San Diego Whale Watching Tour

Overview

Our trips depart from Mission Bay, which requires only a short 10 minute journey access to the open ocean where whales and dolphins can be seen! The search for whales and other animals begins as soon as you depart the dock and our marine biologists are on the microphone explaining exactly what to expect and what you are seeing from the get go!
Typically our trips are 2.5-3 hours in length, but time can vary based on seasons and locations of sightings.

City: San Diego

Thu 10 Jul

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $71.00

Make a reservation

Thu 10 Jul

Starting at $71.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Marine biologists are on the microphone explaining exactly what to expect.

Additional Info

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Suitable for all physical fitness levels

What To Expect

Ocean Beach

The tour will take you to the ocean without stopping

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (1000)

Cld1966

Feb 2019

My adult son and I went on the whale watching tour yesterday afternoon. It was a bit chilly, but a beautiful day. The Captain (Matt, I believe) was a good host who kept us informed. Although neither of us got seasick, the Captain provided helpful info a couple times to help people prevent it or overcome queasiness. The ladies (Pam and Dee) from SD Natural History Museum who were the days “Whalers” were nice and informative. Fortunately, we saw some whales which was very exciting. The Captain explained the restrictions on boats and whales. Also, he mentioned that we were close to Mexico and their cell towers, so he wisely suggested turning off cellphones or putting them on airplane mode to prevent expensive roaming charges. The only helpful hint I have was that the lady who gave the local information as we pulled back in needs to speak up or be closer to the mic. She was very hard to hear. It wasn’t their system because we clearly heard the Captain and Dee. ** Check Groupon before you buy tickets. They were $43 each, but through groupon’s price and an additional 20% off, I paid $48.60 for two tickets.

rtwn

Feb 2019

BEWARE I understand whales are in the wild and you might not see them however we went out Feb 19th 2019 for a 3hr cruise within 2 hrs we were back in the channel were disembarking with 40 min left in the cruise. We were handed a 50%coupon for next time. We saw dolphins no whales. You would think with all the spare time they would have kept looking. I'm on vacation I don't have another day. When I asked 2 different crew members in different locations about the short trip they both independently said "really I don't have a watch". Obviously a rehearsed response. The naturalist on the speaker was almost impossible to hear until she requested tips. Disappointed I wanted to go out with naturalists this is not what I expected. I suggest they buy someone watch on the boat.

Response from Host

Mar 2019

Hello! Thank you for joining us recently. We're so sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy your experience on the day of your trip. We are and have always been known to be a very timely company. You are more than welcome to contact us directly to discuss this matter further so we can figure out what went wrong. We can assure you that our crew exhausted all efforts to find any larger whales that may have been in the area during your tour as they are constantly searching diligently and communicating with every whale watching outfit in the San Diego area. Your crew is very busy at the end of each trip, preparing the vessel for docking and ensuring that every passenger safely disembarks the boat once it is safely on the dock. Unfortunately, not everyone may have a working watch and we do not find it professional to carry cell phones in front of our guests (with the exception of any photo/video capturing by our Naturalists on deck) nor would we have the opportunity at the end of a trip to go fetch them when asked for the time. We also would have been more than happy to turn the volume up on our sound system if it was a bit low on the day of your tour. Our closing (and opening) speech will always be higher in volume, as the boat is in idle or slowly and quietly approaching/touching off from the dock instead of running full throttle. We're sorry that you did not go home happy after your trip, as we would never intentionally disappoint our passengers. The 50% passes you received are valid for life so we hope you'll find yourself in San Diego someday in the future and can join us again for another try.

DanW440

Jan 2019

We spotted a couple of whales in the far distance during our 3 hour cruise. It was not an exciting boat trip but that is the way it goes sometimes. The narration was good and the boat had plenty of room and was comfortable enough. Would try again given how nice the folks onboard were. They even provided free ginger ale for those who needed some tummy relief. There is a cafe at the dock and plenty of parking.