YOU ARE IN FOR A WHALE OF A TIME

Reef & Rainforest offers a 15-day tailor-made tour of the area for £2,716 a head, including flights. A limited number of permits for six-hour swims with the blue whales cost from £233 to £310. Visit reefandrainforest.co.uk for more information. THE Sea of Cortez is packed with cetaceans and was famously described as “the world’s aquarium” by French explorer Jacques Cousteau.

Many people come here to see gray whales and humpbacks, but an increasing number of blue whales are now being spotted.

They can be seen particularly along the Pacific coastline of the Baja Peninsula, which extends from California to Mexico.

The Travelling Naturalist offers a 10-day trip onboard 14-cabin vessel The Searcher, from £4,995 per person (excluding flights). Visit www. naturalist.co.uk for details.

January to March. get everyone excited.

For the past couple of years, they’ve been arriving in March, but summer is the ideal time to come.

Northern town Husavik is regarded as the whale capital of Iceland, and boat tours depart twice daily.

Gentle Giants offers a three-hour trip from £76.50 (10,300 ISK). THE Cote Nord region bordering the Saint Lawrence River is renowned for whale sightings.

It even has its own ‘whale route’ with recommended locations for Zodiac trips, boat rides and viewings from the shore.

Running 1,730km, it takes 13 days to do. Visit www.quebecmaritime.ca for more information.

Wildlife Worldwide offers a 10-day self-drive trip from £2,595 a head (including flights). Visit wildlifeworldwide.com

July to September. It looks set to be a bumper season in this bay, just south of San Francisco, which attracts one of the world’s largest gatherings of blue whales.

Wildlife photographer Jodi Frediani, who travels with Monterey Bay Whale Watch, recently told local website SFGate: “We’ve had some pretty extraordinary sightings over the past few months.”