Full-day Tours
6+ hours
Free cancellation
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Recommended by 100% of travellers
100% of reviewers gave this product a bubble rating of 4 or higher.
from
C$131
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Futurismo Azores Adventures
Futurismo Azores Adventures
4.5
Canyoning & Rappelling ToursBike ToursWalking ToursSightseeing ToursDolphin & Whale Watching
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Monday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Tuesday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Wednesday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Thursday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Friday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Saturday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Sunday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Full view
About
Futurismo is a big reference in the whale watching in the Azores with 30 years of knowledge. We are dedicated to science and research. Between 2008 and 2017 we have registered more than 11 thousand sightings in a universe of more than 20 different whale and dolphin species. We are dedicated to offer our guests the best nature experiences: Whale and Dolphin Watching Tours, Swimming with Dolphins, Hiking Tours, Bicycle Tours (MTB and road bike), Canyoning, kayaking, Stand Up Paddle, Jeep Safari and Van Tours. The Azores archipelago is a 9 Island little world in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. We are just a two hours flight from Lisbon and Porto and less than 4 hours flight from the US. Between the Azorean islands you can travel by boat or by plain.
Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Meets animal welfare guidelines
Awards
Travellers' Choice
2024
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Improve this listingTours and Tickets by Futurismo Azores Adventures
Hiking Tours
6+ hours
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Hiking Tours
6+ hours
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per adult
4WD Tours
6+ hours
Free cancellation
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Likely To Sell Out
3 hours
Free cancellation
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
1,371 reviews
Excellent
881
Very good
308
Average
84
Poor
42
Terrible
56
Minchen333
Brussels, Belgium102 contributions
Apr 2023
Did the dolphins and wale watching tour with Futurismo. Obviously it's never guaranteed that you will actually see any of these animals but we got lucky enough to see a group of happily jumping common dolphins. It was an amazing experience and I felt the boat guide was careful enough not to disturb them. The company also supports research into the behaviour of and protection of these animals, so I'd recommend booking with them. They also use lookouts to scan the sea beforehand, so they don't take you out on a tour unless there is a pretty good chance that you actually see something out there. And if you still don't see any animal, you can get your money back or re-book.
Written April 11, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you very much for taking the time to share your experience and for choosing Futurismo, your support in our responsible whale and dolphin watching iniciative is greatly appreciated. We hope to see you again on board very soon for more adventures in the Azores!
Written April 13, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
perakash
New Jersey405 contributions
Oct 2021
Our first reservation was cancelled because of lack of participants but we managed to get another one. We did not see any whales it was a it late in the season but saw many dolphins. It was a nice 3 hour trip way out in the ocean.
Written November 19, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello,
Thank you for your kind words! We do our best to provide the most amazing experiences to all our passengers. It is nice to know that you enjoyed your time with us even though you didn't see whales.
As we work with wild and free animals, we don't know what we will see in advance, but here in the Azores we have a resident whale species: the sperm whale. It means they are present all year round. If you want to see the biggest whales in the world - like the blue whale - the best season is spring time :)
We hope to see you in the future for more adventures in the Azores, and to show you our wonderful whales next time.
Best regards
Written November 22, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Xyz
cumbria286 contributions
May 2024 • Couples
This review is 70/30 I will do the plus first - the boat trip and the zodiac were both very good, well organised, nice staff, good commentary, rough sea on the boat trip, i’d recommend sickness pills, the zodiac (Jessica) was better conditions, we saw whales & dolphins, superb experience, how can we continue to allow climate change to increase and put nature at such serious risk !!
half day trip to thermal pools is worthwhile our guide (Eulalia) was very good
the full day trip (citades) is well worth the trip, again an excellent guide
(sincere apologies to her, as we have no name) very informative, cycling & kayaking really good
the full day (furnas) trip was again excellent with Nuno guiding, very knowledgeable and a great guy
the lunch on both full day tours was good
the negative - some of the staff at check in are incredibly rude and abrupt they clearly have no software system in place, they ask for your first name….cannot find, they ask for your surname….cannot find, they ask for the time….cannot find, they tell you they have lots of tours & bookings…..they get frustrated at you as a result….so that is the customers fault ! their search criteria is rubbish, some of them are very unprofessional and rude due to their own failings, this is a big business, lots of tours daily leaving at similar times, hence lots of people arriving, it is 2024, simple software allowing search by surname / tour / time…..or all 3 ! would make the whole process more enjoyable and acceptable, instead they are clearly frustrated and seem to think it is the clients fault or the 3rd party bookers fault (where applicable) crazy as this could be easily rectified with nominal investment, some training on customer service, manners/respect and generally being polite would work wonders too - Sorry but true !
half day trip to thermal pools is worthwhile our guide (Eulalia) was very good
the full day trip (citades) is well worth the trip, again an excellent guide
(sincere apologies to her, as we have no name) very informative, cycling & kayaking really good
the full day (furnas) trip was again excellent with Nuno guiding, very knowledgeable and a great guy
the lunch on both full day tours was good
the negative - some of the staff at check in are incredibly rude and abrupt they clearly have no software system in place, they ask for your first name….cannot find, they ask for your surname….cannot find, they ask for the time….cannot find, they tell you they have lots of tours & bookings…..they get frustrated at you as a result….so that is the customers fault ! their search criteria is rubbish, some of them are very unprofessional and rude due to their own failings, this is a big business, lots of tours daily leaving at similar times, hence lots of people arriving, it is 2024, simple software allowing search by surname / tour / time…..or all 3 ! would make the whole process more enjoyable and acceptable, instead they are clearly frustrated and seem to think it is the clients fault or the 3rd party bookers fault (where applicable) crazy as this could be easily rectified with nominal investment, some training on customer service, manners/respect and generally being polite would work wonders too - Sorry but true !
Written May 13, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Xyz
Thank you for your comment and for taking the time to mention the guides you had on the several experiences. The guide you do not have the name is Jennifer (just saw it in our booking and management system).
I see in the software we have in place that you did transfers, lands tours and sea tours.
I also see the state of each booking. The notes about communication. The exact hour of check-in and much more data.
In fact, we do have a great software in place. If not, one couldn't do online bookings, for instance. The company you travelled with is a good partner of ours, and in fact we even have a gift from them with a collage of the comments we get from the customers that travel with us.
What happen was quite simple. Our staff did not understand the name. Do not forget you are in Portugal and despite talking well, our staff is not native, so I would reckon it is perfectly understandable that communication errors and misunderstanding can happen and that is why they asked you for more information. The fact they asked for several things indicate that there are several ways of searching a client.
I understand that this can lead to frustration from both parts, especially when there are clients in a check in moment amidst the situation.
I would also point out that we have thousands of reviews and your feedback is the complete opposite of them.
Regarding our technological use, please be assured our degree of digital maturity is quite high, and we have software’s in place for a lot of things, to better excel on the different phases of our customer's experience, in due respect for our team and Land.
Regarding training, also be assured. +68% of our staff has higher degree education, and we are always investing in education and training, internal or externally. The persons you interact in the front office, quite recently studied, reviewed and did a formal presentation to our team, in this scientific papers:
“Customer experience and engagement in tourism destinations: the experiential marketing perspective” and “The perceived importance of core soft skills between retailing and tourism management students, faculty and businesses”
We are all humans, and it is perfectly normal that one can have a bad moment in the tone of voice. Despite that, the willingness to help existed. In the middle of all the great interactions with us it is a shame you would focus on this one (and solely on the others) to justify starting writing a text about technology and the way a company should work. Something to think about.
Best regards,
Rita Puga
Written May 15, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Richárd K
London, UK13 contributions
Mar 2020 • Friends
With my friends we had high expectations, and the whale watch boat trip was failing in every aspect. No whale(s) to see, the journey was boring, long, uncomofortable and uneventful with absolute no guidance or useful information from the staff.
They have told us that the whales are coming to the surface every 20-30 minutes, yet we have waited only like 5 minutes when we reached our spot destination then turned back and headed home on full speed.
Other than the bad experience it was overpriced as well, 55€ each can be spent much better elsewhere. I would not recommend this to anybody.
They have told us that the whales are coming to the surface every 20-30 minutes, yet we have waited only like 5 minutes when we reached our spot destination then turned back and headed home on full speed.
Other than the bad experience it was overpriced as well, 55€ each can be spent much better elsewhere. I would not recommend this to anybody.
Written March 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Ricardo,
Thank you for your feedback, it's always important to us.
We feel sorry for your experience. In fact, we all work hard to provide very emotional and memorable experiences and our staff on board is always available for all our guests to explain all the information about the trip and, of course, about the cetaceans!
Our guarantee is that if you do not see any whales nor dolphins we do give you the chance to reschedule your tour for free.
Sometimes, our work can be a bit complicated too as we deal with wild animals and we never know if they appear to the surface or, on the other hand, if they appear at all, in fact. We use traditional methods for searching the animals. Our lookouts are essential to encounter animals!
We do hope that you enjoyed the Azores and that you can return one day in the future. We would love to have a second chance for you to try our experiences.
Best regards
Written March 16, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Tiago Fernandes
Barcelona, Spain17 contributions
Aug 2022 • Family
We booked our trip to watch whales and dolphins 4 days before the trip itself. We arrived at the office to check in and were told that the trip had been cancelled because the boat was not working. They should have called us or sent us an email beforehand, so we would have avoided coming to Ponta Delgada and pay for the parking. So disrespectful!
Written August 5, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are very sorry for what happended. Indeed it was a last minute issue and as we have so many poeple to call on such short notice, it is sometimes a bit complicated to reach everyone in time, very sorry. We would love to talk about what we can do to compensate, you can send us an email at elisametayer@futurismo.pt to try and see how we can make it up to you. Best regards, Team Futurismo
Written August 8, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jolan C
2 contributions
Jun 2022 • Couples
We booked a whale watching Tour at Ponta Delgada in the morning. Arriving at Futurismo, they told us it was cancelled because of the bad weather, which we understood.
But, they know this a couple of hours before and don’t send an e-mail with cancellation. Instead, they make everyone with a booking come at the campany to ‘confirm the refund’. We drove 1hour in the morning and checked-out early, especially for this, to arrive and get cancelled…
A really bad policy and customer service. Don’t book here.
But, they know this a couple of hours before and don’t send an e-mail with cancellation. Instead, they make everyone with a booking come at the campany to ‘confirm the refund’. We drove 1hour in the morning and checked-out early, especially for this, to arrive and get cancelled…
A really bad policy and customer service. Don’t book here.
Written June 1, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello, thank you for taking the time to share your opinion, it always matters to us. We are sorry to hear you had a bad experience and would love to be able to make it up to you. Don't hesitate to contact us at elisametayer@futurismo.pt to discuss what we could do to compensate. Best regards, Elisa
Written June 1, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
GianlucaDF
Rome, Italy34 contributions
Apr 2024 • Family
absolutely to be avoided, staff who don't give a damn if you've been booked for 2 months, who cancel your trip and tell you that no trip is planned until Sunday after asking twice at the office. On Wednesday, when I saw the good forecasts for Saturday, the person at the desk assured me that nothing could go out, but when I saw the boats going out, I went back to the office and, surprise, they had gone out! Staff I don't trust, shame for the company to have a customer service like this.
Written April 6, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear GianLuca,
We extend our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience and disappointment you experienced. Your frustration is understandable, and we deeply regret that we were unable to meet your expectations.
The decision to cancel trips is one we take very seriously, prioritizing the safety and well-being of our passengers above all else. Unfortunately, adverse weather forecasts during the specified week made it necessary for us to cancel various trips for the safety of all involved. Despite our best efforts, sometimes unforeseen changes in weather patterns, particularly in the Azores, can affect our operations, with good and bad surprises involved.
Your feedback is valuable to us, and we are committed to taking proactive measures to enhance our communication processes and minimize the occurrence of such incidents in the future. We genuinely hope for the opportunity to regain your trust and provide you with a more positive experience should you choose to give us another chance.
We wish you all the best!
Sofia (Futurismo Team)
Written April 10, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Sam F
Norwich, UK16 contributions
Sept 2023 • Couples
We went swimming with dolphins with Futurismo which was amazing. Really well organised, informative, and engaged and friendly staff. It was clear that they cared about the animals and did everything at their pace rather than forcing any encounters. We were on a small boat of 8 people and we all got the chance to go in the water with the dolphins twice (3 times legal max number of times). We were also given some nice hot tea to warm up afterwards!
Written September 30, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Sam,
Thank you for choosing us for your swimming with dolphins experience and for giving us a 5-star rating!
Your support helps us promote ecotourism and conservation efforts.
All the best, from the Azores! 🙏
Written October 3, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Marilyn M
Hingham, MA155 contributions
Sept 2023 • Family
My daughter and I went on the half day whale and dolphin boat. Everything from start to finish was wonderful. The ticket office and boats are right in the marina of Ponta Delgado. We could choose to be on a speedboat or catamaran. We chose the catamaran because of my knee issues. After a briefing by Maria, one of the marine biologists on the boat, we set out and saw dolphins and a rare Bryde's whale. (They have 2 blowholes!). It was fun to see the excitement of the crew as dolphins and whales were spotted. But the thing that I will always remember was the compassion that the crew took on a woman who got extremely sea sick on the return trip back to Ponta Delgado. It started to rain and this particular woman became very sick. Maria lay her on the floor and sat cross-legged next to her, speaking soothingly to her, applying cold compresses to her face, removing her shoes and socks, covering her with a blanket and constantly patting her back. It was so touched. They are a professional group and I highly recommend them.
Written September 12, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your kind words!
We do our best to provide the greatest experiences to all our guests. It is nice to know that you enjoyed your time with us.
We are so lucky to have Maria with us, she does an amazing job and is a super passionate professional. We hope to see you in the future for more adventures and experiences in the Azores!
Best regards!
Written September 13, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
chuckandmary
Columbus, OH118 contributions
Sept 2023 • Couples
The tour company was extremely professional, very informative throughout the entire 3 hour cruise. It is promoted as whale and dolphins watching, the catch is, there are lots of dolphins to watch, but only one whale. The whale supposedly dives for 50-70 minutes, so timing is everything. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed my excursion and hope to return to Ponta Delgada in the Spring. I will definitely consider this company’s tour to see a different whale migration then.
Written September 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Chuck,
Thank you for your kind words and for choosing us for your whale watching experience!
We do our best to provide the greatest experiences to all our guests. It is nice to know that you enjoyed your time with us.
We hope to see you in the future for more adventures and experiences in the Azores!
Best regards!
Written October 3, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Roberto T
Milan, Italy
Buonasera, devo prenotare in anticipo o posso acquistare i biglietti il giorno stesso. Io e mia moglie saremmo li dal 22 al 25 agosto. Grazie
Written August 12, 2019
SFuturismo
Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Buonasera,
Per garantire il tuo posto, il nostro consiglio è di prenotare in anticipo. Grazie
Written August 14, 2019
Cuanta gente puede hacer a la vez la excursion del todo el dia para ver cetaceos he ir a la isla??la que tiene la comida incluida? Nosotros seriamos 4,muchas graciass
Written July 20, 2019
SFuturismo
Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Sí, tenemos botes que hacen este tour: ver cetáceos por la mañana, almorzar y luego visitar el islote "ilhéu Vila Franca". Ver el sitio web de futurismo. Gracias
Written July 22, 2019
Do they accept credit or debit cards for payments?
Written July 4, 2019
Credit Cards were accepted. In fact, we never had an issue using our credit cards anywhere on the island.
Written July 5, 2019
Hi, I am coming to Ponta Delgada on the 26th April. Are we best pre booking a trip? Or would we be ok booking while we are there?
Written March 15, 2019
No need to prebook before you arrive on the island. Best to book the day before though as you take account of the weather
Written March 17, 2019
Anything special you would note about the 4th month old?Did you do the 1/2 or full day? Did they provide a life jacket? Was there a place in cabin for feeding/changing? I'd like to take my 8mo this July.
Written January 30, 2019
Go for the catamaran rather than the zodiac. Half day trip is adequate and lifer jackets are provided but not sure about the sizes given you have a baby but you can sit inside iof helpful.
Written March 18, 2019
SFuturismo
Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Sì, è possibile. Può trovare tutte le informazioni di cui ha bisogno a questo blog azoreswhales.blogspot.
Written August 21, 2018
Hi,
We're coming in early May. Would you recommend a catamaran trip (we've got a toddler)? Is the risk of getting sea-sick lower on a Zodiac or a catamaran? Also, have we got a fair chance of seeing a real whale at this time of year? My eldest is very keen on whales, but we have seen only common dolphins, porpoises and long-finned pilot whales so far. And we're coming on purpose to get a glimpse of a proper whale!
Written February 8, 2018
SFuturismo
Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Dear Elisandra,
Thank you for your interest.
The best time to see whales here in the Azores is from March to June since the baleen whales are passing by during that period of time. We do have our resident species that can be seen during the rest of the year: sperm whales, common dolphins, Risso's dolphins, bottlenose dolphins.
During the first month of 2018 we already encountered 7 different whale and dolphin species! You can check this at our blog - azoreswhales.blogspot.pt
And you can experience a whale and dolphin tour with children of any age. For this cases we do recommend the catamaran, a more comfortable boat for them. We wait for you in May! 😊
Regards,
Written February 8, 2018
Would a catamaran tour be more suitable for younger children?? (5) Also to help prevent seasickness is there a better option? Thank you
Written January 30, 2018
Thank you for your interest. You can experience a whale and dolphin tour with children of any age. For this cases we do recommend the catamaran, a more comfortable boat for them. The best season to sail with kids would be the summer time where the mornings are more soft in terms of temperatures and winds. Year round we can always see our resident species such as common dolphins, sperm whales, bottlenose dolphin and Risso’s dolphins. We wait for you soon! 😊
Written February 1, 2018
ANA L
Badajoz, Spain
Buenas tardes, me gustaría saber si a mediados de octubre se podría disfrutar de esta actividad, gracias.
Written August 29, 2017
Buenas tardes sí és possible disfrutar de esta actividad por todo el año siempre que las condiciones del tiempo permiten.
Written August 30, 2017
salve, forse io e il mio moroso facciamo una breve vacanza verso metá settembre alle azzorre! volevo sapere se era un buon periodo per l avvistamento delle balene o se la percentuale è molto bassa..
grazie
Jessica
Written July 4, 2017
Hello Jessica, In September we have usually our resident species: Sperm whales, common dolphins, risso's dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. The percentage of sightings changes every year so you can check our graphics from last years on our blog: Azoreswhales on the statistics bar.
Hope I could help you.
See you soon,
Mafalda
Futurismo
Written July 5, 2017
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