Gower Coast Adventures

Experience unforgettable wildlife encounters

Two common dolphins take an interest in our boat Sea Serpent

Home

Book Online or Call 01792 348 229 to book

WE ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED FOR THE WINTER AND WILL START BOAT TRIPS IN EASTER 2024

Guided boat trips exploring the beautiful Gower coast and it's wildlife - the best way to experience amazing marine life and enjoy unique views of the stunning Gower peninsula.

Click/tap the links below to find out more:

TRIPS ABOUT US OUR WILDLIFE

BOOKING HOW TO FIND US FAQs

Trips

Oxwich Bay to Worms Head (and back)
Approx. 2 hours

Experience fantastic wildlife and incredible views of the beautiful south Gower coast on this 2 hour boat tour from Oxwich Bay beach to the tidal island of Worms Head at the western tip of the Gower peninsula.

£54 per adult
£30 per child (aged 3-15)
(Our trips aren’t suitable for under 3's).

Book the whole boat for up to 12 passengers for £540.

See availability and trip times here - just select how many tickets you need and the date you have in mind and you'll see our trip times and how many spaces are available.

BOOK ONLINE HERE
Advanced booking is essential.

*Our trips are weather dependent*
Read our cancellation policy here.

How to find us Frequently asked questions

Where do the trips go...

We depart from Oxwich Bay beach (wading into the sea to knee height to board the boat) and hug the coastline of the south Gower coast on the way to Worms Head, the magnificent tidal island at the end of the Gower Peninsula where we see most of our wildlife.
Listen to stories of historic caves and smugglers haunts along the way.

On the return journey, if conditions allow, we travel further out to sea in search of different sea birds and marine mammals.

What wildlife will we see...

Watch seals basking on the rocks at low tide or snoozing in the water at high tide. Keep an eye out for the regularly seen harbour porpoises beneath diving gannets. At Worms Head experience the sights, sounds (and smells!) of nesting sea birds between April and July, such as kittiwakes, guillemots and razorbills. If we're lucky we sometimes encounter common dolphins in the warmer months of the year, May to September. On some trips we get to see Manx shearwaters, fulmars, and peregrine falcons.

We also see a variety of different jellyfish, occasionally sunfish and rarely even turtles!

There's more info about our marine life on our wildlife page here. Or to see our latest wildlife sightings, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

We can't guarantee sightings of any particular species on our trips, and each trip is different depending on the time of year, the time of day and the weather conditions.

Widget by EmbedSocial→

What to expect when you arrive...

There is a large car park right next to the beach at Oxwich Bay (post code: SA3 1LS). Our booking office cabin is located in the car park overlooking the beach, on the right hand side of the bay as you are looking at the sea.
There is a car parking attendant at the entrance to the car park. It is £7 for cars to park all day and £15 for medium to large vans and motorhomes.

Please sign in at our booking office at the top of Oxwich beach at least 30 mins before your trip departure time. Our friendly crew will use this time to kit up all passengers with lifejackets and to walk down to the sea- this can be a long walk down the beach for low tide trips.

Please ensure that warm clothing is worn and that every passenger has a waterproof coat with them. Footwear that can get wet is also essential as the beach is stony in some places (beach shoes, crocs, sandles, etc.). If you don't have your own, it's no problem, we have some crocs you are welcome to borrow. Flip flops are not suitable footwear as they don't stay on your feet when walking through the water.

Passengers will be lead to the waters edge by a member of crew and will walk into the sea to knee depth to board the boat. There is a step at the back of the boat at water level, which is roughly knee height. Please note, at low tide it is a much longer walk down to the sea. The skipper and crew are there to assist passengers and are more than happy to help.

What to bring / what to wear...

Essential items:

Warm clothing - even on warm sunny days it is always colder at sea, sometimes much colder! We always advise you to bring a warm layer with you.
Waterproof coat - everyone on board must have a waterproof coat with them. It is best to bring your own, but if you don't have one you are welcome to borrow one of ours.
Shorts or trousers that will roll up - we wade into the sea to board our boat from Oxwich beach, you'll need to wear shorts or trousers that will roll up above the knee. The water level is usually just above knee height on the average adult.
Shoes for getting wet - the beach is stony in some places so shoes for boarding the boat must be worn. We recommend beach shoes, crocs, or sandals. Flip flops aren't suitable footwear as they don't stay on your feet when walking through the water. If you don't have your own shoes that you are happy to get wet, we have some crocs which you are welcome to borrow.
Sun cream, sunglasses, sun hat - on sunny days

Optional items:
Binoculars for closer views of wildlife
Camera for capturing spectacular views of the coast and wildlife. You are more than welcome to bring phones and cameras on board. We aim to keep you as dry as possible, although sometimes sea spray is unavoidable, so it is best to bring a waterproof bag to keep cameras dry if needed. Your personal items are not covered under our insurance, so don't drop them overboard!
Towel for drying your legs once on board

The coast and waters of the Gower Peninsula are home to a myriad of sea life, the highlight of any Gower boat trip.

You'll have the chance to encounter a variety of different marine mammals and sea birds, depending on the time of year that you choose to visit. Some of our species are resident here and are seen often, while others are spring or summer visitors. Our experienced crew will help you spot seals, harbour porpoises, common dolphins, and a number of different nesting and fishing sea birds.

We also often see lots of jellyfish species, sometimes sunfish, and on occasion even leatherback turtles! The tidal island of Worms Head, at the western tip of the Gower peninsula, is where we tend to see most of our wildlife.

Atlantic grey seals

Seals are the most common marine mammal that we see on our trips and a firm favourite with our passengers. There is a resident colony at Worms Head so we see them throughout the season. At low tide they will haul out on to the rocks to rest and at high tide they are often seen snoozing in the water.

We recognize many of our individual seals as they all have unique fur patterns. We know some of them from as far back as 2004 and are still seeing them on our trips today.

Harbour porpoises

Porpoises are small, shy dolphins which inhabit the seas around Gower all year. The best time to see them is on very calm days and typically we will just see their small dorsal fin and the roll of their back as they take a few breaths at the surface.

As they are quiet and serene creatures that don't approach boats, when we spot one we often turn off the engine and drift nearby which affords us the best sightings of these beautiful mammals.

Common dolphins

Dolphins visit Gower in the warmer months of the year, usually June to August, but we have seen them as early as May and as late as October. They are very sociable and playful animals, often approaching our boat to swim alongside or bow ride, breaching high into the air, or slapping the water with their tails.

There's no best time of day to see dolphins, all sightings are by chance, but we always make every effort to spot them when we know they are in the area.

a gannet takes off from the surface of the water

Gannets

With a wingspan of nearly 2 metres, gannets are the UK's largest sea bird. They are spectacular to watch, adapted for a high-speed dive into the water to catch their fish prey.

When we see gannets we also scan the water below them for porpoises or dolphins which the birds frequently follow in order to snap up the fish which have been chased towards the surface.

Razorbills

These sea birds are similar to guillemots in their appearance and their nesting habits. They are darker in colour than guillemots and also have a white stripe on their bill which gives them their name. They too nest at Worms Head between April and July, before they leave the ledges to swim out to sea once more.

Despite being small, they are excellent flyers and often swim to depths of up to 120 metres to catch fish.

Guillemots

Look up to the cliff ledges of Worms Head and you'll see these little penguin-like sea birds. They come here to lay their eggs between April and mid-July. They spend the rest of their lives at sea so we often see them on the water too.

Their strategy is safety in numbers so hundreds of them pack together on the cliffs, incubating their eggs, or gliding down to the sea to catch fish.

Kittiwakes

These pretty sea birds are the most numerous gull globally, however most people haven't heard of them as they spend most of their time at sea and rarely venture inland.

Here, they nest at Worms Head and also on Mumbles pier. We frequently see little kittiwake chicks in the nests in the summer months. Kittiwakes can be noisy birds and are named after their distinctive 'kitti-wayke' call.

Fulmars

Fulmars nest at various points along the south Gower coast and are seen gliding along the cliffs. Whilst they look similar to gulls, they are actually part of the petrel family of sea birds and are related to albatrosses.

The name 'fulmar' means 'foul gull' as they are famous for regurgitating their last meal over any predator which gets too close, so peregrines and other birds of prey know to avoid them.

We also see Manx shearwaters gliding across the sea surface, cormorants and shags perched on the rocks drying their feathers, terns migrating between their nesting and feeding grounds, turnstones looking for grubs amongst the rocks, and kestrels hovering over Worms Head searching for a meal.
Among our other occasional sightings are shelducks, skuas, little egrets, and scoters.