Atlantis Whales
Atlantis Whales
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Whale and dolphin watching in Mirissa. Free breakfast. International captain license, life jacket, full insurance, medicine. Fishing tour. Group tour.
Mirissa, Sri Lanka
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.0
90 reviews
Excellent
45
Very good
20
Average
11
Poor
1
Terrible
13
beautifulwater
Detroit, MI44 contributions
Jan 2014 • Couples
Includes free nice breakfast. You can get tea or coffee, a sandwich, danish, fish pastry, fruit and a bottle of water. He has an international captains license and a lot of experience in the ocean.
Today we saw 12 whales, some dolphins and sea turtles. If you go out and don't see any, then you can go again for free or get your money back. Also free taxi service from mirissa beach to the harbor. Awesome friendly people! Tharindu is who I dealt with. It is his boat. The # I had was +94 77 9191614. Love Mirissa Beach and it's people!
Today we saw 12 whales, some dolphins and sea turtles. If you go out and don't see any, then you can go again for free or get your money back. Also free taxi service from mirissa beach to the harbor. Awesome friendly people! Tharindu is who I dealt with. It is his boat. The # I had was +94 77 9191614. Love Mirissa Beach and it's people!
Written January 22, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GlobeTrotters4001
Brisbane, Australia813 contributions
Mar 2019 • Friends
I didn't have high expectations of seeing a blue whale. It is after all the biggest animal in the world and not the most easily sighted. So to get a glimpse would make me more than happy. I managed to see it surface from the rear three times and once as it came up alongside the ship and its sheer size was fully appreciated.
We did this as part of our package tour. The whale company arranged for tuktuks to take all of us to the harbour. On the way you get a rather exhilarating ride in a very fast tuk tuk and get to see some really fresh fish just brought in st 6.30 by the fishermen. Condition of tuktuks vary as the ride back we were packed into a rather older model which was not very well sprung. But they deliver you right to their boat and you're on.
The crew on this boat was very friendly. Tea or coffee on boarding, later a packed breakfast provided on the rude out - but decline if you are prone to sea sickness. I kept my stomach empty.
It was a wet hour's ride to the whale spot - quite bouncy, choppy seas. All the boats of course are going to be lots of lookouts for each other so watch their lookouts and look at where they're pointing. But the racing to each spout sighting was quite fun. But the best sighting was when we were just stopped and waiting because during one of these times a blue whale came right up alongside the boat we were on and you saw its very long back. I have no photographic evidence as it's too much to photograph and not get sick, so I just enjoy the moment.
You are not alone out at the whale site. There are boats everywhere but from my perspective they didn't seem to harass the whale - they would speed to a spout, slow down and then just "bop" about on the water waiting the next spout. Turtles, spinner dolphins completed our marine sighting. The dolphins were so little and like all dolphins love riding alongside the boats.
Some in the group saw a tail fluke. I've seen lots and lots of whales over my time and this was not the most comfortable experience for me as I get motion sickness but considering I was in the area anyway and I had the chance to see a blue whale and did, I was happy.
On the sail back staff served fresh sweet pineapple and watermelon. The ride back was at least much smoother.
The seas are variable, the whales do not perform on command, so scale your expectations accordingly. Some people may get better sightings than we did, but I was happy.
We did this as part of our package tour. The whale company arranged for tuktuks to take all of us to the harbour. On the way you get a rather exhilarating ride in a very fast tuk tuk and get to see some really fresh fish just brought in st 6.30 by the fishermen. Condition of tuktuks vary as the ride back we were packed into a rather older model which was not very well sprung. But they deliver you right to their boat and you're on.
The crew on this boat was very friendly. Tea or coffee on boarding, later a packed breakfast provided on the rude out - but decline if you are prone to sea sickness. I kept my stomach empty.
It was a wet hour's ride to the whale spot - quite bouncy, choppy seas. All the boats of course are going to be lots of lookouts for each other so watch their lookouts and look at where they're pointing. But the racing to each spout sighting was quite fun. But the best sighting was when we were just stopped and waiting because during one of these times a blue whale came right up alongside the boat we were on and you saw its very long back. I have no photographic evidence as it's too much to photograph and not get sick, so I just enjoy the moment.
You are not alone out at the whale site. There are boats everywhere but from my perspective they didn't seem to harass the whale - they would speed to a spout, slow down and then just "bop" about on the water waiting the next spout. Turtles, spinner dolphins completed our marine sighting. The dolphins were so little and like all dolphins love riding alongside the boats.
Some in the group saw a tail fluke. I've seen lots and lots of whales over my time and this was not the most comfortable experience for me as I get motion sickness but considering I was in the area anyway and I had the chance to see a blue whale and did, I was happy.
On the sail back staff served fresh sweet pineapple and watermelon. The ride back was at least much smoother.
The seas are variable, the whales do not perform on command, so scale your expectations accordingly. Some people may get better sightings than we did, but I was happy.
Written March 3, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Leisuretraveller11
London, United Kingdom114 contributions
Nov 2017 • Family
There are quite a few whale watching companies in the area and when out on the water they are congregated together. Thus it is really the service that separates the companies. The tickets were 6,500Lkr or 40USD per person. The boat is probably one of the larger boats on the water. There were ~30 people on our tour which pretty much occupied the upper deck. It took ~ 90 mins to get to the sighting area. We were unlucky as we only saw ~ 4 whales during the trip. The guides did not really offer any explanation about the whales and then as soon as the boat started returned started asking for tips. We gave it 3* as they made it difficult for us to pay by card after initially telling us it would be no problem. When it came to payment they said the card machine was broken but tomorrow would be no problem when we do the tour. Then on the tour day they said cash only and when we said we had agreed card the made us drive back to the office to pay, which made us late unnecessarily as everyone was waiting. This poor service is why I would not use them again. Also there were other boats on the water with less busy boats.
Written November 5, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Christina F
16 contributions
Dec 2023 • Friends
Worst experience ever. Don't do it. We paid $65 per person for whale watching. In almost 6 hours, we only saw a group of 5 small dolphins and 4 whales from far away – actually, we just saw the water they throw when breathing. It felt more like whale hunting; the poor whales were constantly going out to breathe and then hiding again quickly, as 6 tourist boats relentlessly pursued them.
I've done whale watching before, and the boats were small, not noisy, with binoculars on land and aboard for better navigation. These guys go blindly into the ocean with a noisy boat – good luck!
The worst part was when we asked for some money back, since we didn't see what we were supposed to (whales), they ignored us, didn't apologize, and just hung up the phone. They claimed they did a double tour and wasted more gas, which is true, but still, it's unacceptable. We understand the ocean is unpredictable, but that's what happens when you go blindly to look. A truly disappointing experience.
I've done whale watching before, and the boats were small, not noisy, with binoculars on land and aboard for better navigation. These guys go blindly into the ocean with a noisy boat – good luck!
The worst part was when we asked for some money back, since we didn't see what we were supposed to (whales), they ignored us, didn't apologize, and just hung up the phone. They claimed they did a double tour and wasted more gas, which is true, but still, it's unacceptable. We understand the ocean is unpredictable, but that's what happens when you go blindly to look. A truly disappointing experience.
Written December 9, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Zandyy
London, UK169 contributions
Jan 2015 • Couples
We had a really poor experience with these guys.
Pick up is at 6:30am and most boats leave at about 7am. This boat left last, at about 7:30am. The boat itself seemed adequate. Breakfast boxes were provided, as well as a small bottle of water each and some sliced fruit on the way back.
Two main problems, the first relates to this particular provider. The tour was supposed to take about 3 hours by all acounts, but it took a full 3 hours just to arrive to the first spot where there were any marine mammals, where about 2 dozen other boats congregated. It seemed like we were simply holding off for other boats to spot something and then race over to see what's there. It took another 45 minutes until we actually saw a whale, briefly and at a distance, and it was a small black one - certainly not a blue whale. After that we spent another 2 hours chasing the gang and the poor whale, achieving another brief sighting. They then asked whether we had enough and one of the 40 people on board said no, so we spent another useless hour in the same spot to satisfy him. Meanwhile all the other boats went back to shore.
Some of the passengers then got agitated and demanded we returned to Mirissa, and we eventually did. We were not well equipped for such a long trip and neither were they as the supply of fresh water ran out. On the way back we had another brief sighting of a whale (the same one?) and some dolphins. Nothing we haven't seen before, we can to see blue whales. It was a long trip back as we were about 30km off coast, and the speed wasn't helped when just before arrival we were stopped by some fishermen who seemed to demand some cigarettes and 'donation' from the passengers in exchange to showing us a baracuda they captured - no doubt in coordination with the organisers, we lost another 20 minutes for that spectacle.
We eventually got back to shore just after 3pm, exhausted and dehydrated. We later found out that the providers offer a free trip to passengers the next day if you see no whales, which explains their insistance to keep going.
The second problem is more general. While this may have been a good place to see a blue whale in the past, mass tourism has clearly ruined this opportunity. Two dozen boats chasing a couple of mammals felt more like a whale hunting expedition. It's been the low point of our entire Sri Lankan trip and I strongly recommend not to go whale-watching in Mirissa at all, but in particular not with this provider.
Pick up is at 6:30am and most boats leave at about 7am. This boat left last, at about 7:30am. The boat itself seemed adequate. Breakfast boxes were provided, as well as a small bottle of water each and some sliced fruit on the way back.
Two main problems, the first relates to this particular provider. The tour was supposed to take about 3 hours by all acounts, but it took a full 3 hours just to arrive to the first spot where there were any marine mammals, where about 2 dozen other boats congregated. It seemed like we were simply holding off for other boats to spot something and then race over to see what's there. It took another 45 minutes until we actually saw a whale, briefly and at a distance, and it was a small black one - certainly not a blue whale. After that we spent another 2 hours chasing the gang and the poor whale, achieving another brief sighting. They then asked whether we had enough and one of the 40 people on board said no, so we spent another useless hour in the same spot to satisfy him. Meanwhile all the other boats went back to shore.
Some of the passengers then got agitated and demanded we returned to Mirissa, and we eventually did. We were not well equipped for such a long trip and neither were they as the supply of fresh water ran out. On the way back we had another brief sighting of a whale (the same one?) and some dolphins. Nothing we haven't seen before, we can to see blue whales. It was a long trip back as we were about 30km off coast, and the speed wasn't helped when just before arrival we were stopped by some fishermen who seemed to demand some cigarettes and 'donation' from the passengers in exchange to showing us a baracuda they captured - no doubt in coordination with the organisers, we lost another 20 minutes for that spectacle.
We eventually got back to shore just after 3pm, exhausted and dehydrated. We later found out that the providers offer a free trip to passengers the next day if you see no whales, which explains their insistance to keep going.
The second problem is more general. While this may have been a good place to see a blue whale in the past, mass tourism has clearly ruined this opportunity. Two dozen boats chasing a couple of mammals felt more like a whale hunting expedition. It's been the low point of our entire Sri Lankan trip and I strongly recommend not to go whale-watching in Mirissa at all, but in particular not with this provider.
Written January 17, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Laura K
Muscat, Oman6 contributions
Apr 2018 • Family
Our tour guide arranged this trip for us. The price was on part with other companies. Imagine my surprise when we boarded and discovered that we were going to sit on the deck without shade. I was lucky enough to find two seats -- far apart and both with bars obstructing view and comfort -- for my parents who accompanied us on the trip. I will always regret that I did not walk away from the tour and the money when they seated us on the open deck. Despite applying sunscreen all day long and drinking lots of water we were all sunburned and miserable by the time we finally arrived back at the dock. To add insult to injury, all the boats chase the whales around in a pack, and there were lots of other nice boats with seats and shade that we saw the whole trip. PLEASE go on ANY OTHER TOUR.
Written April 10, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
bradbrown789
Perth, Australia4 contributions
May 2017 • Couples
The crew members were really active with their hawk eyes when spotting whales. They took us to a whale paradise where we saw more than 6 whales including 2 blue whales.
Written August 28, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sarah J
London, UK4 contributions
Dec 2016 • Friends
Long story short, this was not one of the better experiences I had whilst in Sri Lanka. Firstly, they knocked us all out with the seasickness pills that they gave us. Secondly, perhaps we had bad luck but we didn't see much in terms of sea life. While I understand you can't control the animals, what I found irritating was that they lied on the boards on the beach that count how many whales, dolphins, turtles they saw. It felt like false advertising, and that we had been a bit ripped off. Overall, it was a pretty bizarre experience, but makes for a funny anecdote afterwards!
Written February 1, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Daphne T
County Cork, Ireland8 contributions
Jan 2017 • Couples
They give a large discount from the price quoted .. got it for about €20 each.
The boat was not over packed and did not follow other boats in the ocean .. went on its own which is better.
Made sure we were all happy with what we saw before heading back to shore. We saw 5 Blue whales and 2 sea turtles. Fantastic experience!!
The breakfast was also good... ensured we had a lot. 2 sandwiches, cake, fruit and a bottle of water
The boat was not over packed and did not follow other boats in the ocean .. went on its own which is better.
Made sure we were all happy with what we saw before heading back to shore. We saw 5 Blue whales and 2 sea turtles. Fantastic experience!!
The breakfast was also good... ensured we had a lot. 2 sandwiches, cake, fruit and a bottle of water
Written January 31, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rosita F
Colombo, Sri Lanka72 contributions
Dec 2016 • Friends
We had such a lovely time aboard Atlantis that we decided to go again, a week later. We saw blue whales and sea turtles during both trips. Tip: Ask to be seated on the top deck since it has the best views. There is a demand for top deck berths so book it in advance.
Amal, the captain, and the crew are really nice and helpful. They educated us on the habits and migration routes of whales and provided breakfast, cups of tea and plates of fruit. Pure bliss for such a reasonable rate!
Before we decided to go with Atlantis, we did some research on rates for whale watching tours. Atlantis gave us the best rate, and we are extremely glad we went with them since it turned out to be such a fun and laid back trip. Would highly recommend them! You can contact the owner Tharindu on 0094779191614.
Amal, the captain, and the crew are really nice and helpful. They educated us on the habits and migration routes of whales and provided breakfast, cups of tea and plates of fruit. Pure bliss for such a reasonable rate!
Before we decided to go with Atlantis, we did some research on rates for whale watching tours. Atlantis gave us the best rate, and we are extremely glad we went with them since it turned out to be such a fun and laid back trip. Would highly recommend them! You can contact the owner Tharindu on 0094779191614.
Written January 5, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience