Skip to primary navigation Skip to content Skip to footer

Pirates Blog

Back to Blog

Humpback Whales in Hawaii

Whale in the water

Every winter, humpback whales make a journey from Alaska to spend the winter in Hawaii. They come to Hawaii to breed and to birth their calves before the long journey back to Alaska. The whales can travel as much as 16,000 miles to reach their breeding ground but the whales we see in Hawaii travel around 3,500 miles. They feed during their Alaskan summer and live off their fat reserves for the rest of the year-including during migration! (That’s a long time to go without eating!) With the whale season is Hawaii beginning in November and ending in May, there is still a possibility to see Humpback whales during the first month of our season! While we do not operate during peak whale season it is always a treat for us to catch a glimpse of them!

Humpback whales can grow to be as big as a bus weighing about 80,000 pounds and as long as 50 feet! When the calf’s are born they weight about 2,000 pounds and can gain up to 100 pounds a day off their mothers milk alone. As you can imagine, these incredible and majestic creatures are are an amazing sight to see!

We cannot predict ocean wildlife and where the mammals decide to be, but it makes for a super special tour when we come in contact with the humpback whales!