Boothbay Harbor is one of a few places along the Maine coastline from which you can take a whale watching cruise. Boothbay Harbor is fairly near the middle of the shoreline in terms of north and south – not as far up as Bar Harbor, but also not on the more densely populated southern end of the state coastline either – so it is probably the easiest place to whale watch for a significant percentage of Maine residents. One company operates whale watching cruises in Boothbay Harbor – Cap’n Fish’s Whale Watch, which one might understandably render as “Captain Fish’s Whale Watch” – so we will detail the offerings of this company, as well as touch on the whale watching in Maine in general.
Maine is on the northern edge of the East Coast’s whale watching region, one of the best places in the world to look for whales. The center of the industry, in terms of the concentration of whale watching outfits, is in Massachusetts, but the whale watching opportunities extend up through New Hampshire and of course into Maine. There are perhaps a dozen or so main departure points for whale watching cruises in these three states, all of which sail into the cold North Atlantic waters, where a variety of whales feed during the summer. On whale watching cruises in this area, the focus is on humpback, finback, and minke whales, but other species are seen on occasion, like pilot whales and endangered right whales. A number of other forms of marine life can be seen as well, like dolphins, sharks, and several kinds of seabirds. (Puffins are perhaps Maine’s most famous bird, and while you might be able to see one on a whale watching cruise, there are actually cruises that are specifically aimed at seeing puffins.)
As for the specific whale watching cruises in Boothbay Harbor, these are all offered by Cap’n Fish’s Whale Watch. (For the record, this is part of the broader company Cap’n Fish’s Boat Trips, which has a separate website, but the contact information for both entities is the same. From what we have gathered, “Cap’n Fish’s Whale Watch” is perhaps not an official company name, but just the whale watching division of Cap’n Fish’s Boat Trips.) A few hours of cruising and looking for whales will cost $54 for adults, $32 for “juniors” (ages 6-14), $19 for children (five and under), and $10 for dogs. (Yes, they actually have a separate fare for dogs.) The cruises begin near the end of May, when one cruise a day at around noon is offered. At first, the cruises are only offered a few times a week, but the frequency picks up to every day by mid-June. Then, through July, August, and the first week of September, there are two whale watching cruises a day, at 9:30 AM and 1:30 PM. Thereafter, the season starts to taper off, with the last cruise of the year setting sail in mid-October.
Tickets can be booked directly on Cap’n Fish’s websites, so if you want to reserve a spot for whale watching in Boothbay Harbor, visit one of the links above. If you are interested in more general information, you might check out our guide to whale watching cruises in Maine.
