Whale trip Photos

Whale Watching Season
The best time for whale watching in New Jersey is from April to late November, though whales dwell in Jersey waters as early as mid-March and as late as early December. Whales migrate to area to feed on Atlantic Menhaden, mackerel, herring, krill, and other schooling fish that breed in these nutrient-rich waters. However, as soon as the cold weather settles in, they travel to warmer waters to mate and give birth.

Whales don’t keep to a regular daily timetable, which is why whale watching tours last between three and four hours long. We are in our 5th year of running tours from Belmar marina with expert whale guides on every trip. Join our mailing list for discounts and special early print trips; when the boat captains tell us the whales are moving into the area, we will be sure to be out there viewing them.
Our daily 3 hour trips are usually $40- $75 per passenger, stay within a few miles of the jersey shore coastline, so you will always see land!

We also offer more adventurous all-day trips to the deep ocean. These trips cost much more, about $250 per passenger, but they are a fantastic experience. Just ask our regular passengers and birders who love these dawn to sunset trips

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about whale watching trips at the Jersey Shore
When does the season start/? We run trips from April to December; June to November’s peak season.
Will I see a whale on my trip with you? The simple answer is yes; we guarantee it. Whales are wild animals, and we sometimes use many methods to locate them. You might need a free return trip to see your whale or a large pod of dolphins.
A free return trip must be taken in the same calendar year.
What about the weather? We don’t go in bad weather, we want the trip to be enjoyable lol. We reschedule you to any future date if the weather is a problem.
Can I charter the whole boat for a special event, fundraiser, or birthday? Yes, call us at 732.451.6003 we have many size boats and trips, including lighthouse tours of NYC and the Statue of Liberty; just call us 732.451.6003
Jersey Shore whale watch we have been sighting whales since 2016, and this is our 5th year running public trips; you and your family will love the unique safe experience we offer on each trip.
Yes, our large boats have two spacious bathrooms for your comfort and Lenny of indoor and outdoor seating. We are very handicap accessible. Wheelchairs are welcome always

Despite out efforts going 15 miles south along the coast of New Jersey to Island Beach State Park, We did not spot a whale it was a beautiful sunny day on the water. Everyone on the trip enjoyed it and they get to come next year for a free return trip. Ours whale check guarantee is unique we want everyone to experience the thrill of seeing at least one whale on our trip!

All i can say is wow,I will let Trisha write up the full report but today was special here are some photos!

Two Whales and a Ferris Wheel!
After having to pull our trip yesterday due to high seas, we were very happy to go out today. We had reports earlier today of a whale in Belmar right outside the inlet, so we headed in that direction. We continued south past Spring Lake, Manasquan, Point Pleasant and Bay Head looking for any signs of our whale. Our naturalist, Danielle, spotted the whale even further south just off of Ocean Beach. When we got close enough to the whale we realized he was bigger than the whales we have been seeing recently and he may be new to our database. We got some great shots of his tail flukes so Danielle will be able to confirm if this is a new whale for us or if he is already in our catalogue. As we were enjoying watching this whale, Danielle noticed another whale just about a mile further south. At this point we were right off of Lavallette and the whale was in the Seaside Heights/ Ortley Beach area. Since it was so close we went to take a look and boy were we glad we did! This whale was quite active and gave us a great show! First he made an enormous splash when he lifted his tail high out of the water and slapped it on the surface. This behavior is known as lobtailing or tail slapping. The sound is very loud and may be heard for some distance under the water, This behavior can be used for long distance communication with other whales perhaps to let them know there is food or a predator in the area or it could be a way to play or socialize. It’s quite possible this whale was slapping its tail to communicate with the first whale we saw. Whatever the reason, it sure was exciting to witness. He did it a few more times so everyone on the boat got to get photos or video of it. He also surprised us all by suddenly lunge feeding right alongside the boat! It was so sudden and so close it was hard to get a photo but still really cool to see. And all this with a view of the famous Casino Pier and Ferris Wheel in the background! So much fun! When we started heading home and thought we had all the great photo opportunities we were going to get, the sun started peaking through the clouds to give us a beautiful sunset! It was truly an amazing day! We only have a few more opportunities to go whale watching this season so join us while you can. It is going to be a balmy 66 degrees this Thursday and we are going on our Sunset/Full Moon whale watching trip- you don’t want to miss it! Take a personal day or leave work early, its so worth it! You won’t have this chance again until next year. Take advantage of this great fall weather and come see the whales before they are gone for the winter. There is plenty of room to move around and find your perfect viewing spot and plenty of room in the indoor heated cabin. With smaller groups this time of year it feels a lot like being on a private charter. We don’t know which trip will be our last for the season so make sure you don’t miss it! Book the full moon trip today! You will be happy you did!

Trish DeVoe, Naturalist, Jersey Shore Whale Watch

We look like we will have a good weather for Thursday and possibly Friday’s sunset in full moon whale watching trip I promise you this is the best trip of the year other than the trips when we go far out or 1214 hrs. this is a simple trip three hours we leave at 1:30 or back before 5 PM you will see the sunset full moon rising and plenty of humpback whales book now there’s only couple trips left the season really is almost over mainly due to the temperature for Thursday looks to be 63° so it could be a great day

This is the time the whales migrate south and we see them off Belmar feeding on all the big bait fish. Join us only a couple weeks left. This is the Friday morning sunrise November 12th 2021

We are in peak whale migrating season as evidenced by all our whale and wildlife sightings the past three days. We saw three different whales on our trip yesterday and we were right off of Spring Lake! The opportunities to go out are quickly dwindling as storms are churning and the weather is getting colder, but we want to take full advantage of every day that the ocean and weather cooperate with us. This really is the best time to go whale watching and the only time there is a possibility of seeing the highly endangered North Atlantic Right Whale. It was this time last year that we had the incredibly rare experience of seeing one of these beautiful whales on our trip. It was an unforgettable moment for everyone on the boat.

We are keeping a close watch on the weather and ocean conditions to plan our last trips of the season. Friday looks like a definite wash out. Temperatures are warmer this week and right now the weather for Saturday and Sunday looks good, hopefully the seas will be good to go out as well. This Thursday is Veteran’s Day and it looks like a good day to go out. It will definitely be a small group that is more like a private charter. If you are off work and considering joining us please book your ticket- we need 25 to go out- if we don’t get enough guests we will automatically refund your money. Feel free to email me with any questions.

Please remember, free trips do not carry forward into next year. Don’t miss your opportunity to sail with us again before the end of the season. We never know exactly how long the weather will hold out or how long the whales will remain so don’t wait much longer!

We are planning another sunset- full moon trip on both Thursday November 18th and Friday, November 19th. It will be a gorgeous sunset and full moon rising. The November 19th full moon, also called the Beaver Moon, will be a Blood Moon! That is because this year it is accompanied by a partial lunar eclipse! About 98% of the moon will be covered by the earth’s shadow giving it a reddish color. Our October full moon trip was absolutely amazing and with the lunar eclipse, this one promises to be even better! Make sure you click the box to get text messages about weather changes and the trip status. If you don’t click the box you will have to check your email for any updates. Click on the below link for more information about this month’s Beaver moon lunar eclipse.
https://www.masslive.com/news/2021/11/beaver-moon-and-partial-lunar-eclipse-will-shine-for-novembers-full-moon-what-this-means.html

We had such an amazing season this year and hope to enjoy a few more great trips before the season ends. Adjust your schedule so you can see these giants of the sea one more time before they are gone for the winter. You may even get to see a North Atlantic Right Whale! Get out there with us to enjoy the abundance of whales and wildlife we are seeing right now- book you trip today! We look forward to seeing you on the boat!

Happy Whale Watching!
Trisha DeVoe, Naturalist, Jersey Shore Whale Watch

Our adventurous day went north out of Belmar, from the shark river towards Lond Branch and further. Our captain Thought there was a whale, but it did not resurface, so we went south towards Spring Lake since we had another reported whale sighting. Well before we got there, a big surprise, common dolphins! Special treat as they usually are way offshore, but they were within a few miles of the coast. They swam and were playful. They were swimming alongside the bow of the boat! We were so amazed that we saw the spout of the whale # 1 for the day at the same time. It turns out he is whale number 196 Gotham Whale catalog, who was seen last year at this time. Usually, whales spout and do a shallow dive, repeat and make a deeper dive the third time. Not this one! Each time he surfaced, it was one breath and deep dive. Saw plenty of tail. He even did a tail slap. Off in the distance was another whale near Manasquan. This whale was not deep diving and was kind of mellow. We got some photos and headed back north . we encountered whale number 1 and then a 3rd whale on our way back to the Shark River inlet, and amazing day Such a whale good time! We made up a story that whale # 2 went to see whale # 1 because she “Whaley, Whaley loved him”. Okay, that was bad but it was funny at the time! We also had a beautiful sunset, wonderful afternoon! Only a few weeks left join us soon!

Sunset whale watching season is here

We had another awesome day whale watching. Clear blue skies led us to two different humpback whales within 1 mile of each other. We were riding from Belmar down to Point Pleasant and then turned around. We were able to spot the first humpback in Avon by the sea about 1 mile off the beach, the 2nd one was in Bradley beach. I great local trip .join us soon only a few weeks left.Remember if you don’t see a whale we take you back out for free the same season.Call or email us if you have a free trip you want to use in the next few weeks. Whale watching free trips do not carry into the next year.

Whale right off the beach!

Happy to report we had another successful whale watching trip today!. We left the Shark River and headed north towards where our sister ship had numerous whale sightings earlier in the day. We found our whale right off of Asbury Park. We had quite a few students from Fusion school and they were all delighted to see a whale in the wild! One of the students even spotted the dogfish, photo below
Such a memorable class trip! The whale was feeding on the abundance of bunker fish in the area so he stayed pretty close to shore. He was clearly not afraid of the boat and gave us plenty of great photo opportunities and lots of tail shots. With such small groups going out there was plenty of room for everyone on the boat to get the perfect viewing spot. It’s so much fun to hear the excited shouts every time the whale surfaced! Interestingly, as we followed the whale, he actually led us south right back to the Shark River inlet where we started! Perfect trip!

We only have a few more trips scheduled before the end of the season so don’t miss out- Book your trip today! There is plenty of room on the boat to move around and find a warm sunny spot or you can always go inside our heated cabin and enjoy some hot chocolate and cookies. We sell snacks like hot dogs and hot pretzels and we even sell sweatshirts and blankets- everything you need to have a warm, enjoyable trip. Just dress warm, bring your camera and get ready for an amazing experience! We are going out Saturday and Sunday, come out and join us and watch these giants of the sea migrate south for the winter. You’ll be happy you did!

Almost forgot we also saw a Spiny dogfish are the most commonly known of the two-dogfish species that inhabit the coastal waters off New Jersey. … Spiny dogfish are also referred to as mud shark, skittledog, Atlantic spiny dogfish and Pacific spiny dogfish. The spiny dogfish is widely found from north to south on both coasts of North America.

Trish DeVoe, Naturalist, Jersey Shore Whale Watch