Whale Watching in September

[jc4me]

We are scheduled to be in port in Saint John, NB and Halifax, NS the first part of September. Would either of these ports be good for a whale watching excursion at that time of the year? I don't want to waste money on a tour if there's little chance of actually seeing whales. We are scheduled for Saint John on 9/8 and Halifax on 9/9. Trying to determine if we should schedule whale watching or something else. Thanks for your help!

[martincath]

We are scheduled to be in port in Saint John, NB and Halifax, NS the first part of September. Would either of these ports be good for a whale watching excursion at that time of the year? I don't want to waste money on a tour if there's little chance of actually seeing whales. We are scheduled for Saint John on 9/8 and Halifax on 9/9. Trying to determine if we should schedule whale watching or something else. Thanks for your help!

Early September should be fine - the season peaks in August but runs through at least mid-October in the Bay of Fundy (most options are Saint Andrews-based, which the cruise company will sell from the Saint John stop). Our best whale experience ever was here one early September, when a fin whale surfaced right under us and lifted our boat out of the water - no guarantees of that happening, but fins are frequently spotted in Fundy and the only thing bigger in the ocean is a Blue.

 

I've also had great success on September trips out of Cheticamp (boat surrounded by hundreds of pilot whales).

 

There are trips from Lunenburg that would be reasonably accessible from Halifax, but I don't know how good these are in comparison.

[jc4me]

Early September should be fine - the season peaks in August but runs through at least mid-October in the Bay of Fundy (most options are Saint Andrews-based, which the cruise company will sell from the Saint John stop). Our best whale experience ever was here one early September, when a fin whale surfaced right under us and lifted our boat out of the water - no guarantees of that happening, but fins are frequently spotted in Fundy and the only thing bigger in the ocean is a Blue.

 

I've also had great success on September trips out of Cheticamp (boat surrounded by hundreds of pilot whales).

 

There are trips from Lunenburg that would be reasonably accessible from Halifax, but I don't know how good these are in comparison.

 

Thank you. We will look at the Saint John stop for a whale watching excursion then. Looking forward to it!