Whale & Dolphin Watching: Madeira's Wild Side

Explore Madeira’s wild side with a thrilling whale and dolphin watching tour. Swim with dolphins and learn from expert marine biologists.

Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Scorpio Madeira Wildlife - Embark on a boat excursion to observe whales and dolphins. While swimming with dolphins is an option, it cannot be assured. The journey lasts between 2 to 2.5 hours and includes a Marine Biologist Guide on board, along with a dedicated spotter on land.
What's Included
  • Professional rain coat included
  • Life Vest included
Additional Information

Embark on a whale and dolphin watching boat tour from Machico city on Madeira Island, exploring the island’s most untamed areas. Under specific conditions, guests can swim with common and spotted dolphins. A marine biologist specializing in cetaceans accompanies every trip, providing insights into wildlife. While sightings are not guaranteed, the team…

Location
Scorpio Madeira wild life
Rua do Leiria
Meeting time 15 minutes prior to trip departure.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(83 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Florianea640
Apr 18, 2026
On top! - At the top, we saw 3 different species of dolphins and especially many dolphins!! The attendant was great in translating everything into French! The choice of the zodiac with me s people is validated!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Marielaureb801
Apr 16, 2026
Great. - Beautiful family experience with observation of 4 different species including pilot whales and whales. Oh, great. Super nice guide, the captain also spoke French. Easy handling and contact
Review provided by Tripadvisor
K9402dumattr
Mar 10, 2026
Matt Rogers - I choose this tour as a guinea pig for myself and my brother's Air B and B business. I can honestly say that if you looking for a dolphin watch tour that will get you within touching distance (And of course it goes without saying that you never feed or touch wild animals in their natural habitat) you need look no further. the boat is a zodiac so you will get wet. But it is Madiera after all, what else did you come for. The host will provide a poncho to keep you dry and advise anyone who has bacm issues to sit at the back of the boat. I choose to sit at the VERY front of the boat and had the time of my life.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ninagj7986mn
Feb 24, 2026
Amazing experience - Fantastic tour, our guide was amazing and shared loads of information with us. We were very lucky and saw dolphins and whales very close to our boat. Once in a lifetime experience highly recommend. Staff were super friendly and the boat ride was a lot of fun 🐬🐋💚
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hannupl
Feb 3, 2026
Fun, interesting, professional - Friendly and competent staff, lots of fun - and lots of dolphins, despite the honest warnings that they can't always guarantee seeing the dolphins.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kristi
Oct 7, 2025
Amazing time!! Book it! - This excursion was fantastic! Especially given the price - you have to do this! The staff was over the top, friendly, outgoing, and fun. Also very knowledgeable about the animals in the water. We not only had fun on the boat, but of course we saw wildlife and at the end of the trip, they let anyone swim that wanted to swim and those that didn’t Also had a great opportunity to get some beautiful photos.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kristinamu2601nf
Sep 28, 2025
Mega experience with guide and captain! - Great trip with guaranteed fun. It was much drier than I thought. 93% chance to see dolphins or whales per tour in the last few years. Always on board: a marine biologist as a guide and a captain. There is great information about the animals and you can tell that animal welfare is very important here. Away from the tour on the mountains, there is a scout looking for whales and dolphins. We were lucky and even saw baby dolphins. They got really close. After a short briefing (in English and Spanish, the guide speaks several languages) we started. The captain sometimes accelerates, but a lot of care is taken to ensure that everyone is well. Life jackets are available on site, which are super comfortable by the way (compared to the other plastic stuff). The guide then also goes through it and offers to take a picture of everyone. Take your phones with you 🥰 it is worth it! On the way back there was great music and some curvy fun and -because there was enough time - a detour to a crystal clear swimming spot with the opportunity to jump into the water. It was just a great trip with a lot of WOW fun and a crew that just enjoys their work. They also offer, free of charge, to send the videos or photos taken by the guide underwater free of charge afterwards. I would definitely stay here again. Fun, kindness, joy, nature, water, naturalness and fascination ❤️ we are still blown away! Thank you for this great experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
I1319fsjoseluisg
Sep 13, 2025
Ways to enjoy our nature and help in this way to take better care of it!!! - A very nice experience, since we do attend whales. A 10 for Joâo as a performer and animator, lived up to it at all times Thank you.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Steph
Mar 18, 2026
Pleasant sea trip but not comfortable and not very relaxing. - The staff is very friendly. The walk was friendly but not of any rest. The sitting position on the boat is quite unpleasant along the length. Be careful anyway because the driver enjoyed himself by shaking us a little at full speed. It is not necessarily to everyone’s taste and adapted to lower back pain especially since we were not warned. It did not leave us the opportunity to take pictures along the coast, too bad. We've seen pilot whales. The excursion lasted slightly less than the advertised time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anna
Oct 24, 2025
Last minute cancellation, difficulty in refund - We were cancelled last minute, it was our last day and we could not book elsewhere, as everything was full. The customer service girl didn’t make things easy for us to pay back, and that wasted time. Very disappointed.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $54
up to 14 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).