Dana Point

It is the first question we hear at the ticket counter, usually before someone even asks what is biting: “How much does it cost to go out?” Fair question. You are about to spend a chunk of your day on the water, and you want to know what you are getting into before you hand…

Ask most people when to go whale watching in Dana Point and they will say winter for the gray whales or July for the blue whales. Almost nobody says September. That is exactly why we love it. By the time the calendar flips past Labor Day, the summer crowds thin out, the morning marine layer…

Ask anyone who runs the offshore boats out of Dana Point what they look forward to all year, and you will hear the same answer: bluefin. Pacific bluefin tuna are the hardest-pulling, most stubborn, most addicting fish that swim off our coast. They show up in late spring, stack up through summer, and turn ordinary…

Ask anyone who works the docks down here and they will tell you the same thing: if you only get to go whale watching once all year, make it August. By the time August rolls around, the water off Dana Point has warmed up, the krill has stacked up, and the biggest animals on the…

The most underdressed group of whale watching guests we see all year shows up between June and September. People look at the inland forecast, see 87 degrees, dress for a pool day, and walk down the dock in shorts and a tank top. Then the boat clears the breakwater, the westerly comes up at 12…

If you have never been whale watching before and you are planning your first trip out of Dana Point, this is the walkthrough we wish we could hand every guest before they show up. It covers the harbor walk-in, the boat itself, what happens during the trip, how to read the captain’s cues, and what…

The single most asked question we get on every whale watching trip out of Dana Point is some version of this: “I have a phone (or a camera). How do I actually get a good shot of the whale?” Our captains have been watching guests try, succeed, and miss for decades. Here is everything we…

If you are visiting Southern California and trying to decide between Los Angeles and Dana Point for a whale watching trip, here is the honest take from people who run these boats for a living. Dana Point is our home harbor, so we know exactly why it works. We’ll lay out the comparison the way…

Summer whale watching out of Dana Point is the easiest version of the trip all year. The water is warm, the swell is small, the blue whales are in town, and the boat ride out of the harbor is short. But it is also the season people show up the most under-prepared. They pack like…

Short answer: yes, if you do it right. Long answer: it depends on what you go in expecting, what time of year you go, and who you go with. We have been running whale watching trips out of Dana Point Harbor since 1971, so this is a question we have heard a lot of versions…