Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Discover the extraordinary world of whale watching on your Puerto Vallarta vacation! Each year from December to March, Banderas Bay and the waters off the coast of Vallarta-Nayarit offer some of the most spectacular whale watching opportunities in the world.

This year's whale watching season officially began last month as hundreds of Humpback whales arrived off the coasts of Puerto Vallarta and the Riviera Nayarit. Their annual migration from the cold waters of Alaska brings them down to the Bay of Banderas, where they will procreate and raise their young in our warm waters.

There's absolutely nothing that compares to the thrill of seeing these fascinating animals in the wild, and Puerto Vallarta offers a variety of exciting whale watching tours that are safe, educational, and most importantly, lots of fun!

This year, whale watching season officially began on December 1, 2015 and run through March 23, 2016. Tours leave daily from Puerto Vallarta's Maritime Terminal, beginning at 8 am. One can choose from special boats designed specifically for whale observation, a variety of smaller boats, or the larger tour boats that also provide food and beverages.

A typical whale watching expedition will take between 2-4 hours. Once a whale has been spotted in the distance, the boat will race towards it, stopping at the required distance to allow cameras to roll. The Humpback Whale is a protected species so there is no touching or feeding allowed, but quite often the whales will put on a show for the boat's passengers, seeming to enjoy their clicking cameras and the "oohs" and "ahhs."

The onlookers cry with joy and astonishment when they see a whale breaching (launching itself out of the water and lands on its side sending a massive spray of water into the air) or the playful splashing of the mothers and their young, making the experience unforgettable. When the giant mammals disappear under the water, the photo comparing and chatter resumes until the next whale appears in the distance and the whole show repeats itself again.

Hopefully you'll get to see all of this typical whale behavior on a whale watching tour in Puerto Vallarta - but be warned - seeing a whale is not always guaranteed, and if you do see one they might not be in the mood to perform.