Whale Watching Holidays

Whilst on your relaxing seaside holiday in Italy, don’t just limit yourself to taking a dip in the cool, refreshing sea; why not explore even further and discover some of the most amazing marine wildlife in Europe?
The Italian regions of Tuscany and neighbouring Liguria are the perfect locations from which you can embark on a whale watching tour, due to the fact that their sea is part of the vast Pelagos Sanctuary; home to a huge concentration of cetaceans.
The triangle of sea that makes up the Pelagos Sanctuary is around 84,000km squared, and includes Italy, France and Monaco. This area has the largest number of whales, dolphins and other marine life of all the Italian seas, largely due to the abundance of food that can be found here.
Since 1999 has been a marine protected area and is home to around eight species of cetacean, including the fin whale, sperm whale, pilot whale and three types of dolphin; common, bottlenose and striped. The Pelagos Sanctuary is a fascinating yet precious ecosystem. The Tuscan Archipelago National Park is part of the vast Pelagos Sanctuary, and is an incredible 600km squared sea with extraordinary marine activity and sea flora, such as coral and starfish. Here there are also seven islands, including the stunning Elba Island.
Here, as well as dolphins and the occasional sperm whale, you can also see several varieties of fish including the moonfish.
If you are keen on a spot of exciting whale watching in Italy, then there are several companies that run day tours in the Tuscan Archipelago and the Pelagos Sanctuary. If you want to explore the Tuscan Archipelago, then why not take a hands on trip in a sailing boat from Elba Island?
Or if you want to venture out a bit further, then there are numerous boat trips that leave from the Ligurian coast.
The CETUS Viareggio company leads day long whale and dolphin watching trips in the Pelagos Sanctuary. There are between 6 and 20 people on the boat, and lunch is included in your trip. Pesca in Liguria also gives you the chance to view the exciting marine wildlife and combine it with a full day’s fishing, while Consorzio Liguria Via Mare organises daily trips from the Old Port of Genoa.
Whale Watch Liguria also runs boat trips, complete with a marine biologist to educate you on the marine life that you’ll see. These tours leave from several points in Ligura, including the Old Port of Genoa, Savona and several others.

We have a wonderful collection of charming seaside villas in Tuscany, so as well as spending relaxing days on the beach, eating at delicious seafood restaurants and generally taking it easy, why not add the excitement of whale watching to your list of activities?

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