Funchal Whale Watching Tour: Who Can Come Aboard

The two published exclusions

The operator names two groups as unsuitable and both should be taken at face value: wheelchair users, and people with mobility impairments. That second one is broader than the first and it is the more important of the two, because it covers a great many people who would not describe themselves as disabled.

The reasons are structural rather than a matter of willingness. Boarding means crossing a floating pontoon that moves underfoot and stepping across a gap onto a boat at a slightly different height. In the summer season, getting into and out of the water at the swim stop is done on a ladder over the stern. Neither has a step-free alternative on a vessel of this kind.

If your mobility is limited but not impaired

There is a real spectrum here and the published exclusion does not resolve every case. Somebody who walks unaided and gets in and out of a car without difficulty will manage the pontoon step comfortably, even if they are not quick about it. Somebody who needs a stick on uneven ground is in a genuinely marginal position.

The right move is to raise it at the office when you check in rather than at the pontoon. A crew warned in advance can offer a hand across the gap and can put you somewhere sensible on deck. A crew meeting the problem at the moment of boarding, with a queue behind you, has far fewer options.

Children

This is a genuinely good family trip, and the reviews say so repeatedly: crews described as amazing with children, informative rather than merely cheerful, and a nine-year-old who came away with what her parent called a core memory. The boat helps enormously here. A wide level deck with netting to lie on is much easier ground for a child than a fast boat with one row of seats.

The considerations are ordinary boat sense. An open deck and mesh netting over water need an adult paying attention. Three hours is about right before restlessness arrives, and the swim stop in summer is deep open water where a child needs to be a confident swimmer or stay aboard. Toddlers are the harder case, less because of the rules than because of the geometry.

Older travellers

No upper age limit, and the features that make the boat good for children make it good for anyone who does not want to be thrown about: a level deck, seating with backs to it, shade under the bimini and room to move around rather than being wedged in.

The pontoon step is the thing to think about, and the swim ladder if you intend to use it. Someone steady on their feet will find the whole day straightforward. The three-hour length is also kinder than a full-day excursion, and being back in central Funchal afterwards means no long transfer at the end of it.

Seasickness

A catamaran is the best small boat to be on if you are prone to it. The stability is geometric rather than lucky: rolling one requires lifting a whole hull clear of the water, which takes far more force than rocking a single keel. Most people who are uneasy on boats find this kind manageable.

That said, there is usually swell running off Madeira and one guest does record feeling a little seasick. If you know you are susceptible, take something an hour before departure rather than at the first symptom, because remedies taken after the fact rarely work. Stay on deck rather than inside, watch the horizon, and you will very likely be fine.

Swimmers and non-swimmers

The summer swim stop is optional, and skipping it means you miss none of the wildlife, which is the point of the trip. The water at the stop is deep open ocean with no shallow end, so it genuinely does not suit a nervous swimmer, and a snorkel mask makes nobody stronger in the water.

For a mixed group this works out well. Some get in, some stay on deck under an enormous cliff with time to look at it, and everybody is doing the same trip. Families in the reviews describe exactly that arrangement without anyone feeling short-changed.

Language, food and the small print

The cruise runs in English and Portuguese, and given how much of the value is in what the crew explain about the animals, understanding one of those matters. Guests single out particular guides by name for how much they knew, which is a good sign about the commentary generally.

Food and drinks are excluded, though there is a bar on board where drinks can be bought. And the practical rule to carry into your planning is the check-in: thirty minutes before departure at the office, with no refund if you miss the boat. That applies regardless of who you are.

Group size is the last thing worth mentioning, and it works in your favour. Guests describe a catamaran large enough that it never felt overcrowded, which on a boat where everybody wants the same rail at the same moment is the difference between seeing the animals and hearing about them.

Before you book