellow travellers: A typical group consists of an interesting cross-section of people; travelling alone, with friends, or with their partners (men and women travel in roughly equal numbers). Our guests span a wide age range - some are in their teens and others are in their 80’s. If you are young at heart, and are in reasonably good health, you will be able to enjoy any of the tours in this brochure. Occasionally, we advise of potential problems - for example, if you have a bad back and boat rides are likely to be bumpy - so it is worth checking the specific information for individual tours. Some of the tours are unsuitable for young children, but there are others for which we are able to accept bookings for under 16’s (if they are accompanied by an adult).

Travelling alone: Within the happy, relaxed atmosphere that accompanies our holidays, many of our guests travel on their own. The basic prices are based on sharing a twin room. However, there are often opportunities for you to share with another member of the group of the same sex, or in most cases you can pay the single supplement and have a room of your own (subject to availability, often limited - please call for details).

Vegetarian and special diets: Please make a note on the booking form of any dietary requirements. We will do our best to accommodate you, but your requests cannot always be guaranteed.

The pace of tours: While we believe in providing value for money, and therefore pack in as much as possible, we always allow plenty of time with the wildlife for quiet observation and photography. However, our holidays are designed for people who enjoy the outdoor life and who prefer to be active rather than lounging around doing very little. There may be some early mornings, and a few long days, but the tours are generally conducted at a relaxed and easy pace. Please call us if you would like more information on a specific tour.

Accommodation: Our first priority is to maximise your time with the wildlife; in some cases, hotels are fine in this respect, but in others living on a boat is better. In fact this can be an adventure in itself and one of the most exciting, yet relaxing, ways to travel. We tend to avoid unnecessary and expensive luxury and large international hotels, but aim to provide the most comfortable and interesting accommodation allowed by the different localities and surroundings. The tour descriptions give more specific details. Accommodation is invariably with private facilities although some of the smaller live aboard boats offer shared facilities only. A small price to pay for the places you will visit, and the sights that you will see.

Conservation/working and research holidays: We offer an expanding range; assisting scientists with their work, observation, census and photo i.d. being the main activities. You will be directly contributing to frontline whale and dolphin conservation. Please see the OSE research expeditions and Ecovolunteers for details. Previous experience is not required as ‘on the job’ training is included.

Tour itineraries: We try to keep to the itineraries as closely as possible, and major changes are highly unlikely. However, we do like to remain flexible - depending on the weather, winds, tides, and location of the wildlife - to make the most of every opportunity. Trips may be either ‘land based’ or ‘live aboard’. Land based trips involve sleeping on shore in a hotel and going out on the water during the day. Boats we use include Zodiac inflatables with outboard engines, sailing yachts, and purpose built whale-watching vessels. In live aboard holidays your ‘hotel’ is also your form of transport, a boat. These can vary from yachts, sport fishing boats to purpose built, ice strengthened expedition cruise ships which visit the polar regions.

Cetacean data: We supply details of our sightings to many organisations in their ongoing work to map populations and trends. Post tour reports can be found on our website.

Groups: Some of our trips are especially suitable for groups and free, or reduced-cost places, may be available for group organisers.

Private tours/groups: We have been asked for, and increasingly run, a number of private tours using our leaders for you and your fellow club members or simply friends. All current and past WildOceans tour itineraries are available, customised with pleasure. Early enquiries are recommended due to our own continual ongoing future tour planning.

Tailor-made holidays/flights: If you would like to fly from your local airport, go a little earlier, or stay on after a tour has finished, please call us and we will be pleased to help. Alternatively, you may like to combine two or more tours to make one long one (and, of course, save money on flights). Our staff can tailor-make your itinerary. For the trips where the overseas price is shown only, we can arrange your flights, pre and post hotels and any other requirements you may have. Guide prices are shown, correct at time of press for relevant travel dates. When you contact us, we will usually offer you a choice of flights, at the best up-to-date prices.

www.wildwings.co.uk Our website will constantly be updated, the latest version of each of our tours will be shown, along with any further information for you to download and print. As tours for future years will go on sale on the website when they are prepared, you may want to visit on a regular basis.

Pre-trip information: All our holidays will include comprehensive pre-trip information giving details about the itinerary, wildlife we are likely to see, suggested clothing, visa requirements, health ,useful equipment and a reading list. You will also receive our exclusive ‘WildOceans Guide to Whale Watching’, packed with useful hints and tips to ensure you get the maximum from your WildOceans experience.

Booking is very easy by telephone, fax or e-mail. We will usually confirm your reservation immediately and ask you to complete the booking form to be found at the end of this brochure. Deposits are usually required within a week of booking.

Payment: We welcome payment by cheque, debit card and Switch, payable in Sterling. Credit Cards can be used but a surcharge will apply for balances (not deposits).


Overseas Residents are very welcome on any of our tours. Please contact us by phone/fax/e-mail/post and we can quote you excluding the international flights.

Please book early: Whilst we can often accept late booking, we usually have to return unsold flight seats and hotel accommodation up to three months before departure (unlike normal package holidays). Also, places are limited on all departures, as most trips run just once annually, so booking early avoids disappointment.

Advance registration: If you would like to provisionally reserve your place on a trip prior to brochure production a refundable deposit of £50 per person will guarantee your place without commitment until the brochure is issued.

We are pleased to offer a 5% discount for each additional tour booked within a calendar year