Watching Humpback Whales

Monterey Bay, about two hours south of San Francisco, sits over a submarine canyon that funnels krill and anchovies close to shore. In late summer and fall, dozens of humpback whales gather to lunge feed, surging up through bait balls with mouths agape around the boat, and breaches, tail throws and bubble trails can fill hours of watching. The season runs April through November, with August through October the peak. Humpbacks are also reliably watched off Maui in winter, near Juneau in Alaska, in Hervey Bay, Australia, and from Husavik in Iceland.