Pelagic Bird-Watching & Whale Watching Trips
Blasket Islands & Porcupine Seabight

We specialise in a range of pelagic bird-watching trips and pelagic whale watching trips west of the Blasket Islands and out towards the edge of the continental shelf and the Porcupine Seabight area.

The nearest point of the 500 metre depth contour is just 50 miles from Ventry Harbour, making this a remarkable gateway to deep-water wildlife encounters.

with Mick Sheeran aboard M.V. 'An Blascaod Mór'

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Booking Information

All pelagic trips are by booking only

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Porcupine Seabight trips: max 12 passengers

16hr / 18hr centre trips: max 10 passengers

Inshore 30-mile bird trips: up to 18 passengers

Where the Trips Go

Trips operate west of the Blasket Islands, the most westerly archipelago of islands in continental Europe, and continue out towards the edge of the continental shelf and into the Porcupine Seabight area.

These waters offer an exceptional mix of seabird and cetacean watching opportunities, from inshore species to deep-water giants.

Passenger Limits

Further-out Porcupine Seabight trips: maximum 12 passengers
16hr / 18hr centre of Porcupine Seabight trips: maximum 10 passengers
Inshore 30-mile pelagic bird-watching trips: maximum 18 passengers
M.V. 'An Blascaod Mór': total passenger capacity 35 passengers

Pelagic Bird-Watching Trips

On inshore pelagic bird-watching trips on a 30-mile track, 10 miles west of the Blasket Islands, we may carry up to 18 passengers.

These trips usually run from mid-August to the end of September and we also deploy chum to attract migrating and vagrant seabirds such as petrels, shearwaters, skuas and phalaropes.

Please contact us if you wish to charter one of these pelagic bird-watching trips.

Offshore Whale Watching

The further offshore pelagic trips are mainly for big-whale watching and cetacean enthusiasts, though birders are always welcome.

Sightings may include white-sided dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, striped dolphins, Risso’s dolphins, pilot whales, fin whales, sperm whales and possibly blue whales.

Seasonal Highlights

This area acts as a migratory corridor for blue whales from mid-August onwards, when they avail of the deep-water inlet and the blooms of northern krill along the shelf edge.

Closer inshore we often see harbour porpoises on the way out, and humpback whales on the outward or return journey, feeding on shoals of sprat, pilchards and anchovies.

Bookings, Weather & Cancellations

All trips are dependent on suitable weather and sea conditions. Please send your enquiry by email and we will let you know when the next pelagic trip is planned.

We usually try to plan one pelagic boat trip per week, usually on a Saturday, but if Saturday is already booked for a boat tour we then try to organise one for Sunday.

We can usually confirm weather and sea conditions about 5 days before departure. At that point you can make your booking and payment to reserve your place on board.

If sailing is cancelled due to unsuitable weather and sea conditions, you can either reschedule to the next suitable date or receive a full refund back to the source account.

Private Charter Information

Any of the pelagic whale watching trips can be booked privately at a price equivalent to the maximum number of passengers for that trip, at the appropriate rate per passenger, plus a fuel surcharge for the longer trips.

You can call us for details on +353 (0)185 3353805.

Who These Trips Are For

Please be aware that these pelagic whale-watching and pelagic bird-watching trips are not for inexperienced sailors, children under 15 years, or people susceptible to sea sickness or motion sickness.

These trips go far from land and involve long periods at sea, and we cannot turn back for seasick passengers.

Sea Sickness Guidance

If you have any doubts, we recommend Stugeron or a similar anti-motion sickness tablet containing cinnarizine, taken 2 hours in advance and 8 hours thereafter, as instructed on the label.

We are not allowed to prescribe medication on board. Please read the enclosed leaflet for possible side effects, including slight drowsiness.

Departure Times

Departure times must be strictly adhered to. We will depart at the time advertised and cannot wait for late arrivals.

Return times are calculated from departure time from our home port of Ventry Harbour.

Connectivity On Board

It is hoped that a Starlink antenna will be attached and operational for these pelagic whale-watching boat trips in 2026, giving real-time internet and phone connectivity, subject to adequate reception at the time and place.

If you wish to publish or record sightings from the trip in real time, we would appreciate if you acknowledge us in your credits or references.

Acknowledgement

Please credit: Blasket Islands Tours with Mick Sheeran aboard the whale-watching tour boat M.V. 'An Blascaod Mór'.

www.blasketislands.ie

Thank you.

Pelagic Whale and Bird Watching Tours from Ventry Harbour 2026

Explore offshore whale watching, pelagic birding, specialist research charters, and the All Day Blasket Islands Tour.

All trips are only undertaken in suitable weather and sea conditions. Departure and return times may be adjusted to suit the charterer, but generally departures are at dawn or pre-dawn with return in daylight or dusk where possible.

For Enquiries

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Phone: +353 (0)86 3353805

Please contact Mick Sheeran for research, survey, film or documentary enquiries.

Pelagic 1–3

These trips range from the inshore 30-mile track west of the Blasket Islands to the continental shelf-edge of the Porcupine Seabight.

Pelagic 1

Duration: 7 hrs

Distance: 75 miles return

Route: 30 miles track, 10 miles west of the Blasket Islands

Depart / Return: 7 am to 2 pm

Passengers: 18 max / 12 min

Fare: €100 per passenger

Private Charter: €1,500 *

Pelagic 2

Duration: 11.5 hrs

Distance: 125 miles return

Route: continental shelf-edge of Porcupine Seabight, 500+ metre depth contour

Depart / Return: 6 am to 5:30 pm

Passengers: 12 max / min

Fare: €140 per passenger

Private Charter: €1,680 *

Pelagic 3

Duration: 13 hrs

Distance: 140 miles return

Route: continental shelf-edge of Porcupine Seabight, 1,000+ metre (1km) depth contour

Depart / Return: 5:30 am to 5:30 pm

Passengers: 12 max / min

Fare: €150 per passenger

Private Charter: €1,800 *

Pelagic 4–6

These longer specialist offshore tours are designed for extended deep-water wildlife encounters, specialist interest groups, and private charter clients.

The following specialist pelagic boat tours are primarily aimed at small research / interest groups or small film / documentary crews and provide a relatively cheap way to do cetacean and / or seabird research or film work in this rarely visited sea area of the North East Atlantic.

Please contact Mick Sheeran on +353 (0)85 3353805 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you wish to do research, survey, film or documentary work in this highly productive marine environment, with good prospects of sightings of offshore dolphins, including Risso's dolphins, pilot whales, fin whales, sperm whales, possible killer whales, and blue whales from mid-August to end of September.

Pelagic 4

Duration: 15 hrs

Distance: 190 miles return

Route: towards centre of Porcupine Seabight, Lat. 51°45'N; Long. 12°41'W

Depth: 1,300 metres (1.3kms) contour

Depart / Return: 5:30 am to 9:30 pm

Passengers: 10 max / min

Fare: €250 per passenger

Private Charter: €2,500 *

Pelagic 5

Duration: 17 hrs

Distance: 200 miles return

Route: towards the centre of the Porcupine Seabight, Lat. 51°25'N; Long. 12°46'W

Depth: 1,593 metres / 1 statute mile+ contour

Depart / Return: 4:30 am to 9:30 pm

Passengers: 10 max / min

Fare: €300 per passenger

Private Charter: €3,000 *

Trip 6 – All Day Blasket Islands Tour

Focus: Dolphin, whale and bird watching around the Blasket Islands and Dingle Bay, including 3 hrs landing on the Great Blasket Island – An Blascaod Mór

Duration: 7 hrs

Depart / Return: Ventry Pier 10 am to 5 pm

Passengers: min 12 / max 18

Fare: €100 per passenger

Private Charter: €1,500

* Private charter rates (irrespective of number on board, subject to not exceeding maximum number allowed) are based on the maximum number of passengers for that trip by the amount payable per passenger, plus fuel surcharge depending on distance, speed travelled and increased fuel consumption.

Summary of Tours & Prices (2026)

Name	Boat Charter Rate	Duration	Fare per Passenger
All Day Blasket Islands Tour / Trip 6	€1,500	7 hrs	€100
Pelagic 1	€1,500	7 hrs	€100
Pelagic 2	€1,680	11.5 hrs	€140
Pelagic 3	€1,800	13.0 hrs	€150
Pelagic 4	€2,500	15.0 hrs	€250
Pelagic 5	€3,000	17.0 hrs	€300

Please note: Pelagic 4 and Pelagic 5 are only by special request and go to the centre of the Porcupine Seabight.

The increased cost is due to running the vessel at a higher RPM and the resulting greater fuel consumption. This is not our usual policy, but is necessary to cover greater distances in shorter durations.

M.V. 'An Blascaod Mór' has twin Cummins 425hp diesel engines and can travel at 20 knots+ WOT and cruise at 15 knots, but our normal cruising speed is 10 to 12 knots in order to conserve fuel, cover longer distances, and leave a smaller carbon footprint per passenger.

Above 12 knots, fuel consumption increases exponentially. On longer trips we also like to have plenty of spare fuel in case of unexpected emergency. The vessel has 2 x 900 litre fuel tanks on board (1.5 tons).

Porcupine Seabight

The Porcupine Seabight is a large deep-water embayment lying 50 to 70 miles off the West Kerry and West Cork coast and ranging in depth from 500 metres at its edges to circa 3,000 metres at its mouth. It is rich in marine life, especially cetaceans like fin whales, sperm whales and blue whales.

The unusual name comes from the British Royal Navy survey vessel HMS Porcupine, whose keel was laid in 1844. She was a wooden paddle-wheel steamer used in bathymetric survey work in the North East Atlantic before the laying of the first trans-Atlantic cable from Valentia Island to Heart's Content, Newfoundland.

During survey work in 1862, HMS Porcupine discovered a large raised underwater plateau 200 miles west of Ireland, measuring approximately 45 miles by 30 miles and covering roughly 1,350 square miles at less than 200 metres depth. This was subsequently called the Porcupine Bank.

Further survey work revealed the deep-water trough and other seabed features which became known as the Porcupine Seabight, Porcupine Bank Canyon and the Porcupine Abyssal Plain.

Not a bad legacy for a little four-legged land mammal with bristly spines.

For Enquiries:
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Ph: +353 (0)86 3353805

Pelagic Bird-Watching & Whale Watching TripsBlasket Islands & Porcupine Seabight