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Dana Point Whale Watching and Dolphin Watching Eco-Safari

Dana Point Whale Watching and Dolphin Watching Eco-Safari

Overview

Gather the family, kids, and friends to join Orange County's highest rated whale watching activity, featuring exclusive Underwater Viewing Pods. For over 20 years we have provided the most unique and eco-friendly dolphin and whale watching trips to view magnificent Blue Whales, Gray Whales, Humpback Whales, Fin Whales, Minke Whales, and occasionally Orcas (Killer Whales), Pilot Whales, False Killer Whales, and more. Five species of wild dolphins are also seen throughout the year, including mega-pods with up to 10,000 dolphins! Plus sea lions, marine birds, and even sharks. You'll depart from Dana Point, home to one of the most diverse marine eco-systems in the world. Aboard our uncrowded high-tech catamaran you will enjoy up close and personal dolphin and whale watching with expert narration, complimentary triple fudge brownies, and more.

City: Dana Point

Fri 20 Sep

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $100.00

Make a reservation

Fri 20 Sep

Starting at $100.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Licensed Captain and professional crew

U.S. Coast Guard inspected and certified vessel

Cetacean Declaration - Join us again for free within one calendar year if you don't see any dolphins or whales

Live commentary on board

Additional Info

Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Entry into the Underwater Viewing Pods requires the use of ladder-like steps. Persons with a disability or limited mobility may have difficulty.
Trip times may vary by date.
Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
Gear/equipment sanitised between use
Transportation vehicles regularly sanitised
Guides required to regularly wash hands
Contactless payments for gratuities and add-ons

Cancellation Policy

All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (376)

ghinman1

Oct 2011

One of best whalewatching trips I have ever experienced. I have watched whales in Hawaii, and Baja California. This trip was better, amazing because there were so many of the largest creatures on earth allowing us to observe them feeding off Dana Point. The setting sun was creaing mini-rainbows through the 40' blows. Dolphins came to play. The ever educational crew told us about the wonderful creatures we were observing. A pelican flew over and perched on the boat just for the fun of it. It just kept getting better an better. Will I go back?? You'd better believe it!

MehlvilleHS

Sep 2011

My wife wanted to go on a whale watching tour for her birthday, so I checked out the possibilities in Orange County and saw that Capt. Dave's was the highest rated. They operated out of a roof-top floor of a building at Dana Point where there are lots of tables and this is the place to eat your picnic lunch or have your drinks. There is no way you could hold an open drink, or cut a piece of cheese while on the boat. There is way too much movement. Although, this is billed as a sailboat, it is under motor power the entire way and the open netted area in the bow, will get you wet all the way up to your bum, so beware of the splash zone and do not wear good shoes on this trip. Mine are still drying out. Although, some interesting whale facts was shared during the 2.5 hour trip, I was not terribly impressed with the monologue from Captain Steve. I thought there was going to be a marine naturalist on board?. The boat is super cool in that it has two under-water viewing pods used exclusively when there are dolphin sitings, as the dolphins will swim in sync with the bow of the boat allowing you a great view from underwater. There are two pods and only two people at a time can view from the pods, so you get 2-3 minutes and then have to move along. The whale spotting was a game of hide and seek. We would spot the Blue Whales, race toward them...they would submerge for 10 minutes, we would wait...they would come up again, far away and we would race to them only to have them submerge just before we could reach them. So, yes we did see whales, but we did not get very close. The family did have a good time. We are not disappointed with the service provided. It may be a bit overpriced, but isn't everything in CA? There are other whale watching boats at Dana Point, but none with under-water viewing pods. That was the thing that set this tour apart from the rest and it is the main reason I would recommend Captain Dave's.

scratgal

Aug 2008

We went out July 27 and it was amazing! I had extremely low expectations, i have been out on other "Whale Watching" trips before with other companies and always saw basically the same thing - nothing much. The usual 5 dolphins bow surfing and the two sea lions floating on the buoy. Basically we went to get out on the ocean for a few hours. But did Captain Tom blow us away. We went the last trip of the say which was scheduled at 3pm. They waisted no time and said we would be heading straight out to where they had spent time with a blue whale on the last trip just before they came back in. When we got to that area we watched at least 3 seperate blue whales (one may have been a calf) surface and dive over and over it was breathtaking. He guided the boat slowly in giving the whales room and simply letting the boat sit still and watch where they came up. Capt. Tom kept time of the them on a stopwatch so he would know when to head to where another should be coming up. Amazing. We watched them for hours it was breathtaking and beautiful. One of the whales actually turned around and swam right under our boat straight at us to check us out. Another simply floated along the surface content not to dive deap as the others allowing us to see the awesome size of the largest mammal on the planet. Then with only thirty minutes left he asked if we would like to go see some dolphins or stay with the whales. We decided to "go ahead and see the dolphins" . This too was simply breathtaking we soon found ourselves surrounded in a super-super-pod of dolphins hundreads i kid you not hundreads of dolphins as you looked 360 degrees around the boat all you could see were dolphins splashing in the distance and the foreground as far as the eye could see. Captain Tom asked us if we would mind if we extended our trip and stayed out awhile longer to take it all in. We all heartily agreed to stay out and enjoy the beauty that was surrounding us. I have never seen anything like it, not even on a tv special or national geographic documentary. At one point the nursery part of the group swam past us and we saw countless little baby dolphins of various size and age. Sooo amazing! My husband said it changed his life to see such a community in action as this huge group of dolphins were. As the sun was by that point setting (it now being sometime after 6pm) Captain Tom told us reluctantly that we had to start back in, but decided to take us out to see some Risso's dolphin first. We saw many of those briefly before heading again back toward dana point. It made us sad that we couldn't stay and enjoy them more. (He told us it was extremly rare for risso's to present to a boat, they are very shy, but on the last trip before us one had startled them by approaching and bow surfing under the net for 30 minutes!) Also Captain Tom appologized that he couldn't take us over to see the pinnapeds as there just wasn't enough time left. As we came back in we saw another blue whale off in the distance, beautiful but we couldn't stop to watch it. And two sunfish which were very large and very startled by our boat. Just and amazing experience. Also the brownies they gave us were quite delicious but i don't think they would really be considered world famous as i am pretty sure i recognize the recipe. Was our experience something everyone would get on this trip? Probibly not. But was it the best ever? Without question. They know there stuff! Captain Tom knew right where to go and how and where to find animals. They also showed genuine care and respect for the animals. And annoyance at other boats that were not behaving in the best interest of the marine mammals. I think you could reasonably expect to see dolphins and pinnapeds each time out. And a nice view of the shoreline depending on weather. And if you are lucky like us you might get to see many other wonderful creatures. There are only three marine mammals on there charts that captain tom hasn't seen out there and two of them were pinnapeds (seals & sea lions etc.) so there is a great chance you will see some wonderful things. I recommend a later trip time if weather will not cause ruff seas. This allowed us to stay out longer and our skipper to use what and where he had previously seen animals to guide us to them.