Laguna Beach has the tide pools and the coves. What it does not have is a whale watching fleet. The closest one is Dana Wharf, about twenty minutes down the coast at Dana Point Harbor, sailing since 1971 as the first whale watching company in Orange County.

Twenty minutes down the coast

Laguna to Dana Point Harbor is around ten miles on Pacific Coast Highway, through Monarch Beach. It is one of the shortest drives to a working whale watching harbor anywhere in Southern California, which makes an afternoon trip genuinely easy rather than a day out.

The harbor is right off Pacific Coast Highway and the 5 freeway. Golden Lantern dead ends into the Dana Wharf lot. The public parking around the rest of the harbor has a four hour limit, so match it against the trip you have booked.

Seeing whales from the water instead of the cliffs

You can watch grays from the Laguna headlands in winter if you are patient and the light is right. The difference on a boat is distance and time. Trips run out past the point where a spout is a smudge on the horizon, and the crew works the boat into a position rather than leaving you to find something at range.

What the year looks like

Gray whales, December through April

Grays run the coast twice, south to the Baja lagoons and back north with calves. They travel close inshore, which is why they are the most reliable animal here. Late winter brings the northbound mothers and young.

Blue and fin whales, May through October

The water warms, krill moves up the coast, and the largest animals on earth arrive behind it. Blue whales reach roughly 80 to 100 feet. Fin whales are here across the same months, with humpbacks and minke whales too.

Dolphins, year round

Common and bottlenose dolphins are resident off this coast. Pods run to the hundreds and will often come to the boat.

Trips

The two hour Whale and Dolphin Watching Tour is the usual choice and, given how short the drive is from Laguna, an easy half day. The Epic 4 Hour Adventure and the 8 Hour Ultimate Whale Watch go much further out, which pays off in summer. Private charters are available, as is a pelagic birding trip.

Half Price Tuesdays apply to whale watching trips.

What to bring

Layers, since it is colder on the water than on the sand and colder again under way. Flat shoes. Sunglasses and sunscreen whatever the month. Anything you need for seasickness should be taken before boarding.

Dana Point, the Dolphin and Whale Watching Capital of the World®

Dana Point holds the Dolphin & Whale Watching Capital of the World® trademark, and Dana Wharf is a proud partner of the World Cetacean Alliance. More on the designation.

Book a trip

Trips run daily, year round, from Dana Point Harbor. Use code WW20 for 20% off.