Azores family adventure holiday, whales and dolphins
Includes 2 half day whale watching Full day geothermal tour Full day jeep and activity tour to Sete Cidades with lunch 7 nights family friendly 4* hotel: buffet breakfast, indoor/outdoor pool Airport transfer
Description of Azores family adventure holiday, whales and dolphins
This Azores family adventure holiday is organised by leading and very responsible whale and dolphin watching experts. The holiday is aimed to be adventurous and also educational, while also introducing you to the cultural and natural heritage of the Azores and is available to book all year round.
Marine wildlife and conservation is at the heart of what we do, and this trip has been carefully designed for families who want to explore this subject more. We organise whale and dolphin watching trips for you and, if you are interested, you can also contribute to ongoing work by a marine biologist, depending on your family’s interests. If you choose this option, you will spend a full day out on the water with the team, learning all about whale research techniques, data gathering, species, cetacean behaviour, underwater acoustics and so much more.
On this Azores holiday you will be based in a lovely family friendly, 4 star hotel in Ponta Delgada (on bed and breakfast basis) on the main island of Sao Miguel, a town with a beautiful historic centre. Within easy walking distance of the boat and marina, the town has plenty of traditional restaurants, and also families love the marina’s seafront swimming pool. Although there are indoor and outdoor pools at the hotel too.
We also organise a day long trip to the village of Furnas, famous for its nearby geothermal springs and caldera lakes, which will give you an idea of some of the spectacular landscapes the Azores have to offer.
Getting there:
Flights are not included in the cost of our holidays. This holiday takes place on Sao Miguel island, Azores and you will be staying in Ponta Delgada, a short 15-minute drive from the airport. BA operate direct day time flights (4hrs) from London from April onwards. You can also fly via mainland Portugal/Europe year round from UK main and regional airports. For ease we have a dedicated flight agent who can help arrange and book flights for you.
Price information
Includes 2 half day whale watching Full day geothermal tour Full day jeep and activity tour to Sete Cidades with lunch 7 nights family friendly 4* hotel: buffet breakfast, indoor/outdoor pool Airport transfer
Departure information
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Holiday information
Reviews
16 Reviews of Azores family adventure holiday, whales and dolphins
Reviewed on 09 Sep 2025 by Duncan Codd
It was a fantastic, well-organised adventure. Our host company did a great job with transfers, packing guidance, and itinerary planning. The local team was outstanding and the Azores themselves are breathtaking. We’re already thinking about returning to explore more islands and try the snorkelling we missed. Highly recommended for nature lovers, families, and anyone seeking a meaningful, memorable escape. Read full reviewReviewed on 07 Jun 2025 by samia lalmas
Very good trip overall. Seeing Dolphins very close. Trip rated 4.5 Read full reviewReviewed on 04 Aug 2024 by Ioan Lavery
Simply put - The best holiday I have ever had! The ease from first engaging with the Responsible Travel team, to having a simple yet effective itinerary and being with some of the most friendliest people you could wish for; our trip provided everything we could have asked for. Thank you so much to the entire Responsible Travel team, the boat base and the hotel staff. Not forgetting my son of course - who got himself well and truly stuck into enjoying each day too, and of course, the hotel swimming pool :) Read full reviewReviewed on 03 Jun 2024 by Amelia Kyazze
5 stars. It was just perfect, thank you so much. Read full reviewReviewed on 30 Apr 2024 by Lisa Crawford
The boat trips we did were incredible... We had an amazing holiday - the best we’ve ever had as a family. Read full reviewReviewed on 11 Aug 2024 by Kate Pettican
My most memorable part of the holiday was seeing dolphins swimming and playing very close to our boat. The White Ocean festival held on the first Saturday of August in Ponta Delgada was great to see. It's a local festival that celebrates the ocean that surrounds and supports them. Loads of blue and white sea themed decorations are hung from buildings and across the sea and everyone is out celebrating and all dressed in white. Read full reviewReviewed on 21 Aug 2023 by Rachel Latimore
Brilliant. A perfect choice for older children and teens. Read full reviewReviewed on 25 Jul 2023 by Ingrid Bethell
Both of the whale watching trips, especially the rib trip, as we managed to see hundreds of dolphins come near the boat as well as four sei whales. Read full reviewReviewed on 20 Aug 2022 by Susannah Grant
10/10 - a huge hit for the whole family. Especially teens disinterested in traditional sightseeing tourism. Our 9 year old was able to do the canyoning and SUP for the first time. Read full reviewReviewed on 14 Apr 2022 by Claire Walmsleymoss
Seeing beautiful dolphins playing in the water. And the geothermal pools Read full reviewReviewed on 23 Apr 2019 by James Leaton
The boat trips were really good and we got lucky and saw Sperm whales on our third and final outing. Read full reviewReviewed on 06 Jun 2018 by Paul Purslow
It was fantastic - a brilliant family holiday with two children (6 and 9) Read full reviewResponsible Travel
Planet
The way the boats approach the whales follow local regulations to protect the marine life. We only use licensed boat operators who are very sensitive to the well-being of the dolphins and whales. There is a good spirit of cooperation amongst the boat companies and agreements to respect the animals as a priority.Research is ongoing on the boats, so these trips are helping to build our knowledge of these fantastic animals. Many of the skippers are professional photographers and maintain a comprehensive photo ID database, in particular sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins and pilot whales. The more we can learn about the whales and dolphins of the Azores the better we can understand things like their migrations and social structures. All this moves us closer to protecting them and the marine environment in a more knowledgeable, effective way.
Guests are encouraged to send in any photos they have taken on the whale watching trips that can be used in the ongoing photo identification projects. Every trip has a huge emphasis on conservation and sustaining the marine environment so future generations may also have the privilege of seeing marine mammals in the wild.
People
We only work with local suppliers who employ at least 80% local people which means financial benefits to families here. The land based lookouts whose immense skill at tracking the animals previously earned money from whaling now earn money from tourists - an enormous change that we are passionate about supporting. Many of their adult children now skipper the whale watching boats and work within the small scale tourism.Our whale watching company offers presentations in local schools to educate the children about the marine life on their doorstep with an emphasis on conservation. They are also planning to host an Azorean Whale Festival to promote the islands as one of the key locations worldwide to see whales. We donate a percentage of it's profits to the World Cetacean Alliance (WCA), helping to protect whales and dolphins worldwide.
All the activities we recommend locally are run by Azoreans and are designed to maintain good relationships between visitors and the local people. For example, we sell and promote only local crafts to our guests to support local craft makers and artisans and to spread tourism income to many islanders. Our favourite restaurants are all run by Azorean people, and we do recommend that our visitors try the delicious local cuisine while supporting sustainable local fishermen in particular.
As well as whale watching we offer geological and cultural tours hosted solely by experienced local guides with an in-depth knowledge of their island and its landscape. We support the local vineyards where guests can sample the fantastic Azorean wine and take these locally produced gifts back to people at home.
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