NEW ENGLAND

Cape Cod is the most popular and elegant seaside resort on the US east coast – and it is also perfect for a whale watching Safari.

Photo: iStock

whales: New England

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the area between Cape Ann and Cape Cod was considered the global centre of whaling. Today, it is mainly fin whales and humpback whales that are observed from here.

The reason for the large whale population on the east coast of the US is Stellwagen Bank, 35 kilometres east of Boston: a huge underwater plateau that is one of the most species-rich marine habitats in the world and a rich feeding ground for many whales. Nantucket, Provinceton and New Bedford were the centre of global whaling in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Today, a good 80 per cent of all whale-watching tours in New England take place between Cape Ann and Cap Cod. The main species seen are fin whales, humpback whales and minke whales; in theory, Atlantic right whales can also be spotted here, although there are only a few hundred of them left. The best chances are a little further north, in the waters between Maine and Canada's Nova Scotia.

The Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary is served by all the surrounding harbours – Provincetown, Plymouth, Gloucester and increasingly also directly from Boston, with some operators also departing from Rhode Island and Nantucket.

A little greeting to the whale watchers? A humpback whale lifts half of its fluke out of the water and paddles at the surface. Photo: Oliver Dirr / Whaletrips

The season starts in April and ends in October, with the main season being July and August, when there are usually three tours per day, each lasting three to four hours. Most operators use large boats with space for 100 to 400 (!) passengers. A little further north in New Hampshire and Maine there is less activity and you can also go out in smaller boats.

Further south, you can watch whales almost everywhere on the east coast – New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia – mostly fin whales, humpback whales, dolphins and very, very occasionally northern right whales, just like on Stellwagen Bank.

The main season is between May and September, but the whales are not seen quite as often as further north, with many operators reporting sightings on only every second tour. There are often tours where the focus is on the landscape in general while whales are sighted more incidentally.

Photo: Oliver Dirr / Whaletrips

TO DO: New England

New England is the most fashionable seaside resort in the US. Above all, there are endless white sandy beaches and more than 150 lighthouses. Not to mention an impressive glimpse into the country's history.

New England includes the entire area in the north-east of the US – Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut – the name goes back to the first Europeans who settled here in the 17th century. Settlers, farmers, seafarers, in New England you can still get a glimpse of 18th and 19th century America today.

Along the coast are world-famous coastal towns and seaside resorts, especially Newport in Rhode Island, New Bedford in Massachusetts and Provinceton on Cape Cod. In the 19th century, Newport was a splendid summer resort where the wealthy of the east coast had their luxurious mansions built; today, the city is considered the sailing capital of the US.

“New Bedford was the starting point for Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick”. If you want to learn about 19th century whaling, you have to come here.”

Cape Cod is best known for the seaside resort of Hyannis, the glamorous summer residence of the Kennedy family, and it is also home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the USA. You can take a ferry from here to the islands of Martha's Vineyard (where Barack Obama likes to holiday, for example) and and Nantucket, also offering very popular sandy beaches.

The most famous and historic place on the east coast is New Bedford, the starting point of Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick". If you want to learn about 19th century whaling, you have to come here.

New Bedford was one of the richest and most splendid places in the world at that time, and this wealth can still be at least guessed at today. Evidence of the city's once glorious whaling industry can be found all over the city. You can learn all about this time in the Whaling Museum.

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What you'll find along the New England coast, apart from white sandy beaches: lighthouses in every colour and shape. There are over 150 of them, most of them in Maine and Massachusetts, two even in Vermont, although Vermont is not even by the sea. Each one is unique, many can be visited and some can even be stayed in overnight.

In summer, whale watching in New England can therefore be perfectly combined with a (luxurious) beach holiday. However, a visit at the end of the whale-watching season may also be interesting – as Indian summer is particularly intense on the North American east coast with its abundance of deciduous trees. Best time: October.

The only national park in New England is Acadia National Park in Maine with a good 200 kilometres of mostly easy hiking trails, the park is located directly on the rocky coast and the sea is omnipresent. The Park Loop Road runs for 43 kilometres through the park, past Cadillac Mountain, the highest mountain on the North American Atlantic coast. If you're lucky, you might even come across moose here – the best chances are in the early hours of the morning.