Turmares Tarifa

Name

Turmares Tarifa

Legal name

TURMARES TARIFA S.L.

Website

https://turmares.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Wildlife Tourism

NAICS

Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (487210), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (48721)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Whale Watching & Marine Mammal Tours (THAAAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sightseeing & Scenic Boat Tours (Harbor, Sunset, Dolphin/Whale Watching) (THAJAJAA), Marine Wildlife & Coastal Nature Tours (Whale/Dolphin Watching, Sea Kayaking) (THAAAEAD)

Keywords

• Whale watching excursions
• Dolphin watching tours
• Marine wildlife tourism
• Cetacean watching boat
• Maritime passenger transport

Headquarters

HQ city

Cadiz

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Maritime excursion tickets: Revenue generated from selling tickets for whale and dolphin watching excursions in the Strait of Gibraltar. Two excursion types: 2-hour trips (50€ adults, 30€ children 6-14) and 3-hour trips (70€ adults, 40€ children 6-14).
2. Exclusive/private excursions: Premium experiences on the Dolphin Tarifa hybrid boat for small groups, families, photographers, and scientists. Prices vary by duration and season.
3. Corporate events and catering: Jackelin vessel available for corporate events with catering service on board.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Turmares Tarifa sells scheduled responsible whale and dolphin watching maritime excursions in the Strait of Gibraltar from the port of Tarifa, with 2-hour (adult €50) and 3-hour (adult €70) trips running from March to October. Each excursion is led by multilingual biologist-guides who provide educational commentary and conduct systematic cetacean data collection following SEC protocols, aboard a fleet of three passenger vessels including the hybrid-electric Dolphin Tarifa. Complementary offerings include private exclusive charters, corporate event hire with catering, and specialized cultural-route excursions.

Product overview

Turmares Tarifa is a maritime passenger transport and whale/dolphin watching excursion company operating in the Strait of Gibraltar since 1996. The company operates a fleet of three vessels: the large Jackelin (up to 170 passengers with underwater viewing), the fast Pirata de Sálvora (62 passengers, designed for longer trips), and the hybrid-electric Dolphin Tarifa (12 passengers for exclusive/scientific outings). All excursions include biologist-guides who collect scientific data and provide educational commentary. The company also offers photo-identification services for cetacean research, audiovisual production capabilities, and specialized cultural route excursions aboard the Dolphin Tarifa. Excursions run from March to October with 2-hour (€50 adults) and 3-hour (€70 adults) options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Whale and Dolphin Watching Excursions

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 99% sighting success rate
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• World Cetacean Alliance (WCA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999Founding members of the World Cetacean Alliance, participating in global initiatives for cetacean conservation and responsible whale watching practices worldwide.
• Spanish Society of Cetaceans (SEC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerActive member and collaborator in cetacean research projects. Data collection follows SEC protocols. Multiple joint research papers published including photo-identification studies and habitat use analyses.
• European Cetacean Society (ECS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegular contributor to ECS conferences with research presentations on cetacean behavior, population studies, and whale watching impacts in the Strait of Gibraltar.
• World Marine Mammal Conference (WMMC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipant in WMMC conferences presenting research on sperm whale social interactions, pilot whale social groups, and health monitoring of cetaceans.
• University of Castilla-La ManchaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on final degree projects (PFC/TFG) and final master projects (TFM) including studies on bottlenose dolphin abundance, pilot whale behavior, and sperm whale seasonal presence.
• University of CádizminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on research projects including photo-identification studies of sperm whales in the Strait of Gibraltar from opportunistic sighting platforms.
• University of GranadaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudent research collaboration on seasonal presence of sperm whales and conservation implications.
• University of CórdobaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple master thesis collaborations on cetacean behavior including pilot whale ethograms, tidal influence studies, and assisted therapy research.
• Andalusian Institute of Marine Sciences (CSIC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on satellite image analysis for distribution studies of striped dolphins in the Strait of Gibraltar.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Dolphin Encounters (Bahamas): Bahamas-based marine wildlife tour operator combining dolphin encounters with educational programming; comparable educational, family-friendly marine wildlife tourism model though typically with captive encounters.

Direct peers

• Cardero Marine Tours: Vancouver-based whale watching and marine wildlife tour operator with biologist guides; comparable product offering across multiple vessels including premium and exclusive options.
• Monterey Bay Whale Watch: California-based family-run whale watching company with biologist guides on multiple vessels; comparable multi-vessel operation offering year-round whale watching excursions with scientific framing.
• Strait of Gibraltar whale watching competitors (e.g., Firmm, Avistamientos de Cetáceos): Firmm is a Tarifa-based operator offering cetacean watching with scientific framing in the same Strait of Gibraltar waters; the most direct geographic and product competitor to Turmares.
• Futurismo Azores Adventures: Azores-based operator running whale watching, dolphin watching, and swimming-with-dolphins excursions with biologist guides; comparable product (responsible cetacean tourism) and similar direct-to-consumer boat excursion model in a Portuguese Atlantic setting.
• Ocean Safari (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa): South African boat-based operator running dolphin, whale, and shark encounters; comparable small-vessel wildlife excursion format targeting responsible marine tourism customers.
• Dolphin & Whale Connection (Terceira, Azores): Terceira-based cetacean watching operator combining tourism with research and education; comparable scientist-led tours and small-vessel model targeting the same responsible wildlife tourism segment.
• Whale Watch Azores: Pico Island operator specializing in whale and dolphin watching with marine biologist guides; closely comparable scientific/responsible whale watching approach and similar vessel-based excursion model.

Others

• GetYourGuide: Major online tours and activities marketplace that resells whale watching excursions like Turmares'; relevant as a channel partner / distribution platform that affects bookings and pricing visibility for excursion operators.
• Whale Watch Kaikoura (New Zealand):

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/turmarestarifa
• Facebookfacebook.com/turmares

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Turmares Tarifa