Cork Whale Watch
Cork Whale Watch
5
Dolphin & Whale Watching • Nature & Wildlife Tours
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About
Colin Barnes is Ireland's longest established and best known whale watch operator, and has been enthralling whale watchers and wildlife enthusiasts in West Cork since 2001. Cork Whale Watch offers wonderful opportunities to observe marine wildlife in West Cork. These productive coastal waters provide critical feeding habitat for a diversity of species including cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), seals and sea birds, along with prolific fish life.If you've seen natural history documentaries on whales from anywhere in Co. Cork or Waterford, the chances are it was filmed from the MV Holly Jo. Among Colin's contributions are: RTE's "Wild trials", "Wild Journeys", "Living the Wildlife" and in recent years Colin has worked with both BBC Autumnwatch and Winterwatch and BBC Seasons to film large whales off the Cork coast. As a former fisherman of 40 years experience observing whales in West Cork, Colin may not have letters after his name, but those that do, know who to contact if they need to find, film or carry out research on whales and dolphins along the Cork coast. Colin has contributed to and co-authored scientific publications on both fin and humpback whales in collaboration with Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG), and contributes to the All-Ireland Cetacean Sighting Scheme, by reporting sightings data to IWDG. Colin is a rare breed of conservationist, who has evolved from the fishing industry, his passion and understanding of local marine ecosystems is second to none. Colin is available for longer filming and research charters year round.
Union Hall, County Cork, Ireland
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Awards
Travellers' Choice
2022

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(326 reviews)
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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5.0
621 reviews
Excellent
580
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32
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4
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Terrible
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Ryan H
Ardee, Ireland2 contributions
Apr 2022 • Friends
Brilliant ! Lots and lots of dolphins, few humpbacks and minks. Good enthusiasm and great day out! !
Written 3 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Gráinne N
14 contributions
Oct 2021 • Friends
We had an amazing morning. Saw 4 whales, dolphins and seals… captain was knowledgeable and boat trip was smooth. It was a perfect morning
Written 10 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Grainne thanks very much for your wonderful review. We are just wondering whether this image was taken on the Sunday morning trip with us on Oct. 10th and if so, whether you'd be willing to email us over this image or any other tail fluke or dorsal fin shots of this humpback whom we believe to be HBIRL47 who was 1st documented by our colleagues at IWDG in Aug. 2015 and seen several times in West Cork waters this year since May 2nd. Images can be sent to our Cork Whale Watch email info@corkwhalewatch.com and we'll forward them on to our research partners at IWDG. Best regards Padraig Whooley, CWW & IWDG
Written 8 November 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

margaret664
Dublin, Ireland4 contributions
Sep 2021
A magical experience with the much experienced and informative Colin Barnes on a morning trip out of Reen Pier. Dolphins were numerous and the icing on the cake was watching a Humpback whale feeding close to our boat.......we could track his movements in the water by seeing him blow, and follow his movements by lookinh out for large bubbles, and seeing him dive when he flipped his tail shpwing us the lovely white marking, was something I will never forget....cant wait to go back and do another trip.
Written 8 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Hannah
1 contribution
Sep 2021
Having taken several whale-watching trips in different parts of the world, and as wildlife surveyor by profession, I can highly recommend CWW. Even though I would have liked to see a little more of the whales, we did spy two Minke whales, and the dolphins and seal pups are crowd-pleasing joy to watch. Will return without a doubt. Colin is an extremely knowledgeable, professional but still enthusiastic guide, and the scenery on the way in and out is stunning.
Written 20 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lisa C
Dublin, Ireland37 contributions
Sep 2021 • Friends
Just back from a really enjoyable trip. Colin is extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic. We saw seals, dolphins (who put on a fabulous acrobatic show for us!) and minke whales. Not to mention all the seabirds too. We got lucky with the weather too. Would highly recommend. Thank you Colin!
Written 15 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

E B
Dublin, Ireland4 contributions
Aug 2021 • Couples
We had received a voucher and booked several weeks in advance. We rang and we're told to book online, which we did. We received a voice message the day before our booking. We were told that we needed to call within 5mins or our booking would be given away. We rang back after 15-20mins as we did not see the message until then. He informed my partner that he had given our booking away to someone else. We asked was there another day we could book in or anything we could do as we were only in cork for this week. His answer was no and told us we were to blame for not reading the email correctly. The confirmation email said we needed to call in advance to confirm we were coming. As we had already been talking to them on the phone you would have thought this would have been sufficient. A phone call from them to confirm with us would have sorted the problem rather than him giving away our booking we had been looking forward to. We felt that as he had already received payment for the voucher he was happy for our voucher to go to waste and for him to get more money from cancelling our booking. Very disappointing.
Written 5 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Gerard O
1 contribution
Jul 2021
Would love to be reviewing the trip but unfortunately my booking was cancelled by the skipper the day before due to bad weather. Would like to know what weather app he uses because according to Met Eirean & all apps on my phone weather was perfect for boating activities ( all other whale watching companies in the area were going out that day & had no plans to cancel for the rest of the week ). no trips were planned by him for the rest of the week It would not have bothered me that much but my trip was paid for in gift voucher form. No refund was available & when i explained i would not get a chance to use it again until next year & wanted my money back i was told to get legal advice. I will not be sailing on any boat where the skipper is unable to judge or read weather forecasts correctly. i would have accepted 100 other excuses (broken down, ill, not enough bookings etc. etc.)
Written 26 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Paul D
10 contributions
Jul 2021 • Couples
We had a fantastic day out on our trip. We had beautiful weather saw seals and lots of birds then the excitement really began with lots of dolphins swimming alongside the boat, jumping and playing. We thought we might not see any whales but the spotter saw huge splashes on the horizon and off we raced. Then a lone humpback whale enthralled us for ages, splashing with her fins and then jumping again and again. Colin, our captain was full of knowledge and he stayed out for at least 2 hours extra just to give us this amazing experience. Thank you
Written 23 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Nicola B
21 contributions
Jul 2021
Cork Whale Watch lives up to it's name - we had an excellent afternoon at sea, spotting fin whales, dolphins, seals, puffins, and the list goes on. Colin was a knowledgable and incredibly motivated navigator who made the search enjoyable for all on board. Looking forward to next time!
Written 12 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Conor
1 contribution
Jul 2021 • Couples
Unreal experience. Huge amounts of dolphin and minke whale seen on our trip. Amazing value for what you get to experience. Hard to believe there's such wildlife to be seen off the coast. Couldn't recommend highly enough.
Written 9 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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CORK WHALE WATCH (Union Hall) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go