It finally happened! After 4 years of trying to see whales in the wild, I finally had success on a whale-watching tour in Virginia Beach, Virginia!
I have literally been chasing whale-watching opportunities since 2020, when we booked an excursion in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It was canceled at 4 am the day of, and I was devastated because it was our only free day there. At that point, I didn’t realize that we could actually see whales in our home area of Hampton Roads. Dolphins and otters? Sure. But I’d never heard about whale-watching here!
Turns out, I hadn’t heard about it because it’s only available in December through February–not an ideal time for water activities! But this cold winter season is when whales (primarily humpbacks) migrate past Virginia Beach in search of warmer waters.
Unfortunately, between my basketball coaching schedule and the holidays, free weekends in that time frame have been in short supply, so I only had one chance to go last winter. It was a Saturday right at the end of the season, so I knew there’d be fewer whales, but I was still hopeful.
We booked our trip with Rudee Tours, a company that’s been leading tours in the area for over 40 years. They have a number of large tour boats, reasonable prices, and a great reputation in our area. I also liked that their tickets included a guaranteed sighting policy.
So we showed up on a cold Saturday morning, sailed around for two hours…and saw nothing. Well, a couple of dolphins, but I wanted whales! I was so disappointed! But since we didn’t see any whales, Daniel and I received passes to come back ANYTIME for a free makeup trip.
We finally got the chance to use it at the end of January 2024, and the trip was a success! If you’re interested in taking your own whale-watching excursion in Virginia Beach, Virginia, here’s what you can expect!
Planning For Your Whale-Watching Trip
Rudee Tours FAQs
- Where is it located? 200 Winston Salem Ave, Virginia Beach, VA 23451
- How much does it cost? $35 for Adults (12+), $33 for Military and Seniors (65+), $28 for Children (4-11), and $5 for Toddlers (0-3)
- What do guaranteed sightings mean? If your tour group doesn’t spot any whales, you can come back for another tour for free anytime! (No refunds)
- What are the boats like? Each of their boats is ADA compliant and has 2 bathrooms, plus a heated indoor cabin with a snack bar, bar, and extra seating. They also have an upper deck with additional seating.
Packing Essentials for Whale-Watching
Remember: this is a winter activity, and the water will always be a few degrees colder than it is on land! Although Virginia Beach can have very mild winters, don’t let it fool you into under-preparing!
- Secure hat and gloves (preferably with touch-screen capabilities for your phone)
- Hand-warmers
- Winter coat
- Warm boots or thick socks and close-toed shoes
- Sunscreen
- Sea sickness meds
- Binoculars
- Camera/video camera with lots of battery and storage space
- Neck/body strap for your phone or cameras
- Snacks
- Water
- Sunglasses
The shop inside the cabin has a few of these things for sale, but I always like to come prepared with my own rather than spend money on a new one.
Setting Sail with Rudee Tours
Our tour was scheduled for 10 a.m. on Saturday. As instructed, we showed up 30 minutes early to check in at the dock, get in line to board the boat, and pick our seats.
When we went out with Rudee Tours last year, bad weather had been hitting the area for the last week. They’d had to cancel multiple tours, so we ended up taking two boats to accommodate all the rescheduled reservations.
We had several bad storms again this year (I think we rescheduled 2 or 3 weekends in a row), but the crowd was still lower than last year, and everybody fit into one boat. It was definitely a full tour, but we still had room to reach the rail. I do wish that we’d arrived a few minutes sooner to grab better seats in the front or on the second story. But as the tour progressed and people moved inside the cabin, some better spots opened up for us to really enjoy the views.
As we headed out, the captain gave us a fun educational talk about the wildlife in the area, from whales to birds and dolphins. We learned a lot about the types of whales that typically migrate through these waters and their different habits. A couple of Rudee Tours volunteers were also on board with informational cards to show more detail information on the whales if you wanted it.
I found it very interesting that most of the whales we see around here are actually juveniles! The adults tend to make a longer journey down south, while the younger whales stay here in the mild waters.
One of the most important things we learned was that whales don’t have any natural predators or threats in this area. The biggest threat to them is humans! Unfortunately, many whales are injured every year by boats or stray fishing gear. There are speed laws in place, but that doesn’t stop the whales from surfacing under a large shipping boat or a propellor.
In fact, we had 3 whales wash up on the beach in as many days this winter, and most signs point to injuries from some sort of “human interaction.” ☹️
The Magic Moments: Whale Spotting!
When we first left the dock, it was incredibly foggy. But it didn’t take long to find clear skies in the open waters beyond the bay. It was perfect whale-watching weather!
About 30 minutes after we set out, our captain got a report from a different Rudee Tours boat about a whale sighting. Within 10 minutes, we’d reached the other boat and had our very first glimpse of a humpback whale!
We followed this whale around for a few minutes before another one came by, and we repeated the process. We didn’t have any “epic” breaches, but it was still really fascinating to see them come above the surface and blast water with their whale spouts!
The whales will typically come to the surface for a few seconds for air before diving back down for one to two minutes at a time. That does mean the action happens fast, with long breaks in between, but I feel like the anticipation kind of adds to the experience.
It was so exciting to see a whale breach and get a better glimpse of its back or tail! Then, everyone would stay crowded around the railing, gazes sweeping back and forth as we waited for it to come back to the surface again. It was packed at the rail, but most of the other guests were very considerate about personal space, not shoving their cameras over our shoulders, etc. And Daniel was really great about holding a spot at the opposite rail so I could run to the other side if the whale swam under the boat. That definitely helped us get some extra footage!
In the end, I believe we saw 3 to 4 different whales, and we followed them around for the full remaining tour time, which was great! We didn’t see any dolphins this year, but we saw a few last winter, so that’s always a possibility, too.
Closing Thoughts on Whale-Watching in Virginia Beach
I had such a blast on this winter tour! Yes, it was nippy. But once the whales started coming, I barely noticed the cold. If you’re interested in seeing whales in the wild and you’re near Virginia Beach in the wintertime, I think this is a great way to get out and see them.
There are a number of local Virginia Beach companies that offer whale-watching tours, but we were very happy with Rudee Tours. Their tickets are a bit more expensive than some of the others, but I 100% feel like the sightings guarantee is worth the extra couple of bucks. It definitely paid for itself on our tour.
If you’d like to see some of the footage from our whale-watching adventure with Rudee Tours, be sure to check out my YouTube video! Feel free to leave any comments or questions below, as well.
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