Whale watching without chasing on Tenerife: what "No Chase" really means on the €28 tour
Updated October 1, 2026 · 8 min read
“No chase” is in the title, “marine life comes first” in the description. The short answer: the Eco No-Chase Respectful Whale & Dolphin Encounter from Los Cristianos costs €28 per person, lasts an hour and a half according to the booking site, and has 4.6 stars from 15,139 reviews – it’s the right choice if you want to see whales from a glass-bottom catamaran without having to get in the water. If you want to swim, take the Travelin’ Lady for €29.90; if you want a smaller boat, the Peter Pan for €27.81; and if you want three hours with food and a swim stop, the Eco-Cruise from Costa Adeje for €47.
See availability and prices for the Eco No-Chase Respectful Whale & Dolphin Encounter
Only two offers on Tenerife have more reviews on GetYourGuide than this trip, and only one of those is also a whale tour. Above all, that means one thing: these trips are well booked.
What the booking site doesn’t say: no boat in the Canary Islands is allowed to chase whales. So the question isn’t whether this operator leaves the animals in peace, but what it does beyond what every boat already has to do.
Five Whale Tours Compared
| Offer | Duration | from | Rating | best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eco No-Chase Respectful Whale & Dolphin Encounter | 1h 30m | €28 per person | 4.6 (15,139) | anyone who wants to see whales without getting into the water themselves |
| Travelin’ Lady: Eco Yacht Whale & Dolphin Safari | 1h 30m | €29.90 per person | 4.7 (19,007) | swimmers who want to be out for the same length of time |
| Whale Watching Cruise & Swim from Los Cristianos (Peter Pan) | 2 hours | €27.81 per person | 4.7 (4,173) | anyone who wants a smaller boat with no more than 60 guests |
| Costa Adeje: Whale Watching Catamaran Tour with Drinks | 2 - 3 hours | €35 per person | 4.7 (4,121) | holidaymakers in Costa Adeje who don’t want to travel to Los Cristianos |
| Costa Adeje: Whale & Dolphin Eco-Cruise | 3 hours | €47 per person | 4.6 (5,736) | couples and families who want to stay out for half a day |
Who runs it, and from where
The title names neither the harbour nor the operator. The booking site lists “Vision Submarine” as the operator, departing from the harbour of Los Cristianos. According to the booking site, the meeting point is Zone A of the excursion boats, reached by following a blue line painted on the ground. What matters is whatever is stated on your booking confirmation.
According to the booking site, the boat is a large, stable catamaran with a glass bottom and an underwater viewing area.
The duration is inconsistent. The booking site states an hour and a half, but its own itinerary lists “2 hours” for the whale watching. Plan for two hours.
What the law requires of every whale-watching boat
The rules are set out in Decreto 178/2000 of the Canary Islands government. They apply to excursion operators just as much as to private individuals who occasionally head out to watch. Article 13 lists what counts as a prohibited disturbance of the animals:
- No boat may approach a whale, a dolphin or a group closer than 60 metres.
- Within 500 metres, the limit is 4 knots, and never faster than the slowest animal in the group.
- Also within 500 metres, it is forbidden to circle, chase, split up, touch, lure or feed the animals, or to cut across their swimming path. Boats may not approach across the direction of travel, or at an angle sharper than 30 degrees from the front or rear.
- Within 100 metres, at most two boats may be present; within 500 metres, at most three.
- No boat may stay within 100 metres of a group for longer than 30 minutes.
- Swimming and diving are prohibited within 500 metres.
Licensed operators must also carry an officially recognised specialist guide on board, the Guía de Turismo Sectorial, and must visibly fly the “Barco Azul/Blue Boat” flag. It is Canary yellow, measures 80 by 50 centimetres, and shows two white pilot whales on a blue background, with the licence period underneath in blue digits.
Spanish national law adds a little more. Under Real Decreto 1727/2007, at most two boats may be in the zone between 60 and 300 metres at the same time, and if an adult is travelling alone there with its calf, no boat may enter at all. If a whale approaches closer than 60 metres of its own accord, the engine must be put into neutral. If the animals show signs of distress, such as sudden changes of direction or fleeing, the boat must leave the area.
“Without chasing” is therefore not an extra service in the Canary Islands, but the minimum requirement for every boat allowed to show whales here.
What the operator promises beyond that
On the booking site, the operator explains what “No Chase” means to it: never chasing whales and dolphins, never changing course to cut off their path, never encircling them, never pushing them to surface or to ride the bow wave, and not following animals that are visibly resting, feeding or caring for young. Every ticket, it says, supports Neptune’s Pirates UK and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation UK. It also advertises state-certified guides – though the law requires such a specialist guide anyway.
What’s missing is any actual figure. No minimum distance greater than the 60 metres, no shorter time limit than the 30 minutes, no commitment to stay away from a group altogether if two other boats are already there. Chasing, cutting off and circling are prohibited anyway. That doesn’t mean the crew does a poor job; guest reviews on the booking site praise the respectful way they treat the animals. It just means that “No Chase” here mainly describes an attitude, barely a rule beyond what the law already requires. Whether it is “the original” chase-free tour, as the short description claims, cannot be verified.
How to tell on board whether the rules are being followed
You’ll already see the yellow flag with the two pilot whales in the harbour at Los Cristianos. Once animals are in sight out at sea, the boat should slow down noticeably and travel parallel to their direction of swimming, not head-on towards the group and not circling around it. Count the boats: if two are already close to the same group, a third must wait outside 100 metres under Canarian law, and outside 300 metres under Spanish national law.
If a pilot whale surfaces right next to the hull, that’s not a rule violation as long as it approached on its own. What matters is what the boat does next. And if your crew moves on after half an hour close to the group, that’s not stinginess – it’s the rule.
What’s included in the price, and what isn’t
The short description mentions neither drinks nor snacks. According to the booking site there’s a lounge with a bar on board; whether drinks or snacks are included in the price isn’t made clear – if that matters to you, ask before booking. Swimming, snorkelling and diving are, according to the booking site, expressly not allowed.
The booking site makes no promise of a sighting: pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins are said to be common all year round, but with wild animals that can’t be guaranteed. It mentions no replacement trip in case no animal appears. The Canarian decree, too, lists pilot whale and bottlenose dolphin among the most common species in these waters.
You can cancel free of charge through the booking site up to 24 hours in advance. If the trip is cancelled due to unsafe weather, the booking site says you’ll get another date or your money back; if the sea is rough but safe, the operator lets you know and offers to reschedule.
How it compares to the neighbours
The Travelin’ Lady departs from the same harbour: €29.90 for an hour and a half on an eco-yacht, with a swim stop and 4.7 stars from 19,007 reviews. If you want to get in the water, that’s the right choice; more on that in the article about the Travelin’ Lady.
See availability and prices for the Travelin’ Lady
Also from Los Cristianos, the Peter Pan runs for two hours at €27.81. It has 4.7 stars from 4,173 reviews, is limited to 60 passengers according to the operator, and has lower decks for a closer view of the animals at the waterline.
See availability and prices for the Peter Pan
From Puerto Colón in Costa Adeje, the Whale Watching Catamaran Tour with Drinks runs for two to three hours at €35, with 4.7 stars from 4,121 reviews. Its short description promises pilot whales “almost guaranteed” – a claim made by the operator itself. The Eco-Cruise from Costa Adeje costs €47 for three hours, with snacks, drinks and time for swimming, and has 4.6 stars from 5,736 reviews.
See availability and prices for the Eco-Cruise from Costa Adeje
Speedboats get you there faster, for example from the harbour of Los Gigantes for €28 in two hours, or from Puerto Colón for €50. Which type of boat suits whom is covered in the article Boat trip with kids: minimum age. The boat trip from Las Galletas has a marine biologist right in its title; it runs along the lava coast of the Malpaís de Rasca and costs €65 for two and a half hours – more than double.
In total, Whale and dolphin watching lists 37 offers from €25.20, with a median of €50. At €28, this trip is among the cheaper ones, though not the cheapest, and several others cost exactly the same.
Who this isn’t for
If you want to get in the water, this is the wrong tour. Anyone wanting to spend a long time out at sea should also look elsewhere: with an hour and a half to two hours total, once you subtract the way out and back, there isn’t much time left with the animals – and the law doesn’t allow more than half an hour within 100 metres anyway.
Anyone counting on a close encounter may be disappointed. The boats keep their distance; whether the animals come closer of their own accord is up to them.
According to the booking site, the trip is not suitable for wheelchair users, and electric wheelchairs are expressly not allowed; check the current details on your booking page. If you’re prone to seasickness, ask a pharmacist or doctor what helps. With small children, a short trip like this is often the better choice – more on that under Tenerife with a toddler.
And anyone looking for a quiet, half-empty deck should take another look at those 15,139 reviews. If you’d rather be in the water yourself, check out Kayak and snorkelling or the rest of Things to do in Tenerife.
Our recommendation
For most people: the Eco No-Chase Respectful Whale & Dolphin Encounter at €28 per person, 4.6 stars from 15,139 reviews. The glass bottom and the underwater viewing area are the real difference from the neighbouring boats, not the “No Chase” promise – that applies to every boat here. Plan for two hours, not an hour and a half.
For anyone who wants to swim: the Travelin’ Lady at €29.90 per person. Same duration, €1.90 more, but with a swim stop and, at 4.7 stars from 19,007 reviews, the most-reviewed tour on the island on GetYourGuide.
For a smaller boat: the Peter Pan at €27.81 per person, two hours, 4.7 stars from 4,173 reviews. According to the operator, no more than 60 guests on board.
For half a day with food: the Eco-Cruise from Costa Adeje at €47 per person, three hours, 4.6 stars from 5,736 reviews – with snacks, drinks and time for swimming.
Who it’s not for: anyone expecting an encounter at arm’s length should not book any of these trips. 60 metres of distance applies to all of them, and half an hour with a group is the legal maximum. And anyone who wants to swim is expressly booking the wrong tour with the No-Chase trip: swimming, snorkelling and diving are, according to the booking site, not allowed there.
