Bottlenose Dolphins in Cardigan Bay, Wales 2025

Cardigan Bay in Wales is one of the best destinations for seeing dolphins in Europe. The bay is located between the counties of Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, and Gwynedd (far west coast). Here, around 300 Bottlenose Dolphins are residents of a special conservation area which has plenty of food for the dolphins. Their habitat hasn’t been destroyed by big towns or industrial development.

Bottlenose dolphins can weigh more than 400 kilos and grow to about 13 ft (4 m) in length, cruising at around 6.2 mi (10km) per hour with a maximum speed of 25 mi (40km) per hour. These intelligent, playful, and extremely sociable animals live for more than 40 years, producing only one calf in three years.

You'll see these fun animals leaping out of the waters almost everyday in the summer. The area between Cardigan Island in the south and Aberporth in the north is a great viewing spot to see bottlenose dolphins between June and September. Though, you can see them year-round. The summer months are best with New Quay being the hottest spot (June-October). Take one of the daily charter boats out there for a fantastic trip. You can watch porpoises and even orcas, basking sharks, and whales as well.