Shop thousands of destination activities worldwide!

SLIDESHOW OF SOME EXCITING DESTINATIONS

Slideshow placeholder
Slideshow Image
Slideshow Image
Slideshow Image
Slideshow Image
Slideshow Image
Slideshow Image
Slideshow Image
Slideshow Image
Slideshow Image
Slideshow Image
Slideshow Image

Whale Watching

Day Trip, Group Tour
Offer Image
Enjoy the home to migrating pods of humpback whales in Hilo, The Big Island of Hawaii, on this narrated tour that will guarantee some of the best viewing grounds.

Whale Watching

Come along for the ride to catch a glimpse of Hawaii's gentle giants and winter visitors, the Humpback Whale! After a nonstop 6-8 week and 6,000-mile migration from Alaska, approximately 12,000 North Pacific Humpbacks arrive in the Hawaiian Islands every year around mid-December for a season of mating, birthing, and nurturing their newborn calves. This annual migration is one of the longest of any mammal and brings magic to the Hawaiian Islands each winter.

Make your way to the coast to begin your whale watching experience in search of these majestic creatures for a once in a lifetime experience. The Big Island is one of the best and most popular Hawaiian Islands to get out on the water and encounter whales. The best way to view these incredible mammals is to journey out to sea with an ocean guided tour boat.

Whales seem to love playing in the water, just as much as humans do. Despite their size, Humpback Whales are surprisingly acrobatic. They show this by frequently leaping out of the water and slapping their tails on the water. These amazing mammals are also renowned for their beautiful and haunting songs, which, you will experience yourself. Humpback Whales have a strong cultural value in Hawaii. To the native Hawaiians, a whale is the representation of the Hawaiian god Kanaloa - the god of animals in the ocean.

So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the breathtaking views of the beautiful island of Hawaii and go in search of these larger than life animals.

Interests
  • Wine
About Shore Excursions Group
Shore Excursions Group logo
ABOUT US
Shore Excursions Group was created with one goal in mind: to provide exceptional travel experiences to cruise passengers in the ports they visit around the world. To accomplish this, we have compiled an exceptional array of tours delivered by local experts with decades of experience serving travelers and delivering excellent tours. Our owners and management team are comprised of seasoned travel industry executives who leverage their considerable experience to deliver memories of a lifetime.

We are experts in providing exceptional shore excursions. We understand that in today's fast paced world, vacations have become an increasingly important way to relax, reconnect with family and friends, and experience new and interesting places. With this in mind, we provide the highest quality tours by performing extensive research, and detailed reviews. While other companies also offer excursions, we strongly believe our expertise and approach set us apart. The large cruise lines sell shore excursions - typically in very large groups visiting high traffic sites. We focus on smaller groups visiting more interesting and authentic locations using more personalized local operators. While the cruise lines are experts in delivering cruises, we are experts in delivering shore excursions.

Our Approach
We believe quality service is not only highly valued by customers, but ultimately leads to better experiences and higher satisfaction. Unlike the cruise lines and other tour companies that rely almost entirely on websites, we encourage customers to call us. We want to invest our time answering your questions, providing input, and selecting the excursions that best meet your needs.

Our Tours
Our goal is to provide customers a wide array of exciting, appealing, and enriching tours. For those customers who prefer to travel in smaller groups with more personalized service, we offer a wide variety of small group tours around the world. These tours generally range in size from 2-12 people compared to larger tours which can number up to 50 people. While exploring the destinations and ports on this website, feel free to search for these "Small Group Tours". For those customers interested in private tours, we offer many outstanding excursions that allow you to travel with your party alone and, in many cases, to fully customize your tour. Search for "Private Tours" if you are interested in this experience. Our "Scenic" tours provide up close and personal access to some of the most spectacular natural environments on Earth from majestic glaciers in Alaska to spectacular reefs in the Caribbean. Our "Cultural" tours allow customers to experience local customs, entertainment and culinary delights ranging from tribal dances in Alaska to an outstanding local meal in Santorini, Greece. Our "Active" tours offer a multitude of exciting and adventurous ways to experience our destinations. Our customers can kayak the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, hike to a spectacular waterfall in Hawaii, or bicycle through quaint villages in France. Our "City" tours allow travelers to see the highlights of great cities around the world with unique insights provided by our expert tour guides.

Our People
In our experience, exceptional travel experiences are almost always delivered by exceptional people. With that in mind, we utilize a comprehensive approach to select and employ the leading tour guides and tour providers around the globe. We hold our people to very high standards which we measure by our comprehensive Quality Control process and, most importantly, by our customer feedback, which we will actively seek from each of our customers.

Our Owners
Shore Excursions Group is owned by seasoned travel executives possessing extensive experience across many sectors within the travel industry.

Bradford J. Miller
Mr. Miller is the former Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer for Abercrombie & Kent, the World's leading luxury travel company. In that role, Mr. Miller was responsible for contributing to Abercrombie & Kent's international growth through the development and acquisition of tour products and travel experiences around the world with a specific focus on cruising and land based experiences. Prior to joining Abercrombie & Kent, Mr. Miller held a variety of executive positions with Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises for more than a decade. These positions included Vice President of Guest Sales & Service, Vice President of Brand Development, and Vice President of Onboard Revenue (which included shore excursions). Mr. Miller also led Celebrity Expeditions, a collection of outstanding and unique tours around the World.

Michael Bonner
Mr. Bonner has over a decade of experience working in the cruise industry in a variety of roles for both Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Viking River Cruises. Most recently, Mr. Bonner was the Chief Operating Officer for The Scholar Ship, a Royal Caribbean program aimed at providing college students onboard educational programs in conjunction with enriching shore excursions around the world. Mr. Bonner also helped co-manage Viking River Cruises U.S. Operations, and he ran the corporate, strategic, and deployment planning functions at Royal Caribbean. While at Royal Caribbean, Mr. Bonner was responsible for forming Royal Celebrity Tours, Royal Caribbean's land-based tour operation in Alaska, which takes cruise passengers on multiple day tours through the interior of Alaska either before or after their cruises. Prior to working at Royal Caribbean, Mr. Bonner was a consultant for Booz Allen & Hamilton.
Starting At
$155.00 USD
Per Person
 
Tour Type
Group
 
Group Size
Small
 
Activity Type(s)
Scenic, Water/Beach
 
Tour Duration
2 Hours
 
Activity Level
Moderate
 
Tour Leaves From
Slip #4 Wailoa Small Boat Harbor. 181 Manono St. Hilo, HI 96720.
 
Food/Beverage Provided
Snack, Beverage
 
Special Instructions
We recommend wearing comfortable, weather appropriate clothing and walking shoes. A lightweight rainproof jacket or poncho is also recommended.
 
Restrictions
This activity requires moderate physical health and wellness, as it leaves the protection of Hilo Bay and is conducted mostly in the open ocean. There are variable weather conditions including waves, wind, and rain. Guests with prohibitive physical ailments are not recommended to participate in this tour. Guests prone to motion sickness are recommended to take necessary preparations. Minimum age required to participate is 5 years old. Maximum weight of guests allowed is 275lbs.

Location