Costa Rica’s waters are blessed with good health, temperature and location so marine life is incredibly rich. One of the marine mammals that pass through Costa Rica are the whales. Many whale species come here year round to mate, give birth and raise their young so if you’re coming to Costa Rica hoping to see some whales, you’re in luck!
In this guide you’ll read about the different whales, the best places and times to see them and the best whale watching tours in Costa Rica.
This post has been updated April 2019.
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What Whales in Costa Rica Can You See?
The most common whale to see in Costa Rica are the humpback whales as they pass by Costa Rica more than 6 months of the year. The other whales that pass by Costa Rica are deep ocean dwellers. Bryde’s Whales are also seen in Costa Rica.
Orcas are not that common in Costa Rica and are rarely seen.
Another whale you may see are pilot whales, which are actually the second largest oceanic dolphin. We were lucky to see some hunting while we were out boating in the Gulf of Papagayo one day. It was a big pod of them just swimming alongside our boat!
Best Time to Go Humpback Whale Watching in Costa Rica
The best time to see humpback whales in Costa Rica is July, August and September throughout the country. This is when they come to breed and raise their young and is the best time to go on a Costa Rica whale watching tour! You can see whales all along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica during those months.
The official humpback season in Costa Rica is December to March and July to December. However, Uvita, a small beach town in the South Pacific coast is the only place that has an abundance of humpback whales during both times of the year. In addition to July – September, January and February are very good months down in the South Pacific.
Southern Hemisphere humpback whales travel from Antarctica to Costa Rica from late July through early November. This migration route is 11,500 miles (18507.5 kilometers). Northern hemisphere whales head to Central America from Alaska from the months of December to March. These long routes make them one of the farthest migrating animals on Earth. Because of this, Costa Rica has the longest humpback whale season in the world!
Best Places to See Whales in Costa Rica
Here is a map of the best places.
Osa Peninsula
Drake Bay and Golfito are two excellent places to see whales. There are also many dolphins in this area so you can see both at once!
Gulf of Papagayo (Guanacaste)
Humpback whales are commonly seen in the Gulf of Papagayo in July – October. We saw this mother and baby humpback whale while on a beach hopping tour in August. We also saw a single juvenile male in July and some humpback whales in February. It’s not as common to see humpback whales in this area December – March but they are around, especially in February.
Although there aren’t dedicated Gulf of Papagayo/Guanacaste whale watching tours, you have a chance to see them on a sailing or boating trip.
Tamarindo/Conchal/Flamingo
You can also see humpback whales out of Tamarindo, Conchal and Flamingo during July – November. Must boat out of the bays to see them. Many sailing tours will look for whales during the season.
Uvita
The national park in Uvita, Marino Ballena National Park was created specifically to protect the waters as this is considered the best place in Costa Rica to see humpback whales. This area offers the best whale watching in Costa Rica and you have the best chances of seeing whales in Uvita in Costa Rica.
It’s common to see mom and baby whales together as this is the time where mothers nurse their young and teach them how to breach, dive and feed. The babies are very playful and sometimes when you see them they are splashing their fins around and eagerly jumping out to practice!
Gulf of Nicoya
Another good place to see whales are in the Gulf of Nicoya. If you take the Tortuga Island day cruise during the whale season, there’s a good chance you may see some in August and September!
Manuel Antonio
Though not as good as Uvita, it is possible to see humpback whales from Manuel Antonio during July – December.
Costa Rica Whale Watching Tours
Whale Watching Tours Manuel Antonio: Visitors have a chance to see them during the season on a catamaran tour like Planet Dolphin.
Whale Watching Tours Tamarindo: There are no specific whale watching tours out of Tamarindo but you can go on a catamaran or sailing tour. On these sailing tours, it is possible to see whales during the season, particularly July – October. Check Antares, Dream Chaser, Marlin del Rey for open sailing tours.
Whale Watching Tours Flamingo: There are several private boating companies in Flamingo that offer possibilities to see whales during July – September during their tours such as Life Is Better at Sea. You can also do a the open catamaran tour like Panache, Lazy Lizard or Serendipity in Potrero.
Whale Watching Tours Playas del Coco/Gulf of Papagayo: There aren’t any specific whale watching tours but if you go on a catamaran sailing tour or a private boating tour, you have a chance to see them in July – September. Whales have also been seen in this area during December- February but not as often.
Whale Watching Tours Uvita: There are several companies that operate specific whale watching tours almost all year round. We have gone twice and enjoyed it each time. Please contact us if you’d like to book the tour!
Whale Watching Tours Drake Bay: In Drake Bay, Divine Dolphin runs dolphin and whale watching tours during the seasons.
Tips for Whale Watching in Costa Rica
Uvita and Drake Bay are two places in Costa Rica that runs tours during both seasons
Keep that in mind if you really want to see whales.
If you visit in August and September, Uvita holds the Festival of Dolphins and Whales where they offer whale watching tours every day in the morning and afternoon.
There aren’t many specific whale watching tours in other places
As that area isn’t guaranteed to always have whales, even during seasons, there aren’t really dedicated whale watching tours in Guanacaste.
The times we have seen whales in Gulf of Papagayo were completely random. We were on a snorkeling/beach hopping tour and just happened to come across the whales. We saw them in August and July, once near Playa Matapalo by the RIU and one a little outside the Papagayo Marina. One time, we were coming back from Witch’s Rock in Santa Rosa National Park and saw humpabck whales.
It is best to go on a boating or sailing tour out of Flamingo, Tamarindo or Playas del Coco during July – October and hopefully you will see them!
Take anti-nausea medicine
When we went whale watching in Uvita, I got extremely seasick. I highly recommend taking anti-nausea medicine if you are prone to seasickness or if you are planning to take pictures because looking through a camera on a rocky boat is not fun.
Costa Rica doesn’t allow swimming with dolphins or whales
No touching or swimming close to them.
Know that nature is unpredictable
Nature will do what it will and even if it’s the season, you may not see whales. If seeing humpback whales are on your bucket list, try to come during the peak season months of August and September to maximize your chances.
Bring a good lens
If you are going out whale watching, make sure to have a full charged battery for your camera and that you have a good zoom lens if you have a DSLR. There are so many other animals out there in the ocean that you’ll want to have it handy to catch it on film.
Read more articles on wildlife in Costa Rica here!
Costa Rica Wildlife watching guide
There are Amazon affiliate links in this post.
Janet Durwin says
I want to highly recommend that you go with The Divine Dolphin in Drake Bay. They have been doing these tours for more than 20 years, they have an awesome and comfortable boat and a hydrophone to hear the whales singing. I don’t know what it is, but even when there were other boats around, the whales would come over to our boat. It happened on several days, so it wasn’t just a “fluke.” Pun intended. Take my word for it. Go with the best!
Sammi says
Thanks for the recommendation and wow, we will definitely have to check them out!
Wynn says
Hi Sammi, we are going to be staying in Manuel Antonio for 2 days during the first week of September and are considering doing some whale watching, but are debating between trying to book a whale watching tour out of MA, or making the one hour drive down to Uvita (since we’ve read here it’s such a great spot for it). Because of our limited time in MA, we are debating whether it’s worth it to drive down to Uvita, or take a tour out of MA and risk seeing less whales. Do you have any thoughts? We would appreciate any insight (and any recommended tour operators – we would love to help out the blog). Thanks in advance!
Sammi says
Hi Wynn, I’ve never done whale watching out of Manuel Antonio but whales do pass through there. There’s more of a possibility to see whales in Uvita though but there’s a very good chance in MA as well but nature is unpredictable so you never know. For more of a chance to see whales, I’d go to Uvita since humpback whales are very common there so if you really really want to see whales, Uvita is the best place.
Nicola Nuti says
hi,
i’m going to Costa Rica (Atlantic shore) in January..
What kind of whales it can be spotted??
There a best time of the year to spot killer whales (Orca)??
thanks
Sammi says
Hi Nicola, you can read in the post the kind of whales. The most common is humpback and the season will just be starting in January down in the South Pacific. Killer whales don’t commonly pass through Costa Rica so you can’t see them.
Ilan says
Hi there,
I am going to Costa Rica in early October and I want to surprise my wife with whale watching. Do you think this would be a good time to go? If so, which places would you recommend? I’m worried that because October is during the rain season, we won’t have a chance to see any whales due to the weather. Any advice?
Thanks 🙂
Sammi says
Hi Ilan! October is generally the rainiest month but there are some mornings of sun but do come prepared for rain. It also depends where you will be, the Costa Ballena (Uvita/Dominical/Ojochal) where the best place to see whales does rain more and is more humid. Osa Peninsula rains a lot more too but up in Gulf of Papagayo it is drier and doesn’t tend to rain quite as much. Whale watching tours leave in the morning as it’s generally sunny in the morning and rainy in the afternoon.
Sammi says
Hi Regina, specific whale watching tours aren’t really available in GUanacaste, they are offered down in Uvita and some companies (I think there is one in Flamingo) offers a whale/dolphin watching tour. Depending on where you are in Guanacaste, the Gulf of Papagayo is the best place to see them, but in December it is overlap month of both NOrthern and Southern so there is a very small possibility to see them up in Guanacaste. The best opportunities to see whales is down by Uvita and Marino Ballena Natoinal Park.
Regina says
Hello, my husband, two young children & I are staying at a resort in the very northern part of Guanacaste in December–doing a whale watching excursion is on my bucket list but I am having a hard time finding any tour groups that offer tours that are less than a 2hr drive from Guanacaste–any tips? Thanks!
Heather says
So, do whale watching tours still run from May-July? Are there no whales or just fewer whales then? I’m going to be there in early May. Am I SOL?
Sammi says
You can contact the tour companies to get the current situation on the whales because that’s off season for whales so they may not run any tours until Julyish. Unfortunately May isn’t a great month as you’ll just miss the Northern Humpbacks and it’s a bit early for Southern Humpbacks. Sometimes there are stragglers who come early/are late but it’s never a guarantee during those months.
Sammi says
Hi Suze! I would definitely avoid Jaco beach in your case as it is not the cleanest since it’s very touristic. For snorkeling, the Caribbean beaches like Cahuita are excellent as there aren’t many boats or people going through there. The only good place to snorkel in the South (Uvita/Dominical/Osa) is Cano Island. There aren’t very many other good beaches or areas to snorkel in the south. You can read more about Cano Island here: Cano Island snorkeling
THe only thing I would make note is that Cano Island is extremely popular so there are always several boats that go there for snorkeling tours and when we went, there were at least 50+ people in the water at once so I’m not sure if that’s clean enough since a lot of boats go around the island every day.
The Gulf of Papagayo has excellent snorkeling and very clean water/beaches and because the Papagayo Gulf is so big, you can have beaches to snorkel all to yourself (especially in early NOvember as it’s still low season). There are handfuls of boats that go through Papagayo Gulf but since the area is so spread out and everyone goes to different beaches (since there are so many), you’re never surrounded by more than 1 or 2 boats at a time and every time we’ve gone, we’ve always been the only ones.
Hope this helps!
Suze says
We are attending a wedding in Jaco for a few days in early November, with our grown daughters. I’ve been reading about the ocean being so polluted there in that area, that you should not swim or even go on the beach there. I have Lyme disease, which lowers your immunity, and makes you more susceptible to infections so I protect myself from exposure to polluted waters. It has also affected my strength, so I have some challenges in big surf. As a passionate snorkeler and swimmer in the ocean water, where would you recommend I go to swim/snorkel in the least polluted waters? Looked like Uvita area, Cahuita and that southern coastal area might be a good place for us to go spend our time, snorkeling and swim. What would you recommend? Thanks!!
Newman says
They took your description almost word for word! Hope you were already aware of this!
yeison says
Thanks Newman, this is normal for us now lots of people without imagination or Internet marketing knowledge just copy our content. Google knows how does this and this sites might get hurt by Google, so no worries and thanks again!
Alejandro says
Hi!
Im traveling to Costa Rica on late August and early September, which place do you recommend for me so I can watch the whales?
Thanks!
yeison says
Hi, it says in the article where are the best places to see whales 🙂 Enjoy your trip!
Maggie says
Hi there,
I saw a pod of whales from the plane just off the coast before landing in Liberia. What kind do you think they were? I’m guessing humpbacks but it was January 22!
Thanks,
Maggie
Sammi says
Most likely humpbacks, especially if they were pretty big. In nature, there are always exceptions to the rules. Just because it’s technically not “whale season”, doesn’t mean it’s impossible to see them. They’ve seen humpbacks down in Uvita beginning of January, so you never know with nature.
Sammi says
Hi Lauren, there are no specific whale watching tours from this area. If you really want to see humpback whales, and want a more of a “guaranteed” chance to see them, you should go to Drake Bay or Uvita. That is the best place to see humpback whales nearly all year long and they have specific dolphin and whale watchhing tours. In Playas del Coco, humpbacks commonly pass through August-November and it’s not very common to see them in the other months. We’ve gone boating in the Gulf quite a few times in Dec/Jan/Feb/March and never saw one, we’ve only ever seen them in Aug/Sept in the Papagayo Gulf. I highly suggest if that’s on your bucket list, to take a trip to Parque Nacional Marino Ballena especially since you’re coming in January: Marino Ballena National Park
Lauren says
Hi, staying near playa coco in January. Seeing humpbacks would be a dream come true for me. Do you know of any tours from this area?
Many thanks
Lauren
kimi says
Hi! I know this post is a little older, but is it possible to see any whales in June? I’ll be thereto June12-22 and I’m considering going on a whale watching tour. Not sure if I’ll have any luck though?
yeison says
Hi Kimi!
Even if the post is old nature will do the same cycle ;), and June is not the best time but you never know. Happy travels!
PlayaHermosaLodge says
Great article, thanks for all these informations.
I never heard nothing about Orcas in Costa Rica, do you have a link or more informations about it? I’m interesting to know where some people have seen Orcas in Costa Rica ? South, Central, North ?
Sammi says
Hi! I haven’t seen them myself sadly but they have been spotted along the Pacific Coast near the Marino Ballena National Park and then on the Southern Caribbean side. They’re not as common as the other whales and I’ve only ever heard of a few people who have seen them versus the big handful who have seen humpbacks.
Edwin Barnes says
Hoping to be an ex-pat in C.R. Someday soon. Serve the people, preserve the land. My dream!
Sammi says
It’ll happen! 🙂 Costa Rica’s the best place to help preserve the land