TropicalTraveler412
Aug 2018
We drove 3 hours from home to take part in this adventure with our friends, looked forward to a great day. Unfortunately, the best part of the day was simply being with our friends, and not the whale watching tour. Check in went smoothly, the folks were friendly. The boat staff were welcoming and informative. That's where the good times ended. I know they had nothing to do with the weather or lack of whales, but we started out the first 40 minutes (or more) in a heavy fog. We could not see anything to the sides or front of the boat. And, it was cold, very cold and windy from the speed of the boat. We sat up on the top deck because we wanted to be ready to see interesting sights and take pictures. One friend went downstairs to sit on the inside area of the boat. When I went down, I saw there were not enough seats if we all wanted to escape the cold. I went back upstairs, hoping the fog would lift. Saw a sea lion through the fog on a little island and later saw a bald eagle from several hundred yards away in a tree. When the fog finally lifted, I was wind burn. At one point, I went back downstairs when others were out on deck. The seats were extremely uncomfortable. There were several children on this trip and they were running back and forth and in and out the doors. Their moms had brought them lots of snacks and the pieces of their snacks ended up all over the floor. They may have had a good time, but this was not my idea of a good time. On the way back to the marina, we stopped to watch for a gray whale. From the required 200 yards, we did see some spouting for a number of minutes. I think I saw about two feet of a section of its back. If this qualifies for the "guarantee" offered by this company, it is a shabby guarantee. We were told had we been there four months prior, we would have seen lots of whales. So, why do tours in August? Cannot recommend this tour.