5 Best places to swim with whales

The world’s largest mammal is surprisingly difficult to see – except here, on Sri Lanka’s southern coast. It’s the best, most accessible and most reliable place in the world to see – and snorkel – with the big blues. Tours depart from Galle and Mirissa between February and mid-March, when the whales feed on giant shoals of krill.

Despite their name, dwarf mike whales are big – about 7-9m in length and weighing 5-7 tonnes. The whale experience is some distance offshore, so this is a live-aboard trips departing from Port Douglas require several days, but itineraries also diving and snorkelling at some of the best spots on the pristine Great Barrier Reef.

The pilgrimage to Tahiti for expectant humpback whales takes place from Aug to Oct with the island of Moorea, 15kms from Tahiti, providing a breathtaking location from where to swim safely with whales and newborn calves in what will be an incredibly humbling experience. Set sail into the sheltered waters of the South Pacific on-board a catamaran and swim with whales surrounded by French Polynesian islands.

Every year, from July to October, 40-tonne humpback whales migrate to the warm Tongan waters from Antarctica to breed, before heading back in November. Whale-watching tours (usually part of multi-day packages) depart from Vava’u, Ha’apai, ‘Eua, and Tongatapu islands, and it’s one of the few places in the world you can snorkel with them too (visibility is excellent).

The remote fjords north of Tromso are the best, most reliable place to see orcas; each winter, 50-60 arrive to feed on the vast herring shoals. Multi-day live-aboard expedition cruises operate from the end of October to early February. If you can bear the cold (dry suits provided), you can swim with them too.