How Fast Can a Whale Swim? (Speeds by Species, From Our Dana Point Boats)
Spend enough mornings on the water off Dana Point and you start to get a feel for how a whale moves. Most of the time it is unhurried. A fin whale will surface, blow a tall column of mist, roll that long gray back through the swell, and slip under again, all at a pace…
Whale Watching in Dana Point in September: A Local’s Guide to Late Blue Whales and Dolphin Megapods
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…
Whale Watching in Dana Point in August: A Local’s Guide to Peak Blue Whale Season
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…
Where Do Blue Whales Go When They Leave Dana Point? Migration Patterns Explained
One of the questions guests ask most often once a blue whale is alongside the boat is some version of: where does this thing go when summer ends? The whale we’re looking at off Dana Point right now does not stay here. Blue whales move. The ones that show up in the Southern California Bight…
What to Wear Whale Watching in Summer: A Local’s Light-Layer Guide
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…
First-Time Whale Watching in Dana Point: A Captain’s Walkthrough
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…
How to Photograph Whales on Your Whale Watching Tour (Tips from Our Captains)
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…
Dana Point vs Los Angeles for Whale Watching: An Honest Local Comparison
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…
What to Bring on a Whale Watching Tour: A Summer Packing List for Dana Point
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…
Are Whale Watching Tours Worth It? (An Honest Answer from a Dana Point Captain)
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…