Travelin’ Lady in Tenerife: what the whale safari from Los Cristianos really offers

In short: for most people who want a short, inexpensive trip to whales and dolphins from Los Cristianos (couples, friends, families), the Travelin’ Lady: Eco Yacht Whale & Dolphin Safari + Swim is the straightforward choice: €29.90 per person, 1h 30m, 4.7 out of 5 from 19,007 reviews. If you’re staying in the west, look at the trip from Los Gigantes; if you mainly want to see something underwater, see the recommendations at the end.

This whale trip has 19,007 reviews at 4.7 stars on GetYourGuide. The Travelin’ Lady is a motor yacht that spends ninety minutes searching for whales and dolphins out of Los Cristianos, stops for a swim, and heads back. The price is €29.90 per person.

The review count mainly tells you about demand. A trip booked this often is rarely half-empty, and the word “exclusive” in the operator’s description seems to refer to the yacht rather than to the number of passengers. How many seats are on board isn’t stated on the booking page. If you want to know, ask before you book.

What’s included and what you pay extra for

According to the booking page, crew, captain and a guide are included on board, along with life jackets, life rafts, a first-aid kit, a toilet and the port fees. Time for swimming and snorkelling is also listed.

The snorkelling gear itself isn’t part of it. The page lists the equipment explicitly under “not included”; the description says it can be hired, but doesn’t say what that costs. There are no towels either, and the packing list names swimwear, a towel and sun cream. If you own a mask, bring it along.

There’s a bar on board. Coffee, soft drinks, beer, water and snacks cost extra, and there’s no hotel pickup. The booking page says nothing about shade; whether there’s a covered deck and how many people fit under it is something to check with the operator before you book.

For families: the booking form distinguishes between adults, children and infants. Which age bands those tiers cover, and which price applies to which tier, only shows up once you open the booking mask. Whether a baby can come along is something the operator answers, not the form – what else matters for children on board is covered in the article Boat trips with kids: what age?.

Ninety minutes at sea, more time at the harbour

The 1.5 hours is the sailing time. According to the booking page, the operator requires you to be at the harbour 30 minutes before departure, and the boarding gate closes ten minutes beforehand; earlier versions of the page said five minutes. According to the booking page, arriving late means neither rebooking nor a refund. So reckon with a good two hours from the moment you reach the harbour, plus the travel time getting there.

The meeting point is the fishermen’s quay in Los Cristianos harbour (“Muelle de Pescadores”), Zone A of the excursion boats. The directions sound fiddly but help once you’re there: stand behind the large green fence and follow the blue line on the ground. For questions, kiosk number 1 next to the harbour is the point of contact; its staff wear red polo shirts. A few metres away is a paid car park that, according to the operator, can fill up in high season.

The page doesn’t publish fixed departure times as a list. They only appear once you select a date.

What happens on the trip

The yacht sails along the south coast, where whales and dolphins occur year-round according to the operator. The operator describes the route running along the coast from Palm-Mar to the so-called Cave of Love – “Cave of Love” on the booking page. The water there is clear, and that’s where the swim stop is planned, if weather and swell allow it. So there’s no guarantee of the stop, and the booking page doesn’t say how long it lasts.

There’s no sighting guarantee on the day trip’s page either. With ninety minutes total, once you subtract the way out, the way back and the swim stop, not much time is left with the animals. If the pilot whales happen to be further out that day, the observation can end up very short.

One thing worth knowing in advance: the booking page lists the guide’s languages as English, French, Spanish and Italian – German isn’t among them.

What’s “eco” about the yacht

Behind the word are a few concrete claims from the operator. The yacht is said to have been built specifically for whale watching, not converted from another type of boat. The propellers, according to the operator, sit protected within the hull, so that animals approaching the boat aren’t injured. And the engines are described as smoke-free with very low emissions. The low centre of gravity is also meant to reduce rocking.

What’s missing: there’s no mention anywhere of electric or hybrid propulsion, and the “environmental certification” the booking page refers to isn’t named. What can be checked, though, is the licensing. The Travelin’ Lady appears on the list of whale-watching boats published by the Canary Islands tourism authority. Under Canarian Decree 178/2000, every licensed whale-watching boat must visibly fly the yellow “Barco Azul” flag. It signals licensing, not an award.

What the rules require during observation, and how a trip “without the chase” stands out from that, is covered in detail in the article on whale watching without the chase. The Travelin’ Lady, incidentally, writes “NO CHASE” on its own booking page.

Daytime or sunset

The same yacht also sails in the evening: the sunset trip likewise costs €29.90, likewise lasts 1.5 hours, and has 4.6 stars from 2,287 reviews. Its booking page describes an itinerary of around 20 minutes of whale watching off Los Cristianos and 30 minutes of views towards Mount Teide, with a note that it can change. The swim stop there is only planned if the whales are found early. The guide speaks English and Spanish, and there is also an audio guide available in German, among other languages. In case no animals are sighted, the evening trip offers a free rebooking, depending on availability.

In favour of the day trip is the swim stop, which is part of the route there. Then there’s the wind: general experience suggests the trade wind picks up over the course of the day, and the water off Los Cristianos is often calmer in the morning. That’s a rule of thumb, not a promise. In favour of the evening is the light over the cliffs and Mount Teide. If you mainly want to see whales and swim, take an early departure on the day trip; if you want the light and can do without the swim, take the evening trip.

The neighbours: almost the same price, different boats

The direct competitor is the no-chase trip on a large catamaran. It costs €28, also lasts 1.5 hours, has 4.6 stars from 15,139 reviews, and, according to its booking page, also departs from Los Cristianos. If you’d rather stand on a wide catamaran than a yacht, read the article about this trip.

From the same harbour, the Peter Pan sails for €27.81 and the Viking ship for €28, both for two hours. The Peter Pan, like the Travelin’ Lady, advertises low decks close to the water, and already states a cap in its short description: 60 passengers. The Viking ship is more for children who like a themed setting. Both give you half an hour more at sea for slightly less money.

If you’re staying in the west, you save yourself the trip to Los Cristianos. From Los Gigantes, the dolphin and whale cruise with a swim stop costs €28 for two hours, and the tour with a swim in Masca Bay costs €25.20. Both pass the Los Gigantes cliffs. The full selection is under boat trips from Los Gigantes, and all whale trips under whale and dolphin watching.

Who the Travelin’ Lady isn’t for

For wheelchair users: the booking page explicitly excludes them.

For anyone looking for peace and quiet on board. On a trip with 19,007 reviews, you share the deck with a lot of people. GetYourGuide lists a yacht with a maximum of 20 people for €58, but then it’s three hours with lunch.

For anyone mainly after snorkelling. A swim stop near the Cave of Love is a cool-off, not a snorkelling tour. If you want to see something underwater, you’re better off with the kayak and snorkel trip or the snorkelling and diving options.

For anyone staying in the north with only one day off. Driving across the island for 90 minutes at sea rarely pays off; something closer by is more likely among the things to do in Tenerife.

And anyone who gets seasick easily should ask at the pharmacy before booking. The yacht’s low centre of gravity is a selling point from the operator, not a guarantee.

Our recommendation

• For most people: the Travelin’ Lady: Eco Yacht Whale & Dolphin Safari + Swim, €29.90 per person, 1h 30m.
• If you’re staying in the west: the Dolphin & Whale Watching Cruise with Swim Stop from Los Gigantes, €28 per person, 2 hours.
• If you mainly want to see something underwater: Kayak & Snorkel in a Rich Marine Ecosystem, €27.36 per person, 3 hours.
• Families with children: the same trip as for most people, but check with the operator beforehand whether your children’s ages fit (see above).
• The Travelin’ Lady is not for wheelchair users, anyone wanting peace and quiet, or anyone who gets seasick easily (see above).