O'Brien's Whale and Bird Tours

The tour was excellent. The crew staff were all friendly. We were too late in the season to see any whales, (mid August) but just seeing the Puffins was worth it. The tour guide was very good.

Loved the 2 hours cruise 🛳. We were lucky to see a Minke whale, a large school of jelly fish, lots of puffins, common murres and several other sea birds! The crew was great and entertaining 👏 👍

We had a really beautiful and rewarding experience with O'Brien's in mid-August for a 9am whale and bird tour with Con O'Brien, cousin of the original founder, and member of the band the Irish Descendants. Con educated our small group of 10 with really interesting facts about the area, Gull Island, all the seabirds we saw, facts about NL in general, and of course sang a few irish songs for us while we sailed. Con was available for a chat any time if you wanted more information about anything. He pointed out notable birds, explained about their habitat, and told stories of other tours he's done, and his traveling adventures. He's also really funny and entertaining, he's clearly very experienced in his role and a natural showman.

The boat itself is really comfortable, with a closed cabin for those who want to stay warmer, and an open upper deck. They sell snacks, alcoholic, and non-alcoholic drinks, and have two bathrooms on board.

We sadly did not see any whales, but did spot a seal, several jellyfish, gulls, murres, puffins, a sun shower, and a rainbow. Gull Island was particularly gorgeous with its mindblowing rock formations and massive bird colonies. The crew took good care of us, and were always consulting their instruments looking for whales. Safety demos were provided. Tipping is optional and could be made by dropping cash in a box at the exit at the end of the tour. When we docked at 11am, we noticed a huge crowd for the next tour, so maybe booking for the early slot is better if you don't want to deal with fighting for railings. Please remember that there are no guarantees about seeing whales and that the crew is doing the best they can to give you a great experience, but cannot pre-book wild animals in a vast ocean.

O'Brien's website is really easy to navigate and book your tour, and the prices are extremely reasonable for the experience. We paid $170 all-in for 2 ppl for a 2 hr tour, which works out to $42/hr which is a bargain for the experience.

Would highly recommend this tour, the team was very respectful of the animals both in the water and in the air, we saw multiple whales and half a million birds. The whole experience was a very memorable and sentimental one as well, @Obriens owners give your crew and guide a big fat tip (and a raise) at the end of this seasons thanks -- We went end of June/early July

Awesome tour!

Within the first 5 mins of leaving the dock, a whale was swimming around the boat.

The captain provided play by play analysis of the encounter, ironically, he sounded and kind of looked like Brendan Gleeson.

One of the tour guide was Daniel, very nice and warm singing voice.

This was my wife and I second tour with this company and our kids' first tour. The excitement and sea air made them sleep soundly that night.

We visited puffin island and got a nice history and info about it.

Beautiful spot to head out on the ocean. Great prices -children and student rates!! The guides were very friendly and hospitable! We sailed out to the echo reserve to see the puffins save sea birds. No whales today, but it was a great adventure! Gorgeous sights.

I would highly recommend this boat tour. You are entertained with music, singing and games. The captain is the father who had three sons managing and handling the whole experience. It was wonderful.

Tip generously as this helps keep this boat tour be the best chance for you to see whales, puffins and other species.

Highly recommend. You will not regret it.