Of all the wildlife in water and on land in Costa Rica, one of the most spectacular animals are the whales. Both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts have over 25 species of dolphins, porpoises and whales.
During the peak months of migration, it is easy to see these magnificent beasts roaming the waters. Costa Rica’s waters are blessed with good health, temperature and location, so some whale species come here year round to mate, give birth and raise their young before heading back to feed on krill which are rich in the colder waters.
So if you’re coming to Costa Rica hoping to see some whales, you’re in luck!
There are many spots around the country to see these majestic marine mammals and you’ll probably be able to see other animals like dolphins, manta rays and turtles as well.
In this guide you’ll read about the different whales that pass by Costa Rica, the best places and times to see them and the type of whale watching tours offered.
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Whales in Costa Rica
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. So if you want to see whales during your trip to Costa Rica, the humpbacks are the ones you will see as the other whales are deep ocean dwellers.
If you’re lucky, you’ll get a glimpse of 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! A big pod of them just swimming alongside our boat.
This is a video of us boating in the Gulf of Papagayo. Skip to 3:18 to see the whales!
Best Time to Go Humpback Whale Watching in Costa Rica
The best time to see whales in Costa Rica is December to March and August to December. This is due to the migration patterns of the humpback whales, of which both Northern and Southern hemisphere humpbacks pass through Costa Rica. However, the months of August and September are known to the best to see humpback whales as they are coming to breed and raise their young.
Southern Hemisphere humpback whales travel from Antarctica to Costa Rica from late July through early November (sometimes there will be early birds in October). 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.
Between the months of October and November, it is common for both sides to pass through Costa Rica at the same time and this could serve as an advantage for males, increasing the genetic diversity during mating. Because of this, Costa Rica has the longest humpback whale season in the world.
Best Places to See Whales in Costa Rica
It is not common to see whales from shore but hop on a boat, go out for a bit into the ocean and you have a good chance to see one!
Osa Peninsula
Drake Bay and Golfito are two excellent places in the Osa Peninsula to see whales. There are whale watching tours in the Osa Peninsula during the season and it is also very common to see dolphins along the way!
Gulf of Papagayo
Humpback whales are commonly seen in the Gulf of Papagayo in July – October and you can also see them in other beaches like Playa Matapalo, Playa Conchal and Playa Flamingo. You may also see whales in Tamarindo.
One of our friends was stand up paddle boarding in Conchal right next to some whales! He has also seen them up by Santa Rosa National Park where the famous Witch’s Rock is so if you’re going out there for a surf trip in August or September, you may see them there.
Uvita
The national park in Uvita, Marino Ballena National Park was created specifically to protect the waters for whales as this is considered the best place in Costa Rica to see humpback whales. You don’t need to go out far on a boat to see them either!
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.
Humpbaak whales are fairly easy to spot because they spend much of their time at the surface and close to shore. Humpback whales have a distinct hump, a black dorsal fin and can range in length from 12 – 16 meters long.
Whale Watching Tours
There are many whale watching tours in Drake Bay, Flamingo, Uvita and Manuel Antonio for whale watching. There are a couple laws surrounding whale watching and all the tour operators should know and respect them. No one can swim with dolphins or whales except for scientific researchers and these laws are instated to protect these animals.
In August/September there is a humpback whale festival in Uvita to help promote the education and awareness of whales. Whale watching tours that are normally around $90 are $30 for adults. Check the Festival de Ballenas y Delfines Facebook page to stay updated.
Tips for Whale Watching in Costa Rica
Uvita is one of the only places in Costa Rica that runs tours almost all year long
There are several tour companies in Uvita that run specific whale watching tours nearly the entire year. If you’re coming in the off season (October, April – June), you can contact them to see if they have seen whales lately and if it’s a good idea to go. We have gone with both Bahia Aventuras and Ballena Aventuras and their tours are the same. Read about our whale watching experience in Uvita.
There aren’t many specific whale watching tours in the Gulf of Papagayo
Playa Flamingo has a company that does specific humpback whale tours but you must contact them to plan it as whales are not as common up there as down in Uvita. There aren’t very many companies that do actual whale watching tours, most of the times when people see them is when they’re jet-skiing, on a catamaran sailing tour or like us, on a snorkeling tour.
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.
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.
Know that nature is unpredictable
Nature will do what it will and even if it’s the season, you may not see whales. And sometimes people have seen them in the off season. If seeing humpback whales are on your bucket list, try to come during the peak season months of August and September.
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.
If you’d like to read more in depth information about the various whales in Costa Rica, check out the Mammals of Costa Rica: A Natural History and Field guide book.
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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 🙂
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.
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.
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!
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?
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.
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!
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!!
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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!
Hi, it says in the article where are the best places to see whales 🙂 Enjoy your trip!
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
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.
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
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
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?
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!
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 ?
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.
Hoping to be an ex-pat in C.R. Someday soon. Serve the people, preserve the land. My dream!
It’ll happen! 🙂 Costa Rica’s the best place to help preserve the land