Boat Trips - Tenerife

The sea and boats are two of my greatest loves, and I couldn’t wait to sail across the Atlantic Ocean. There are three types of excursions here, lasting two, three, or five hours. We decided on the shorter three-hour excursion, aboard the ecological catamaran Maxi Cat, which is stable and affordable. Our luck was that there weren’t many people on the boat during the trip. The description of this excursion mentions that you can see dolphins and whales, and there’s even a chance to see turtles. Food and drinks on the boat are included in the excursion price. There is also a 45-minute break for swimming. Everything that was promised to us was delivered. Before departure, the crew takes your tickets, which state that you’ve paid, and exchanges them for their official passes. Professionalism is always present here. They really know how to make money. They quickly and skillfully take individual photos of all passengers upon boarding. During the trip, they develop these photos and later offer them at a price of 10 euros per photo. That’s not all! They have a person who films the entire excursion and offers a DVD, which will be delivered to your hotel for "only" 20 euros. The three-hour excursion itself costs 39 euros. For comparison, in Dubrovnik, you can get a full-day excursion with food and drinks for the same money. Rarely you see dolphins and whales, but you get to visit beautiful islands. You take your own photos (laughs). Often, customers ask me: "Will we really see dolphins and whales?" I jokingly answer: "Probably, but I can't promise, I don’t have their phone numbers to check if they’ll show up." Which is, in fact, true? The best time to go on the excursion is in the morning when the ocean is calmest, and whales and dolphins come to the surface to feed. We often have customers return from the excursion saying they only saw either whales or dolphins. I’ve never experienced anyone returning without seeing anything. We were really lucky on our trip. We saw about twenty whales and five dolphins. The skilled crew slows down beside them so all passengers can see them up close and take photos.

Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks can be requested at any time during the trip. After seeing the whales and dolphins, we were served food – real homemade Paella (rice with vegetables and meat, flavored with saffron). There was also fruit salad on offer, and for the kids, there were chicken nuggets. For those who want to swim, there’s a break for swimming and diving off the coast of La Caleta. They don’t dock at ports or beaches like in Croatia. They anchor near a secluded area close to the shore. Swimmers happily jump off the boat and swim a little. After swimming, the return to the port begins. The crew greets and says farewell in several European languages. The organization of the excursion and the crew’s professionalism are praiseworthy.

Since I really love boat excursions, after a few months, I went on a similar trip with my cousin, but this time on a sailing boat with a maximum of 12 passengers, just to experience a more private atmosphere. On this trip, I saw lots of whales, one turtle, but no dolphins. My cousin and I enjoyed swimming and diving. If you want a more private atmosphere for your excursion, you’ll need to spend around 55 euros.