More than half of the humpback whales in the North Pacific spend part of the year in Hawaiian waters, by NOAA’s estimate. A 2024 study in Royal Society Open Science puts Hawaiʻi at about 18,700 humpbacks in 2013 and about 12,300 in 2021, a drop that followed the 2014–16 marine heatwave. They arrive in November, and the last ones leave in late April and early May. Plan around January and February, when the most whales are here.
January through March is busier than average on the Big Island, with peak-season pricing. The busiest months, by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority’s daily visitor census, are December and midsummer. Whatever dates you pick, federal law requires you to stay 100 yards from a humpback, and that applies to swimmers, kayaks, paddleboards, and drones.
Table of contents
- Time it for the January and February peak
- Know where the whales gather
- Pick a calm day and give it time
- Pack the right gear
- Learn the whale behaviors
- Know the 100-yard rule before you book
A whale is more closely related to a giraffe than to a fish. Our Humpback Whale 101 guide covers the biology and the listening tips.
A humpback whale breaches the surface.
1. Time it for the January and February peak
Humpback season in Hawaiʻi runs November through April, and the last whales leave in late April and early May. The sanctuary’s volunteer shore counts put the peak in January and February.
The sanctuary holds its volunteer shore counts on the last Saturday of January, February and March. The late-January and late-February counts come out about the same. By the March count, the whales seen per 15-minute scan are down to about a third of February’s on the Big Island and about two-thirds on Oʻahu. These shore-count figures are compiled from the sanctuary’s count results for 2007 to 2026 at sanctuaryoceancount.org.
Calves make up 13 to 18 percent of the whales counted in all three months, so March has no larger share of mothers and calves than February.
Whales are still here in late November and in April, when fewer boats run, and you’ll still see them. You’ll just see fewer. If your dates are fixed outside the peak, go anyway: the shoulder weeks are quieter on the water.
Give it time. Across the sanctuary’s shore counts from 2007 to 2026, three out of four mornings at Big Island count sites in January and February had a whale within the first three 15-minute scans (8:00 to 9:15); on Oʻahu and Kauaʻi it was 89% and 95%. By late March the Big Island odds by 9:15 fall to about even.
Share of count site-mornings on which at least one whale had been seen by the end of each 15-minute scan (scans run every half hour from 8:00), January and February counts (solid) against March (dashed), 2007 to 2026. One panel each for Hawaiʻi Island, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi. Compiled by sanctuaryoceancount.org from the sanctuary’s count results.
2. Where the whales gather: shallow water under 600 feet
Humpbacks congregate in water less than 600 feet deep, so boat crews look for them on the shallow shelf around each island. In his aerial surveys, Dr. Joseph R. Mobley Jr. of the University of Hawaiʻi at West Oʻahu recorded the densest Big Island sightings off the Kohala coast and North Kona. The map below adds the shore counts from 2007 to 2026 on top of his survey.
Whales seen per 15-minute scan at shore count sites, 2007 to 2026 (dots and colored coast), over whale density at sea from the 1993 to 2003 aerial surveys (gray). The month inset shows late March well below January and February on every island. The Maui panel is Pacific Whale Foundation’s Great Whale Count. Compiled by sanctuaryoceancount.org from the sanctuary’s count results; aerial survey data courtesy of Joseph R. Mobley Jr.
In January and February, the Kohala coast’s shore count sites average 7.7 to 8.3 whales per 15-minute scan, three to five times the figure on any other Big Island coast. At Hilo Bay the average is about 2.2.
- On the Big Island, the Kohala coast from shore, and North Kona by boat. Hilo Bay and the coast near the green sand beach are possible, not likely.
- On Oʻahu, head for the North Shore or the southeast point (Hālona Blowhole, Lānaʻi Lookout, Makapuʻu).
- On Maui, the west coast, which faces the shallow channel between Maui, Lānaʻi, and Molokaʻi (see our guide to Maui whale watching tours).
- On Kauaʻi, the north shore (Kīlauea Point) and the south shore (Poʻipū to Māhāʻulepū). Counts on the west side are lower.
Our Big Island whale watching guide has directions to the Kohala shore lookouts and what to expect at each one.
3. Pick a calm day and give it time
Rough seas and high wind make whales much harder to see. You’re scanning for a blow or a splash, and in whitecaps a blow looks like every other patch of white water out there. Check the marine forecast rather than the land forecast, and take the calmest day your schedule allows.
From shore, give a lookout 30 to 60 minutes. At the Big Island count sites in January and February, 36 to 38 percent of 15-minute scans came up empty, but counters at a site saw at least one whale on 85 to 88 percent of count mornings. A quiet first 15 minutes is normal.
4. Pack the right gear
Most of this is what you’d take on any small boat. If you pack nothing else, pack polarized sunglasses and seasickness medicine.
Sun protection
On the water you need better sun protection than you do on land, because the sunlight reflects back up off the surface. Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen. Make the sunglasses polarized ones: they cut the glare off the water that hides a distant blow.
Camera
Whales are hard to photograph: they’re often far off, and the behaviors last seconds. Bring a camera with a long zoom, and be ready to aim and focus fast. Video is often easier, because you don’t have to catch the exact second.
Don’t spend the whole trip behind the camera.
Binoculars
Bring binoculars if you own a pair. With them you can identify the animal behind a distant splash. Look through them for long on a moving boat, though, and you’ll get queasy fast, so use them in short bursts.
Food and beverages
Water and snacks, plus a bag for your trash. Most boats carry water and something light to eat, but bring your own if you’re particular.
Clothing
Bring a light jacket. The wind on the water is colder than it feels in the harbor parking lot.
Seasickness remedies
If you’re prone to seasickness, take the medicine before you board rather than once you feel it coming on, because it needs time to work. On the boat, stay outside where you can keep your eyes on the horizon, and stay out of the heat. Sipping a carbonated drink helps, and so does eating something with ginger.
5. Learn what a breach and a spyhop look like
A breach is the animal throwing itself clear of the water. A spyhop is the head coming straight up for a look around, and a tail slap is the fluke coming down hard on the surface, often over and over. Our Humpback Whale 101 guide walks through the behaviors, and through the fluke markings that tell individual whales apart.
6. Know the 100-yard rule before you book
Federal law says you may not approach a humpback within 100 yards. That’s a full football field, and it applies to everyone: swimmers, kayaks, canoes, paddleboards, boats, and drones. Aircraft have to stay 1,000 feet up. The rule runs year-round, across all Hawaiian waters out to 200 nautical miles.
On top of the 100-yard law, NOAA’s boating guidelines recommend a limit of six knots inside 400 yards. A boat may not chase a whale, though a whale may come up to a boat that has cut its engine. So if an operator promises to get you close, they’re telling you they break the rule, and you should book someone else.
Ask about their policy before you book, and read NOAA’s approach regulations if you want the exact wording. Our whale watching guide lists the Big Island operators we send people to.