Whale and Dolphin Watching in Madeira

The first column is what you might see, the second sorts whales from dolphins and turtles, and the third quotes the source. Nothing here is our own speculation, the figures come from the museum's science page and Visit Madeira's activity page.

Seasonal Or Resident

The museum draws one clear line. Some species are seasonal, and the common dolphin is the named example. Others are present all year, and the bottlenose dolphin is the named example.

Large baleen whales use these seas in passage or seasonally, and some individuals stay several months. That is the full extent of official seasonality data. Beyond those two statements, no official source ranks months.

Sea depth reaches 3000 metres in places, which is why deep-diving sperm whales feed here. The museum notes more species may be recorded as observation effort grows.

These are not courtesy guidelines. They are regional law, and they change what happens on the water: your boat slows down near animals, it cannot linger, and it cannot get close. Where the table says Area I, that is the south coast between the eastern limit of Santa Cruz and Calheta, the stretch where Funchal trips operate.

What Is Outright Banned

The law bans chasing animals, separating groups or isolating calves, touching them, throwing objects at them, pets on board, sonar, night watching, and aircraft, jet skis and underwater vehicles as observation platforms except for science or authorised filming. Entering the water to interact with marine mammals or turtles is banned, and swimmers may not actively approach or swim with marine mammals. Approach must be at about 30 degrees from the side-rear, never head-on.

• No chasing, no separating groups, no isolating calves
• No touching, no throwing objects, no pets on board
• No sonar, no night observation, no aircraft or jet skis as watching platforms
• No entering the water to interact, no swimming with marine mammals

Boats And Trips Are Capped

Portaria 46/2014, as amended by Portaria 13/2015, sets how many whale-watching boats may exist at all. The caps apply per group of harbours. Each boat may run at most 3 trips a day, boats should preferably work near their own harbour, and using another harbour is limited to 10% of operations with prior notice.

Portaria 336/2022 of 27 June sets the criteria when demand exceeds capacity.

The Ban

Decreto Legislativo Regional 15/2013/M bans entering the water to interact with marine mammals or turtles, and it bans swimmers from actively approaching or swimming with marine mammals. So a free swim among dolphins is not legal in Madeira. If a trip sells open swimming with dolphins here, that should make you ask questions, because the activity as described would break the regional regulation.

The four tours on this page do not advertise swimming.

The One Exception

Underwater observation of cetaceans is allowed for exactly two species: the common dolphin and the Atlantic spotted dolphin. Even then, at most 4 people may take part, they hold on to the boat and are attached to a line. That is structured underwater observation, not a free swim.

It is a narrow exception in a law that otherwise keeps swimmers out of the water with these animals.

Visit Madeira calls whale watching a year-round activity, with daily departures from Funchal marina all year, and also describes departures from Calheta, Machico and Porto Santo. That is the season statement. The Madeira Whale Museum publishes no month-by-month sighting calendar and no sighting odds.

Visit Madeira publishes none either. Nobody official tells you that April beats October or the reverse, so be wary of any page that does.

The Two Seasonal Facts That Exist

From the Whale Museum: the common dolphin is seasonal, and the bottlenose dolphin is present all year. Large baleen whales pass through or stay seasonally, with fin, Bryde's and sei whales seen feeding and calves confirmed for fin and Bryde's. That is the whole official picture on seasonality.

For planning around sea state and wind, use our best time to visit Madeira page and the Madeira weather guide, since operators cancel in unsafe seas.

Visiting The Madeira Whale Museum

The museum sits in Caniçal on the east coast, in Machico municipality, on the other side of the island from the whale-watching berths at Funchal marina. The table below is the museum's own tariff and opening block, so you can price a rainy afternoon against a boat trip. It has run the cetacean stranding network RACAM since 1996, and its 24-hour line takes reports of stranded animals.

How The Hunt Ended

Sperm whale hunting arrived in the early 1940s with lookouts and crews from the Azores. The first sperm whales were killed off Porto Moniz on 2 February 1941 and processed at Ribeira da Janela. A factory followed in Caniçal at the end of the 1940s.

Lookout posts covered the seas up to 15 miles out. Hunting ended voluntarily in 1981, and from 1986 the regional decree DLR 6/86/M made the waters out to 200 miles a sanctuary for whales, dolphins and the monk seal.

Read these before you pick a boat. Three of the five are legal limits, two are about the animals themselves.

• Your boat is legally limited to 10 minutes in the observation area, and all boats together to 40 minutes, so a patient guide matters more than a fast boat IFCN, DLR 15/2013/M.
• There is no public fee for watching whales. The state caps boats and time instead, at most 25 authorised boats across the four southern harbours and 3 trips a day per boat IFCN legislation page.
• Calves of fin and Bryde's whales have been confirmed in these waters, meaning some baleen whales breed here, not just pass through Whale Museum.
• Swimming with dolphins is banned, with a single narrow exception for underwater observation of two species, 4 people maximum, holding a line IFCN, DLR 15/2013/M.
• If you find a whale or dolphin stranded on a beach, the 24-hour RACAM line is 291 961 859 or 924 432 091, and you should never cover the blowhole of a live animal or put sunscreen on it Whale Museum.

The table compares a standard catamaran morning, a small-boat trip with a biologist, and the full Desertas day, all departing Funchal marina.

Pairing It With The Rest Of Funchal

A 2 to 3 hour trip leaves most of a day free. The marina sits within walking range of Funchal's old town, and the evening suits Funchal at night. Our estimate: book the morning departure so wind, which often rises later in the day, matters less, then keep the afternoon for the town.

The morning works best. The 2 hour 30 minute Ecological Catamaran from Funchal marina puts you back on the quay before lunch with most of the day left, and the marina is an easy walk from Funchal old town, where a lunch stop and the painted doors of Rua de Santa Maria fill the early afternoon. If you would rather trade money for expertise, the 2-hour small boat with a marine biologist does the same job in a tighter window. Save Funchal at night for after, or ride the Funchal cable car up to Monte for the late light.

The full-day option is different in kind. The 9-hour Desertas catamaran takes your whole day, with lunch on board and the uninhabited islands as the turn-around point. Landing there needs a separate permit and is not part of the cruise. Our estimate: give that trip its own day in your plan, and keep a normal morning trip for a day when you also want time in town. Pair either with the Whale Museum in Caniçal on a different day, it is closed on Mondays.