Dolphin watching in Wales

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 gethin_allen 24 Mar 2015
Anyone have any good recommendations of boat trip companies or locations to see dolphins around South West/ West Wales and if there is a good chance of seeing dolphins around the 20th of April?

I haven't called any companies yet as some of the companies seem to offer what they can't deliver and would promise the earth, but as it would be a Birthday trip for someone so I don't want to disappoint.
 whenry 24 Mar 2015
In reply to gethin_allen:

Dale Sailing (www.pembrokeshire-islands.co.uk) are pretty good. All their trips leave from Martin's Haven; you've got a reasonable chance of seeing them as you pass across Jack Sound, but the best option would be to go on a Grassholm trip. I'd go on the Dale Princess - it's slower, but you get more of a chance to see the wildlife, and are higher up than a rib, so get a better view. The boatmen on the Princess all know the area and it's wildlife pretty well.

It's difficult to predict dolphin movements; there might not be any sightings for a few weeks, and then a pod of over 100 will be spotted. In my experience there's a slight correlation between sightings and relatively warmer water - but look luck trying to identify in advance when that's going to happen. What you will see around St Bride's Bay (especially to the south) on the 20th April are plenty of Puffins, Gannets, Kittiwakes, and Razorbills, and (weather depending) Manx Shearwaters. When you go, look out for Gannets - if a group are circling round a particular spot and diving, it often indicates that there are dolphins or porpoise in that area - they stir up the fish, and the Gannets use the opportunity to get some easy food.

If you decided that you wanted a really good tour with seabirds instead, then one of their evening trips with an expert (quite often Anna or Steve Sutcliffe, who lived on Skomer for a number of years and both really know their stuff) would do the trick.

Is your friend prone to seasickness? Worth thinking about - although they don't run trips in the worst weather, the sea is rarely like a millpond round there (especially in April).

I don't know the companies based around Ramsey; I do know that there are reasonably regular sightings of dolphins around the island, but pods move around St Bride's Bay, and don't stick to one area.
OP gethin_allen 24 Mar 2015
In reply to whenry:

Thanks for the info. Whether or not she gets seasick is something I should check, I'm trying to keep it a bit of a secret but I've no idea how I could enquire about seasickness without giving the game away.

Doug Kerr 24 Mar 2015
In reply to gethin_allen:

Apparently the largest pod of bottlenose dolphins in the UK reside in Cardigan Bay. I've seen dolphins in this area pretty much all year round although much less in the winter months. April to November are the best months .
There are boat trips from places such as New Quay although these are entirely dependent on sea conditions on the day in question.

I've seen dolphins at a variety of different places off the Ceredigion coast but by far the best place is from the small tidal island of Ynys Lochtyn (a 15 minute walk from Llangrannog) . You don't really need to descend to get on the island to have a good view. The headland of Pentrwyn Lochtyn (adjacent to Pen Bilis) provides a pretty good vantage point.
http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=19082





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