About us...

The Company of Whales has been running whale, dolphin and bird-watching holidays since 1996. Based in the heart of the beautiful Shetland Islands, where we share our offices with award-winning sister company Shetland Wildlife, we are now firmly recognised as the largest and most experienced company operating in one of the world's premier whale-watching locations - the Bay of Biscay. In short, the number one choice!

Having completed over 330 crossings of the Bay of Biscay, one might think that there would be few surprises left for our team of knowledgeable naturalist guides. Nothing could be further from the truth! Last season, such surprises included more sightings of the extremely rare Sowerby's Beaked Whale and three encounters with pods of Killer Whales. Equally exciting were the scores of huge Fin Whales we encountered on almost all of our trips - seeing the second largest animal on the planet so frequently takes some beating!

On several voyages we encountered eight or more species of cetacean - more than one tenth of the world's biodiversity! We'll never forget the day we logged a staggering count of 11 Cuvier's beaked Whales or the Sperm Whale that 'fluked' right alongside the vessel.

Other highlights included breaching Minke and Fin Whales and scores of Yellow-fin Tuna chasing prey in association with hundreds of Striped Dolphins. Other star encounters involved hundreds of Common Dolphins rushing to the bow in a mad frenzy to ride our pressure wave, several pods of Risso's Dolphins coming to investigate us and some very high counts of the diminutive and threatened Harbour Porpoise.

And it didn't stop just there. Ornithological highlights included more superb views of the rare Little Shearwater, small flocks of Sabine’s Gulls and good numbers of Great Shearwaters - on their way to breeding grounds in Tristan da Cunha! And what about the array of migrants that have touched down over the years for a rest onboard - Hoopoe, Rose-coloured Starling, Firecrest and Wryneck to name a few. On one September day alone, we once recorded no less eleven species of migrant passerine onboard and we'll never forget the day a female Marsh Harrier drifted over. Migratory insects have also featured and who would have thought we'd be enjoying close-up views of Hummingbird Hawk Moths, Clouded Yellows and several species of migrant Hoverflies. It is therefore no wonder that our guides get just as excited about their next voyage as they did about their first and that our guests keep coming back again and again!

In 2009 we continue to run our highly popular series of springtime holidays to the Picos de Europa - a fantastic opportunity to witness a combination of wildlife in Biscay and in the mountains of northern Spain. Birds, mammals, reptiles and butterflies provide us with an incredible diversity of wildlife that would be hard to beat on any other holiday in Europe. And with over 80 trips to the region between us, we know it as if it was our own home!

Confident that 2009 will bring us another array of exciting wildlife, we look forward to travelling with you and sharing such natural delights. Should you require any further information on any of our holidays please feel free to pick up the phone or drop us an e-mail - we'd be delighted to hear from you.