Wednesday AM Whale Watching at Diamond Head Road

Peak whale watching across Kō Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina (the Hawaiian Islands) occurs January-March. On Oʻahu you can see them from the south shore, especially Makapuʻu, Sandy Beach, or Diamond Head overlooks. I like the Diamond Head Vista Point, aka the location of the Amelia Earhart Marker.

What to bring:

• Binoculars, spotting scope, smartphone, and/or DSLR camera with telephoto lens (70 to 500mm).
• A brimmed hat is strongly recommended, or it is difficult to gaze out at the ocean (sunglasses can help, but a brim is better).
• Anything else you need or want (water, sunscreen, etc.)

Whale Watching Tips

• Whales are most active in the morning (before noon) or late afternoon (Hawaiian sunset is 6:00-6:30PM in winter).
• Whale watching takes patience. You increase your chance of seeing whales if you spend 1-2 hours scanning offshore.
• You usually first see a spout of water erupting from the ocean surface as a whale exhales (I found them easy to distinguish from wave white caps, which look totally different). Then try to look ahead in the whale’s direction of travel.
• Less often, you may see the whale’s back curve out of the water and/or their tail has they dive.
• If you are really, really lucky, you might get to see a whale breach, jumping halfway or more out of the water.