Dolphin and Whale watching trip in San Diego

My son is an ocean animal enthusiast. We booked the 2.5 hour tour on the new boat. It holds about 30 people, I think. One side seats 3 across, the other 2 across. My boys were able to snag the front row and they LOVED it!! The boat moves quickly and feels like you’re on a roller coaster (if seated on the front). It’s very cold. Our tour was June 1 at 8am. It was overcast and grey which made it a little challenging to spot the whales. It was also very cold. We were in our winter coats. Bring a stocking cap! My kids are 7, 8, and 10. My 7 year old was not as interested in the experience as my boys and she had a little sea sickness. We ended up seeing a few blue whales. But did not see any dolphins, which, I guess, is rare. Would definitely recommend the company and crew. They were so sweet to my boys and made the experience memorable. Note…there is a restroom on the boat for emergencies only. Use the restroom before you get on the boat. Parking was available along the street for free early in the morning. Check in was easy and you board based on the color of your ticket. Try to arrive early for this.

The best whale watching experience we could have! Our driver, Thai, he was excellent in spotting the whales, gently following them but giving them their space, respecting wildlife too. We saw so many blue whales that we couldn't believe it, all kind of sizes and also a few dolphin pods which were lucky to see in very close distance. Loved the tour, these guys know what they are doing and they do it in a very respectable way. We did the extended tour. IF you love the idea of whale watching, treat yourselves with an extended tour experience, you will not regret this I promise!

Michael was the absolute best captain!!! Can’t say enough good things. If you get the opportunity definitely request him! The trip was great itself as we saw lots of dolphins and a blue whale surface three separate times, but Michael was what made our experience even more amazing!

We took an afternoon cruise with Tom from Gone Whale Watching and had a wonderful time. As we left the harbor, he filled in a lot of detail about the bay, and its natural and human-influenced history. Once we got into open water, he hit the throttle and we sprung right into heated chase and then sighting of a Fin Whale. Being able to see everything from water level made a huge difference, and being in a nimble boat made it really feel like a hunt. Along the way we saw dozens or even hundreds of dolphins, many of which swam close enough to the boat to touch, and investigated a number of feeding spots where sea lions and a wide variety of seabirds were feasting on schools of anchovies. Throughout the trip we got a ton of information about the aquatic life, geography, and cultural information about San Diego and surrounding areas. It was also just a ton of fun. The kids loved it, and we had a great time from start to finish. We will definitely be back next time we are in town.

They really are pros! We went on may and it was an early blue whale season. We lost count of how many whales we saw but they were at least 20 visible in the area and we saw like 8 different ones up close, all in the 2h30 trip! It's definitely worth it and it's a once in a lifetime experience. I also liked how cool they are with you, they answer any questions that you have and let you take all the pictures that you want from anywhere in the boat. Also everything was really safe and cautious, the method was to approach the whales at a prudent distance, stop the boat completely and let them come to us. One baby blue whale even passed multiple times in a row underneath us, it truly was an amazing experience, would definitely recommend!