A Dolphin Spotting Boat Trip offers a fun, educational experience, sailing from New Quay in West Wales for 70 years. Enjoy an unrivalled experience from start to finish. Our boats sail exclusively within the Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation, home to hundreds of bottlenose dolphins and Atlantic grey seals. ‘Sea Watch Foundation’s Recommended Boat Operator’, and our skippers are all ‘WISE’ qualified, ensuring your boat trip will be conducted following the marine code of conduct.
We are the original New Quay Boat Trips, a multi-passenger boat company on the west coast of Wales. When you decide to join a boat that can carry more people at once, you help to reduce the number of boats, resulting in a less intrusive method of watching dolphins and reducing the associated traffic from dolphin-watching boats.
During our trips, you will learn about the lives of bottlenose dolphins and why they choose to reside in Cardigan Bay, as well as about all the other marine wildlife that thrive within the Special Area of Conservation.
Our boat, Suncatcher, is a new addition to the Dolphin Spotting Boat Trip family. She is 15 m long and 5 m wide, double deck, dolphin spotting dream boat, with a toilet and snack counter onboard. She is the product of many years of experience, and we hope you’ll all agree she is everything you could want. She is catamaran with island wheelhouse which offers all round deck access and elevated foredeck at the bow, shelter from the rain at the stern, an indoor area in the middle plus upstairs, on the ‘Suncatcher’ deck you will have uninterrupted 360 degree views of the beautiful coast an unparalleled experience anywhere in U.K.
Dreamcatcher only carries twelve passengers, so it is perfect for small groups. She is a beautiful boat, built in 2018 specifically to offer all-around viewing without a wheelhouse at the front or the back, so passengers can look over the side of the boat all around.
Our Ermols are iconic boats which create unforgettable memories for all the families visiting New Quay. Both offer partial shelter and cushioned seating. Ermol V has WC.
New Quay is situated at the heart of Cardigan Bay, where hundreds of bottlenose dolphins are resident in the waters peaking between April and October but to a lesser degree all year round. Our dolphin spotting boat trips are the best way to optimise your chances of a close encounter with these wild dolphins in their natural environment, and our skippers respect the conservation code, so your enjoyment won’t be at the expense of the dolphins.
Your crew and skipper will guide you while you travel down the coast to pass seal haul-out areas, an auk colony, and sites of interest. The longer trips will travel further down the coast as far as the peninsular of Ynys Lochtyn, five miles along the coast, near the village of Llangrannog. The tip of Lochtyn island is a natural feeding area for the dolphins and one of the best places to look when they are not spotted in and around New Quay bay. They are not always there, but it is a stunning place to visit, and the journey has amazing views.
We don’t chase the dolphins; we let the dolphins approach us, and very often, they come unbelievably close to the boat, even with their young, which gives us an unforgettable experience. Their frequent socialising and feeding activities are visible above the water as bottlenose dolphins can breach over four meters into the air, creating spectacular displays. This is not always close to the boat, and naturally, we cannot promise dolphins on every trip, but we do our best to ensure each trip is enjoyable and interesting.
During all our trips, the experienced skipper and crew will keep their eyes on the water, but you are advised to do so, too, as there is also the possibility of spotting the much less obvious harbour porpoises. Keep your eyes on the skies throughout the trip, gannets, shearwaters, oystercatchers, cormorants & shags and depending on the time of year auks in their thousands will be seen as well as various gull species and even the rare chough if you are ‘eagle eyed’.
Sunfish are spotted every season, but not as regularly, of course, as the numerous Atlantic grey seals, which often pop up to see who is passing through their territory. Join us and enjoy an unrivalled experience from start to finish. Hop on board for a day you won’t forget.
