Dolphin and Whale Watching With Wild Side Specialty Tour, Oahu, HI

When we booked our trip in March for Oahu, our main goal was to hike Stair Way to Heaven (you can read more about that here). However, as I was doing research for our itinerary, I realized that it was whale season in Hawaii. Of course, both of us wanted to go visit these gentle giants. Wild Side Specialty tour came up on my searches as one of the best ones out there for whale watching. After further research, I fell in love with their tour and we went ahead and reserved our spots. If you’re looking for the opportunity to swim with dolphins in their natural habitat, with no captivity, no abuse, just nature at its best, this is the one. We loved a lot of things about our time with Wild Side Tours, but here are just a few of our favorites:

ABOUT WILD SIDE SPECIALTY TOUR:

• They give back!! A portion of all proceeds is donated to the Wild Dolphin Foundation for marine conservation and education, regulatory reform, and research. Whale and dolphin photo ID’s taken onboard are submitted to Cascadia Research Collective for cataloging.
• Since 1996 Their mission has been to provide education, research, conservation, and regulatory reform.
• Their marine mammal sighting rates are 99.5%. That’s pretty darn good!
• The Wild Side adheres to the IWC’s General Principles for Whale watching. You can tell that they have a lot of respect for wildlife. They always put the wellness of the animals and the safety of the passengers first.
• You’re not just another face in the crowd. The charters maximize each day’s experience and combine both indigenous knowledge and scientific findings with a flair for storytelling and an eye for finding wildlife.
• Not only do they preach conservation, but they also practice it as well! They use reef-safe moorings. All plates and products onboard are recyclable. The onboard toilets are low flow and the employees even work from home when they aren’t on the boats to reduce greenhouse emissions!
• It was founded and led by marine biologists, which adds a depth of knowledge and passion to the overall feel of the tour.

STATS:

Where:
Reserve your spots with Wild Side Specialty Tour here. They have two main tours. Please double-check their website for more up-to-date pricing and info. We did the Best of the West tour. 

Boat Address:
Waianae Boat Harbor –85-371 Farrington Hwy, Waianae, HI 96792

Parking:
free inside the Waianae Boat Harbor anywhere except for in-boat trailer spaces (you may get a ticket!). There are restrooms available.

Tour length:
around 4 hours

Ideal Weather:
Year-round. Although, warmer days make it a little easier to get in and out of the water. Monitor the ocean conditions to avoid a choppy ride if possible.

Pro tip – Be sure to apply your reef-safe sunscreen at least 20 minutes before you will be going in the water. Even though it is reef-friendly, You don’t want it all washing off into the water.

GETTING THERE:

We found ourselves up before the sunrise since Wild Side Specialty Tour started at 8 am. We loaded up the car and took a rainy drive to the west side of the island. On our way to Waianae for some whale watching, we stopped to get breakfast from the Paalaa Kai bakery in Waialua, Oahu. Since they are famous for their snow puffs, we decided to pick up a few. The price was very reasonable.

I found myself wandering over to the market right next door. Lo and behold, they have freshly cooked fried chicken. Only in Hawaii that you can find freshly cooked fried chicken at 5 in the morning. Of course, I had to pick some up. I inhaled the fried chicken in the car as Dustin stuffed his face with the snow puffs before we even remember to take a photo of it. Needless to say, we both were happy campers.

When we arrived at the other side of the island, we found ourselves on the dock for Wild Side Specialty Tours, ready for our whale-watching tour. There, we found our catamaran, the Alaka’i. We decided to go on the “Best of the West” tour.

THE ADVENTURE:

Once aboard, we received a small safety briefing from our awesome captain Jed and our guide Noelle. One of the best things about this particular whale-watching tour is the small number of guests that it accommodates. They limit the tour to a maximum of 6 passengers. This way, guests will have a more intimate experience with the crew and the marine life, not just whale watching. There were other tour companies leaving from the same dock with what appeared to be 60 or so people crammed on board like sardines. It didn’t look like a lot of fun. I felt bad for them as we lounged with plenty of elbow room. It made us very grateful that we chose Wild Side Specialty Tour instead.

We were hoping for slightly warmer weather that day, but I must say that it was gorgeous watching the patches of dark gray clouds pour down on the lush green island. This particular side of the island is filled with nature. It almost had a Jurassic Park kind of feel to it….but without the Raptors and T-Rex of course!

Noelle was amazing at briefing us on how to swim with the dolphins and answering all the questions about the marine wildlife that we could throw at her. She was a very talented wildlife photographer before becoming a marine specialist. Check out her Instagram to see some of her awesome work! She’s been doing the tours for about 3 years. You definitely can tell that she loves what she does just as much as she loves the sea creatures.

 
Jed, our captain, definitely had the knack for finding dolphins and whales. And talking about those quick reflexes. At one point, he had to swerve the catamaran to avoid a wayward sea turtle. Both we and the turtle were very lucky to have him as our awesome captain that day. Not only were both of them extremely knowledgeable about the ocean and its residents, but both of them were hilarious. They had us cracking up pretty much the entire tour!

Pro tip– To keep your goggles from fogging up, use a mixture of dish soap and water. They supplied a bucket onboard the boat that you could dip your goggles in.

With Jed’s expert spotting skills, we found a few pods of spinner dolphins. They are the smallest species of dolphins with the biggest around 5-6 ft. The calves are the size of a football. We got our snorkel gear on and lined up to jump in with the dolphins. They communicate by splashing and doing flips and back flops on water. This is the reason why we all tried to enter the water together to make just one splash so we didn’t disturb them. Dolphins like to race so if you charge at them, or chase them, they’ll race with you and they are WAY faster so they’ll get away every time. We were like ninjas when swimming around so we wouldn’t scare them away.

Just as we got into the water and got our bearings, we were treated to a pod of over 30 dolphins. They swam right under us. The water was exceptionally clear that day. It allowed us to see the ocean floor, which was 60 feet below us at one point. It was magical. There were quite a few calves. We were very careful to stay a little bit further from the pod so we won’t stress them out. Unfortunately, some dumbasses on the shore were using a drone to harass the pod. It is illegal by the way to do that. It startled them and soon they headed off to another location.

Shortly after we got out of the water, Jed spotted two humpback whales so he told us to grab a seat as he hit the gas to speed over. We saw a nursing mom with her calf. The baby was the size of a Volkswagen. According to Noelle, the number of humpbacks whale is very low this year. One of the reasons could be because of the lesser amount of food that the mother whale gets to eat before making the journey to Hawaii to deliver the calves. This particular species of whale can’t feed on bigger prey since their throats are only the size of a grapefruit. That knowledge boggled our minds. I mean, how can an animal that big have such a tiny throat?

The whales feed on herring, krill, and plankton by swallowing mouthfuls of water and filtering the water out from their horsehair gills. When the whales are in Hawaii to give birth, they don’t eat. The mothers ended up losing about 2/3 of their body weight feeding their calf. If they don’t have enough food before their journey, they won’t make it. We were fortunate enough to see mom whale dive down, showing off her massive tail. It was an incredible sight! Unfortunately, we only got a glimpse of the calf since it was hiding under its mom.

After a while, we left them and went snorkeling with the green sea turtles. They are one of the endangered species. They are called green turtles because they have green body fat due to their plant-based diet. It was an unreal experience to be able to swim along with them. If you ever swim with them, please keep in mind that it is illegal to get close to or touch them as they are protected. We also got to see a group of scuba divers over 60 feet down. They ended up swimming right under us and through the underwater trenches. Next thing we knew we were surrounded by bubbles from their tanks. It was pretty awesome!

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. It was our time to leave. As sad as I was saying goodbye to all the beautiful sea creatures, I was glad to get back to shore as the wind started to pick up and I was definitely freezing. The turtle followed us and with one last peek above the water, he said goodbye.

Our lunch was a very healthy homemade chicken salad sandwich, Hawaiian fruit drinks, freshly cut pineapple, and Kauai shortbread cookies. After the delicious lunch, it was time for our whale-watching tour to come to an end. We both really enjoyed our time aboard the Alaka’i. Not only it was amazing to be able to see all the wildlife, but we also learned a lot about them. We would do this tour again in a heartbeat. So if you’re interested in whale watching, be sure to check out Wild Side Specialty Tour and tell Jed and Noelle that “That Adventure Life” sent you!

Wild Side Specialty Tour finished around noonish. You will still have plenty of time to explore the area around Waianae. Don’t forget to head over to Kaena Point State Park for an easy but gorgeous hike along the coastline to see the albatross or check out our blog on Top 10 things off the beaten path to do in Oahu.

Happy Adventuring. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, subscribe to our Youtube channel, and sign up for our newsletter!

RECOMMEND GEAR:

Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.

•  Sunscreen:
   Make sure to use eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen to protect our reef and marine wildlife. We use Alba Botanica Hawaiian Sunscreen.

•  Snorkel mask
   Vy and Dustin’s masks are the WildHorn Outfitters Seaview 180 Degree Panoramic Snorkel Mask

•  Fins
    Vy uses U.S Diver Trek Fins
    Dustin uses U.S. Divers Pro Flex Fx Fins

•  Towels and jackets
Even when the weather is warmer, the windchill by being on a boat is unavoidable. Make sure to bring a nice jacket, especially if you get cold easily.

CAMERA GEAR:
•  Camera:
   Sony a99  
   Gopro Hero 6 Black

•  Lenses:
   Sony 24 -70mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T Zoom Lens    

   Sony 18 – 250mm f/3.5-6.3 High Magnification Zoom Lens

•  Accessories:
   Bobber – Floating Hand Grip for GoPro HERO Cameras 
   

Save your pins: