Go snorkelling with humpbacks in eastern Canada

BY Quentin Long

Last updated . 22 August 2019

Experience pure awe as you swim with the gentle giant of the sea.

There is but one word that can encompass the experience of being face-to-face with a 40,000-kilogram humpback whale in the beast’s own environment: awesome.

That word is the closest we have in the English language for seeing something, with our own eyes, that is so very much of this world, but also otherworldly.

Boat-based trips to intersect the migrating pods of humpback whales that travel the length of the Newfoundland and Labrador coast are enjoyable, but the snorkelling tours truly inspire awe – from the first time the curious animal’s giant shadow goes past your mask, to the spectacular breaches, and the final goodbye wave of a fin the size of a person.

GET GOING:

Ocean Quest Adventures (oceanquestadventures.com) run daily snorkelling with whales tours from early July to late August, depending on migration patterns.

LOCATION:

Tours leave from Petty Harbour, just south of St John’s, the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador, which is well-serviced by most Canadian local carriers.