Wildlife Watching Boat Tour
Description
Feel the wind in your hair as you experience the thrill aboard our custom built RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) and share firsthand the unique scenery, wildlife and history of our area. Our experienced local guides will point out some of the key points of interest in the Cromarty Firth before heading out towards the Inner Moray Firth. Frequent sightings of Bottlenose Dolphins, Harbour Porpoise, Seals, Seabirds and even the occasional Whale! Award winning, locally owned and operated business with over 20 years operating experience. Commentary provided throughout by an experienced local guide/ naturalist. (English only) Full waterproofs and lifejackets provided. Group size limited to a maximum of 12 passengers. Please note trips and route are weather dependent and all of the wildlife we encounter are completely wild. As such sightings cannot be guaranteed.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We will meet at the EcoVentures Kiosk at the West Harbour at Invergordon. Cruise liner passengers should follow the pedestrian walkway from the gangway to the Harbour. Your skipper and guide will provide a safety briefing and kit you up in wet weather gear and lifejackets. We will then make our way to the pontoon, a distance of approximately 100m and board our Rigid Inflatable Boat. There is a step down from the pontoon to the boat and passengers will require a degree of agility and balance to manage this. We then make our way out into the waters of the Cromarty Firth. Your experienced local guide will point out the oil rigs explaining some of the local industry and we will also stop at the HMS Natal war grave, a poignant reminder of the Firth's wartime history. We will stop regularly and passengers will have a chance to ask questions.
If conditions permit we will then leave the Cromarty Firth behind us and make our way out past the historic town of Cromarty through the Sutors out into the Inner Moray Firth. Look out for the imposing war fortifications on the cliffs, a reminder of the Cromarty Firth's important wartime role. The seabird colonies lie to our North and the best time of year to see the birds is late April through until the end of July. We regularly see Guillemot, Razorbill, Cormorants, Shags, Kittewakes and Fulmar nesting on the cliffs and in the surrounding waters.
Your experienced local skipper will then guide the boat out to sea covering as many of the wildlife hotspots as we can. Wildlife can be encountered at any point throughout the trip, both in the Cromarty and Moray Firths so keep your eyes peeled from when we leave the Harbour! Sightings can include our resident colony of Bottlenose Dolphins, Harbour Porpoise, Seals and even the occasional Minke Whale. A record of all recent sightings is kept and your guide will be happy to advise what has been spotted recently. Please remember however that all of our wildlife is just that, wild, and there are times we don't see anything at all. The boat will then return to the waters of the Cromarty Firth and we will make our way back to the start point at the West Harbour.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Children must be 12yrs +
- Passengers require good mobility to manage the step down from the pontoon to the boat.
- Size/ weight restrictions apply. Please contact us prior to booking if you have concerns.
- Please note there are no toilet facilities aboard the boat.
- Passengers should dress warmly and wear flat soled, non slip footwear.
- Sightings cannot be guaranteed and no refund will be offered.
- Weather conditions are often changeable, we do not cancel for rain.
Reviews(5)
This really is a good thing to do ….if you sit in the right seat. The staff are friendly and informative, the boat is smart and as comfortable as you would expect, the pilot was knowledgable and did his best to find something to see (we did see some dolphins) BUT the one piece of information they have but probably won’t tell you is the people in the very back row will be soaked with sea spray from the boat on the faster parts of the journeys when making manoeuvres and you will be unable to look around yourself when this happens as you will be covering/hiding your face. The front seats are definitely the ones. to have for views. Maybe telling customers beforehand so they can make a more informed choice would be helpful.
This tour was worth every penny! Whilst we weren't lucky enough to spot the dolphins this time, we had a brilliant tour with a knowledgeable local skipper. We learned about the WW1 shipwreck lying just outside the harbour, saw ol abandoned (but well maintained) fishing bothies, WW2 lookout buildings and a huge amount of native sea birds that the skipper told us all about. It was a lovely small group, giving a personal feel, and the hot chocolate and biscuits on board was a lovely touch.
We are “veterans” of numerous trips out with Ecoventures over the years, but the 4 trips we had with them this year were for us mind blowing, the sort of trips you usually only dream about. It’s very difficult to describe the experiences you really need to see for yourself. In the course of the ; trips we had encounters with bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, harbour porpoise, numerous minke whales, seals and a first for us a basking shark. On top of which we had diving gannets, Manx and sooty shear waters, cormorants, shags, guillemots, razorbills, terns, several different species of gulls, kittiwakes, and eider ducks. All in all very very special trips out with friendly and knowledgeable skippers. We will definitely be back again.
Wonderful experience from start to finish. Staff were friendly, knowledgeable, and flexible. We got lucky with some very active dolphins.
Had a wonderful trip with eco adventures in the Cromarty firth and Moray firth. Unfortunately we didn't see any any dolphins, but as the children said, " it didn't matter" as they just loved the whole experience . The 'skipper' was fantastic. He told us a lot of history about the area. The 2 hour trip passed very quickly. This is my 3rd trip with Eco Adventures and I highly recommend them. So friendly, helpful and professional. I did see the dolphins on my 2 previous trips
