Posted 09 Feb 2010

Those taking a gap year in New Zealand or Mexico will have the best opportunities to see whales in their natural habitat.

This is the viewpoint of the Telegraph, which claimed that people on a gap year in New Zealand should take up the 20-day Discover the World Cetacean Explorer tour – one of the best of its kind.

With both whales and dolphins, the programme incorporates giant sperm whale-watching and the Whale Watch Kaikoura, run by the Maori, which reveals alternative natural and cultural options.

Travellers on gap years in Mexico will need to head to the lagoons of the Sea of Cortes, according to the newspaper, where grey whales roam in order to escape the cold waters of the Arctic.

"Head to Mexico’s Pacific coast in March for extraordinary water-level whale-viewing, snorkelling and walks on deserted islands with some of the world’s top naturalists," the publication recommended.

TV and radio presenter Johnny Vaughan told the Telegraph last year that he had an "amazing experience" spotting whales in the popular gap year destination Costa Rica.

Category: Australasia