From late December through early May, thousands of humpback whales migrate to the warm waters of Hawaii. Catch a glimpse of the magnificent mammals on a whale-watching excursion from Waikiki. Venture out on the water with a small group of people to witness the humpback whales breach, play or feed around you. Your guide guarantees sightings, and in the rare event that you don’t see any supersize stars, you get to do the tour again for free!
From the operator’s live schedule on Viator, checked Oct 13.
See the beautiful Waianae coast and mountain range by catamaran
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For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Ko Olina Deluxe Whale Watching Sail lasts about 2 hours. The itinerary has 1 stop.
Prices start at $89 per person for this Oahu experience, booked through Viator with the price shown before checkout. There is 1 booking option, so the final price depends on the option you choose.
According to the operator’s current schedule, it runs every day, starting at 1:30 PM.
Children aged 4–12 pay from $69, adults from $89. Infants go free.
Yes. Cancel at least 1 day before the start for a full refund. Later cancellations are non-refundable.
The meeting point is Check in at Ko Olina Marina Building 92-100 Waipahe Place. There is complimentary parking in the 'outer' marina lot or paid parking available for $22. Hotel pickup is not part of this experience.
The experience is available in EN.
It is a small-group experience with a maximum of 80 participants.
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Yes, bookings are confirmed instantly.
Travellers rate it 4.7 out of 5 across 75 reviews on Viator and Tripadvisor; it is run by Hawaii Nautical.
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
This was a great experience! The boat is quite big and easily fit the 16 passengers on our tour. Captain Quin, Keoni, and Jesse were a great crew! Very friendly and quite knowledgeable about whales. We were able to see several whales and some were quite close to our boat! The free drinks were a nice plus. The overall experience was top notch!
The boats are large, they offer drinks and snacks. Can move around the boat, sit or stand. Can go inside if needed.
We were so lucky in the trip that we took this February the 24th. In just over the 2 hours we were on the water with Captain QUIN, and cremates JESSY, and G. we had the pleasure of sailing with a large pod of hump back whale many of which were breaching out to the water and some came up relatively close to the boat. Thanks to Hawaii Nautical and the amazing crew and captain we were able to witness these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat without disturbing them. This was our second tour. We also did the Waikiki whale watch which had beautiful coastal views of Honolulu but we did not see whales. Our second one was the free rescheduled ride. The west coast of Oahu is immensity beautiful and I would highly recommend that over Waikiki. The ocean was less busy with boat traffic. As a bonus on the way back to shore we got to witness the crew land a yellow fin tuna which was an amazing unplanned bonus!! The coastline was also cascaded in a beautiful rainbow welcoming us safely back to shore. Special thanks to the cap & crew of the Ko Nau Lani this was our last activity we did before heading back to the airport to embark home. It was a magical send off. Thank you for the great drinks and amazing experience.
Excellent whale watching experience. Competent and friendly crew. Will most likely return. Highly recommend.
We (10 adults) had a great time on this tour. Captain Quinn and his crew (so sorry, I’ve forgotten their names, although I think one was simply “G”) were terrific. The boat was large and comfortable. We knew they couldn’t guarantee whales but they did find them! We even saw 2 breaching. I would recommend this to friends and family members.
Our Whale watch was the best trip of the season!! Whales were coming to us! We were literally surrounded by whales! Such a great experience! Captain Jesse along with the crew Jessy, Keoni, and Lily gave us so much facts that I never knew about whales and the ocean in general!! Overall great experience! Thank you so much!!
Great crew with a lot of information, plus got to see a whale breach and a lot of whales surfacing. The boat was clean and the drinks were good.
Booked with Viator which was about $40 cheaper than booking at the hotel! Honestly, savings aside...it's totally worth the cost. The crew on Sunday, 1/25/26 was very accommodating and nice. The view was amazing and we had a great time! We saw whales and dolphins and the captain caught a huge tuna. You get 2 drinks and snacks included in the price which is a bargain in itself. Love the boat! Plenty of spacing and tables to enjoy the adventure. 🥰
We had a great time on this whale watching excursion. The staff are awesome and you’ll definitely see some whales. They do a great job sticking around and anticipating the best locations.
Super fun and so many whales!! There’s crew was amazing and it was an overall blast. The trip was about 2 hours long and it was the perfect amount of time to get the full experience.
| Tour | Duration | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ko Olina Deluxe Whale Watching Sail | 2 hours | 4.7 (75) | $89 | |
 Ko Olina Catamaran Sail and Snorkel with Lunch | 3 hours | 4.8 (673) | $195 | View |
 Whale Watching Catamaran Sail | 2 hours | 4.7 (26) | $114 | View |
 Spirit of Aloha Deluxe Catamaran Whale Watch | 2 hours | 4.5 (652) | $120 | View |
 Pearl Harbor History Remembered Tour from Ko Olina | 8 hours | 4.9 (1,335) | $166 | View |
 Ko Olina Signature Sunset Cocktail Cruise with Appetizers | 2 hours | 4.7 (189) | $89 | View |
 Waikiki 2 Hour Whale Watching with Guaranteed Sightings on Oahu | 2 hours | 4.6 (1,335) | $53 | View |