Join a 1, 2, 4 or 8 hour guided boat trip with New Quay’s experts to see bottlenose dolphins, porpoises, seals and birds that visit this beautiful part of the Welsh coastline.
By booking your dolphin watching boat trip with Dolphin Survey Boat Trips you are supporting a local eco-tourism business and the research of the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre as each trip carries a volunteer researcher from CBMWC.
Please note that sightings are not guaranteed as these are wild animals.
2013 boat trip prices (children 12 years and under; children under 12 months go free)
Sulaire
2 hour trip – £18 adult, £10 child
4 hour trip – £35 adult, £20 child
8 hour trip – £55
Orca
1 hour trip £12 adult, £6 child
To book
Telephone the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre 01545 560 032 (daytime) or visit the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre, open daily from 9am to 5pm (6pm during the summer holidays). Always telephone to check for times of trips as these can change daily depending on the forecasted weather conditions.
For out of hous enquiries please contact Steve Hartley on 07796 135 490
Dolphin Survey Boat Trip vessels only carry a maximum of 12 passengers.
2013 All day surveys
Once again CBMWC and Dolphin Survey Boat Trips are teaming up to carry out a number of all day (minimum 8 hour) cetacean surveys throughout Cardigan Bay. As in 2012 several of these surveys will also be run in conjunction with Friends of Cardigan Bay (FoCB). This is your opportunity to join a cetacean survey with researchers collecting important information on marine species in Cardigan Bay and the surrounding waters. It’s a great opportunity to see some fantastic marine life, to contribute to dolphin conservation in Cardigan Bay as well as an opportunity to join a team of experts!
Last year’s sightings included of course Cardigan Bay’s famous bottlenose dolphins, a fantastic encounter with common dolphins (an unusual sight in Cardigan Bay), harbour porpoises, Atlantic grey seals and seal pups (on surveys during the pupping season September/October), sunfish, numerous jellyfish species, possible Minke whale sighting and an amazing sighting of a thresher shark. And for those keen twitchers amongst us there were many wonderful sightings of sea birds including gannets, Manx shearwaters, razorbills, guillemots, fulmars, puffins, skuas, scoters, wonderful views of nesting auk colonies in particular on New Quay headland – a fantastic sight from April until end of June when the adults and their chicks head out to sea. Need we say more? Other than beautiful sunsets over Cardigan Bay and the Irish Sea, of course.
This year these surveys will be conducted aboard either MV Sulaire or Dolphin Survey Boat Trips’ brand new motor vessel, due to be launched mid-April – so new it doesn’t yet have a name! The new vessel is a state of the art catamaran, which are famous for their increased stability and thus perfect for long days at sea. The vessel will be equipped with facilities for making hot drinks as well as a heated wheel-house, state of the art electronics, a toilet, seating and a table area for those wishing to risk dining at the Captain’s table! The new catamaran will of course be fully licensed, insured and equipped with all necessary safety equipment for these trips.
2013 dates:
Saturday 30th March
Friday 12th April
Friday 26th April
Saturday 4th May
Sunday 19th May*
Wednesday 29th May*
Friday 7th June
Sunday 16th June*
Wednesday 26th June*
Friday 5th July
Saturday 20th July
Monday 29th July
Friday 9th August
Monday 19th August
Saturday 7th September
Friday 27th September
Saturday 12th October
Saturday 26th October
*In conjunction with FoCB
Please note in addition to these scheduled dates, we will also be running all day surveys at short notice to take advantage of any ideal weather conditions. If you would like to be included on a mailing list to be notified of these short notice surveys then please contact CBMWC on info@cbmwc.org with your email address. Also keep an eye on our website, Facebook page and Twitter feeds for updates.
For more details and to book your place on one of these unique boat trips please call CBMWC on 01545 560032 between 10am and 4pm. The cost is £55 per person for the day, payable in advance. Full refunds will be given if trips are cancelled by DSBT. Places must be booked in advance due to limited spaces. All trips will depart from New Quay harbour and will last approximately 8 hours (occasionally longer depending on survey route for the day). Trip details will be confirmed upon booking.
Hot drinks will be provided but please bring your own food, warm clothing, binoculars, sensible shoes and don’t forget your camera!
Please remember that these are wild animals, sightings cannot be guaranteed and that you are joining a scientific survey.
