Whale & Wildlife Report | Nov 30-Dec 6, 2025
Highlights
Short-Finned Pilot Whales
Blainville’s Beaked Whales
Humpback Whales
Rough-Toothed Dolphins
Bottlenose Dolphins
Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins
Pantropical Spotted Dolphins
Oceanic White Tip Sharks
Tiger Shark
Whale & Wildlife Report | Nov 30-Dec 6, 2025
December is here, and there’s no place quite like the Kona Coast when the holidays meet one of the ocean’s greatest migrations. Just FOUR more pelagic whale watching tours before we shift gears to our 2.5-3 hour humpback whale watching tours on December 13th! You’ve heard of holiday magic, but nothing compares to the real enchantment unfolding right now: year-round whales and the first humpbacks already arriving!
This week we were treated to a few jolly surprises - humpback whales! We found a pair of younger humpbacks heading north with nice surface intervals. After a couple looks, one whale even breached! Inshore we were delighted to see our first adult humpback. This female was much larger and she also showed us her flukes on a deeper dive. By submitting a picture of humpback flukes to Happywhale, we can identify individual whales that we encounter on our tours - a fun citizen science aspect!
With 3-4 hours on our pelagic whale watching tours, we have the potential for a wider variety of whale species. While searching offshore our crew spotted a few glints in the waves and dorsal fins. These turned out to be Blainville’s beaked whales, a species we also saw last week! These deep divers are incredibly elusive and one of the coolest whales to encounter. We also saw a small pod of short-finned pilot whales off with four oceanic white tip sharks with them. Whales can truly pop up anywhere and at any moment!
Hawaiian spinner dolphins greeted us on our way out of the harbor and we also found them along the coast! Our favorite encounter was further north with a pod who rode our bow and did lots of impressive spins. Although we also spotted a few bottlenose dolphins hunting around the fish pens and another pod near Kealakekua Bay, the best dolphin encounters were offshore!
We found an absolutely massive pod of Pantropical spotted dolphins with at least 200 individuals present. They rode our bow, launched through the waves, and surfed our wake! To top the week off, we also found a huge pod of rough-toothed dolphins. It was the most we have ever seen around a FAD and it was a super cool encounter! We were surrounded by dolphins in every direction and our crew spotted a tiny new calf in the mix. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, they started prey sharing and also interacted with an oceanic white tip shark!
Our team will miss our pelagic whale watching tours, but we are SO ready for the winter humpback season!
Upcoming Tours
12/8- 8:30 AM Pelagic Whale Watch
12/9- 8:30 AM Pelagic Whale Watch
12/10- 8:30 AM Pelagic Whale Watch
12/11- 8:30 AM Pelagic Whale Watch
12/13- 11 AM & 3 PM Humpback Whale Watches
Interested in experiencing our tours?
Hawaiian Adventure’s tours provide the best opportunity to explore the Kona Coast and the wildlife beneath the waves.
If you’ve been on other tours, you’ll appreciate the Hawaiian Adventures difference.
