Bais Whale & Dolphin Watching
Bais City, Negros Oriental · about 130 km from 3ACs Apartment, Talisay City
Morning boat trips into Tañon Strait to see wild dolphins — and sometimes whales.
About
City-supervised boats with trained spotters (many of them former fishermen) cruise from Bais Bay into Tañon Strait, home to over a dozen kinds of dolphins and whales, including spinner and bottlenose dolphins and pilot whales. Most trips end with a swim at Manjuyod Sandbar.
History
Bais's cruises are one of the country's longest-running community dolphin-watching programs, which helped turn local fishermen into protectors of the animals. Tañon Strait is the Philippines' largest protected seascape.
Why visit
Wild dolphins in their own home — best between 7 and 10 AM.
How to get there
Capiñahan Wharf, South Bais Bay — about 1 hour north of Dumaguete.
- Bus/van from Dumaguete to Bais, then tricycle to the wharf
- Day tours from Dumaguete
Prices (estimates)
- Group boat≈ ₱3,000–6,000 per boat
Hours / best time: Early morning departures; best season March–October. Book with Bais City Tourism (035) 402-8338.
Nearby places
- Talabong Mangrove Park — Bamboo boardwalk through a vast mangrove island full of birds in Bais Bay.
- St. James the Greater Church, Tanjay — Home of the oldest parish in Negros Oriental, founded in 1580.
- Tanjay Budbud & Sikwate — Sticky-rice budbud kabog with hot thick chocolate.
- Palaypay Falls — Pamplona's sulfur-tinged waterfall, fed by springs from the mountains of Sibulan.
- Manjuyod Sandbar — The 'Maldives of the Philippines' — stilt cottages on a vanishing sandbar.