Whale Watching Tour by the Virginia Aquarium

We went in march. The weather was cold, so the indoor area was nice. There was only 1 whale but we were able to watch him for quite a while. Don’t expect the whales to jump out of the water like on the brochure. We were lucky and got to see some fluke action though! Crew was very nice.

Had a great time. Staff seemed to go the extra mile to find dolphins and were just generally very nice and attentive. Great, clean boat and great snacks and drinks available. Restrooms were spotless. Not over-​booked and pretty comfortable. I will come again. $ 20 per adult seems to be a great price for almost 2 hours on the water.
Tip: get there very early (45min) to try to get a good seat. Also, parking does fill quick. Allot time for that.

I can’t believe I forgot to review this great experience. We happened to be down in Virginia Beach in early March 2012. This was the year whales were plentiful and being sighted in droves daily. We had taken the whale cruises in CA, but never in VA. Since we were actually sighting the whales from our hotel balcony, we decided there was no time like the present. So this one cold, windy Saturday morning we decided to book a cruise.
We arrived early and made sure to dress appropriately — jeans, rubber soled shoes, water resistant jacket. We were one of the first to board so we grabbed a drink from the inside cabin and found a spot outside to wait to take off. Interesting they they not only sell water, coffee, soda, and snacks but also beer, wine and mixed drinks. What the heck — I was on vacation and it was past noon so Grey Goose and cranberry it was.
The water was choppy as all get out. The wind was strong and icy cold. We got drenched and bounced all over the deck on the way out to where the whales were being sighted. This was FUN! No way was I heading back into the cabin. The views of the whales are much better outside. The crew was great — they provided a great deal of information about the whales and what we might expect to see. So not only fun, but educational. The captain was relentless about finding the whales. We saw so many, all humpback. In CA, the boats are required to keep back a certain distance and I am sure this is the case in VA as well, but that distance seems to be much closer to the whales. Excellent sightings, wonderful time.
A few tips —
1) Dress appropriately — if it’s cold just standing around, it is colder when you get out in the water.
2) Think about the conditions before bringing your young children on board or yourself for that matter if you tend to get seasick. It’s a rough ride and every child on the boat that day was vomiting off the edge (what do people feed their kids that make them throw up neon green?)
3) Be careful with your camera — mine was zipped in an inside pocket of my waterproof jacket and it still got soaked.
4) There will be water on the deck and it’s a bouncy ride, so wear appropriate shoes, be prepared to get wet and keep hold of your little ones if you bring them on deck.
5) Make sure you go out during the months whales are being sighted — it’s seasonal.
6) Last, but certainly not least, be prepared to have fun.
I would definitely do this again if I were down in the area at the right time when whales were being sighted.

Two stars because they were nice enough to check on us and gave us plastic bags in case we were going to throw up on their deck.
We didn’t get to see any whales or dolphins (not anyone’s fault and that’s also a disclaimer on the website). But a sight of them would have made up for how I felt from the worst boat ride of my life. I was so sick (didn’t vomit luckily) and had a massive headache. If you don’t get seasick and the waves are huge, this is the ride to go on. We were literally in the air several times with water splashing everywhere! I could see the waves coming down at us when I took cover inside the cabin.
Other people were even less fortunate than me. I saw 6 others throwing up over deck. It’s like the movies…28 bucks/​person for feeling terrible the whole day. Should have taken bonine or dramamine before getting on this boat.

AWESOME! Wow this was a great adventure! We went on a 12:00 noon tour in FEB 2012 on the Rudee Flipper. The weather was in the 40’s, a strong wind, overcast, and the waters were choppy… all the makings for a GREAT adventure.
Initially, we sat in the front of the boat and got completely drenched. The boat would dip and then SPLASH… a huge wave would break, soak us and splash the windows of the cabin.
It took us about 25 minutes to see the first whale. After that we had numerous whales sightings. (I stopped counting after 20 sightings.) We mainly saw humpbacks but we also saw a fin whale. The captain had a knack for finding the whales and got us in position to for some great viewing. The crew was augmented by extremely knowledgeable volunteers that educated all of us on the whales and various aquatic life. It was very obvious that they had a passion for the whales (many of them were members of the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Team) and they were very forthcoming in sharing their knowledge and passion for whales, porpoises and seals.
The boat has a cabin on the main deck. It has a snack bar where you can get coffee,
hot chocolate, beer, soda and various snacks. Surrounding the cabin, is a viewing deck. You will get wet if you sit on the bow. The sides and back of the boat didn’t seem too bad. If you don’t want to get wet, go to the second deck above. Views were good everywhere.
If you want a great experience, this is it. The Rudee Flipper has a great crew and very knowledgeable volunteers.
Here’s a local link about whale watching:

This was a no-​whale watching tour for us. We knew whale sighting was not guaranteed, but they didn’t tell us how often they see one when we asked. I guess we’ll have to wait until there are enough Unilocal reviews to get an idea of the success rate.
The ride was pretty calm and comfortable with a large heated indoor cabin though.