🇦🇶 Wilhelmina Bay, Antarctica — Cruise Port Guide
Known in the fleet as Whale-mina Bay. Krill swarms pack the deep water here and humpbacks gather to feed in numbers that stop conversation on deck — sometimes dozens visible at once, lunging through the surface.
Updated September 2026
Quick facts
Getting ashore
When to visit Wilhelmina Bay
Feb and Mar are the peak feeding months, when humpback numbers here are at their highest. In November the same water can be nearly empty of whales.
Good to know
Zodiac cruises run in far worse conditions than landings do, but wind still cancels them. Whales are never guaranteed — the bay's reputation is built on February and March, and early-season voyages should expect fewer.
Things to do in Wilhelmina Bay
Zodiac among feeding humpbacks
Drivers cut the engine and let the whales choose the distance. When a pair surfaces beside the boat the blow is loud, oily and unforgettable — people usually go quiet.
Watch from the top deck
Height helps. From the upper decks you can see the pattern of blows across the whole bay and count how many animals are working the same krill swarm.
Visit the Guvernoren wreck
At Enterprise Island the rusted hull of a burnt-out whaling factory ship sits in shallow water, now colonised by nesting terns. Ships often combine it with the bay.
Kayak the glassy water
When the bay is calm this is the finest paddling on the peninsula — though kayakers are kept well clear of feeding whales.
Listen for the bubble net
Humpbacks here cooperate, blowing a curtain of bubbles to corral krill before lunging up through the middle. If you see a ring of bubbles surface, keep watching that spot.
Weather by month
Best time to visit: Feb–Mar for peak humpback feeding
| Month | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35° | 28° | 1.5" |
| Feb | 35° | 28° | 1.6" |
| Mar | 32° | 25° | 1.8" |
| Apr | 27° | 19° | 1.7" |
| May | 21° | 14° | 1.5" |
| Jun | 17° | 10° | 1.3" |
| Jul | 16° | 8° | 1.2" |
| Aug | 17° | 9° | 1.2" |
| Sep | 21° | 13° | 1.3" |
| Oct | 26° | 18° | 1.4" |
| Nov | 30° | 23° | 1.4" |
| Dec | 34° | 27° | 1.5" |
A little history
Named by de Gerlache for Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, whose government helped fund the Belgica expedition.
The bay is deep, sheltered and fed by upwelling that concentrates krill — the reason the whales come, and the reason the whalers came before them.
The wreck of the Guvernoren, a Norwegian whaling factory ship that caught fire in 1915 during a party celebrating a full hold, lies half-submerged at nearby Enterprise Island.
Whale numbers here have climbed steadily since commercial whaling ended — the bay is one of the clearest success stories on the peninsula, and researchers tag humpbacks here each summer.
February and March are peak feeding months; on early-season voyages in November you may see very few whales in the same water.