Top Whale watching tour agencys in San Diego, United States

We spontaneously decided to get married and wanted to do it on the water. I'm so glad we chose to go through Aolani! The planning process was made so simple and smooth by Cameron, even with the short time frame. He helped coordinate the timing, meeting spot, catering, and made sure we could do our ceremony at a spot in the bay that was extremely meaningful to us. The captain and crew were beyond accommodating and fun! So grateful for the team. They made the ceremony portion of our day so unique and special.

10/10! I booked Aolani for my 30th birthday for a 4 hour sunset sail and it was absolutely dreamy. We had 48 guests and the boat was plenty large for our crew! The staff were very accommodating and attentive to all of my crazy requests. 100% would recommend booking for your next party!

I threw a surprise birthday party for my husband with Aolani. I was expecting to interview a few different boat charter companies, Aolani being my first call. After speaking with Cameron, I felt confident that Aolani would be a great fit and did not interview any further. Cameron was so helpful from the very beginning, from coordinating the surprise and helping me with food selection. The fee was more than fair. The surprise was a hit and everyone LOVED the boat experience. The boat was plenty big to accommodate our group of 28 and the staff was exceptional! My husband had so much fun that he wants to make it an annual trip! I highly recommend this company for your next boating event!

Every Labor Day weekend, my family from all over came down to celebrate our yearly Terrones Family reunion. This year we hosted it in SD,I was looking for a fun outing we could do the day before the actual reunion. I spent weeks looking at different boats and prices. Every company would advertise one price, then had all these hidden fees it was a nightmare! Thankfully I found Aolani, they had one straight flat per hour rate no hidden fees. I worked with Cameron who was amazing, worked with me while I wrangled the family together to confirm and collect the deposit for them. He made it such a simple process, gave me all the info upfront no hidden surprises and was able to advise open bar vs cash bar for what was best for my group. He was super helpful and my family and I loved the boat. It was beautiful and everyone had the best time. They couldn’t stop talking about it the next day. And the cash bar was a hit, the drinks were great. We had all the ages too, from 2 babies to my Uncle who is 95, this boat is meant to be enjoyed by all ages. They even let us bring our own snacks which was wonderful. We can’t want to use them again in the future

We had my birthday celebration yesterday on an Aolani catamaran. It was nothing short of SPECTACULAR. The crew was amazing and made sure we were having so much fun. Super attentive, etc. If you are considering a private Harbor tour, look no further, Aolani is perfect.

Cameron was also very helpful, informative and gave great suggestions during the planning and reservation process to make the day perfect.

Thank you! Sheryl and Bob

Had a fantastic time with skipper Brian at the helm. He brought us to waters where recent sittings occurred and he didn’t disappoint! Two blue whales spouting and showing off flukes and arched backs allowed us a great view and a check for another bucket list item. He maneuvered the boat so all enjoyed the sitings. Brian is personable and friendly which added to a great time.

We had an amazing time on our city lights charter! The crew was absolutely incredible - and honestly made the night! They were very accommodating, fun, helpful, sweet, and the best bartenders! The catamaran was beautiful and a must see in person. Our group had an absolute blast, and we can't wait to come back again. Shoutout to the office staff as well, a wonderful experience all around. Highly recommend this charter for anyone looking to have a fantastic time out on the water!

Cece is amazing! Whales are amazing! Dolphins are amazing! Boat is quite comfortable, Cece is a smooth captain, very pleasurable ride. I also loved her willingness to follow the dolphins, or stop for a mola mola. Her eyesight was beyond my comprehension for spotting things and her knowledge and enthusiasm was great. As I saw the larger boats nearby, I was so very grateful we made the choice to go on the smaller more private tour. Thank you, we had one of the best days of our lives seeing the blue whales and everything else!

Super fun time out on the water! Highlight was being in a pod of dolphins jumping out of the water and swimming along side us! Our caption was the greatest!

We decided to get married on a catamaran on a whim and we are so thankful that we found Aolani! This was one of the best experiences we could have asked for. All of my guests had such a great time and loved the views and atmosphere. From planning the event to the actual trip, we had such a great time. Cameron was an amazing help every time I called or emailed him, making the planning part a complete breeze. He really made sure our time was beyond perfect. The staff on the boat; Captain Joey, Cindy and Cheryl were so sweet and a pleasure to have during our time on the boat. I 100% recommend using Aolani!

We had the most incredible sailing trip with Captain Corey! He worked with our group and accommodated a last minute time change due to weather. Cannot thank him enough for his help and giving us such a fun tour! It was the most memorable part of the bachelorette party. Corey was so kind to take photos, customize our trip, and share knowledge about sailing and San Diego. He is a phenomenal guide. Thank you Corey!!

Great experience , had a blast with captain Sal that is very friendly and knowledgeable, we felt super safe and taken care of. Even was stirring for a bit! We’ll be back!

It was a great experience! Captain Matt made it fun and the wind was fantastic! He made the time on the water educational, and told us about the bay and the city.

We had an amazing experience with Captain Tony. We spent almost 3h on the sea without seeing any mammal, but our captain extended the tour and led us to this jumping whale in the end. We stayed there for another 20-30min watching this baby whale breaking the water constantly. It’s their professionalism, passion and the extra efforts they put into the tour that made it worth the time and money.
We were told this is the only woman owned whale watching company in SD. And it’s definitely the best one. Highly recommend! Was the highlight of our San Diego trip. Thank you, Captain and owner lady.

Such a fantastic experience with Captain Jules. Offshore blue adventures runs on a small boat allowing us to be up close with the sea life we saw. We cannot wait to return for more! Luck was in it for us, seeing a gray whale! Jules was a wealth of knowledge-telling us all about what we saw.

Had a really positive experience with this tour! Highly recommend. It was nice to be in a smaller boat, and our guide was very knowledgeable! We saw plenty of whales, and also a huge group of dolphins which was a highlight.

This is my second time on this amazing Catamaran, Aolani! The crew is fantastic and the experience is absolutely wonderful. We surprised our family from out of town by spending the afternoon taking in San Diego from the bay and watching the sunset. The crew is attentive and friendly, kept our drinks full and set up all of our food, brought cozy blankets (it was the end of Dec when took our trip) when the sun was setting and provided the toddlers life vest. Cameron helped set up our adventure after I reached out on the website for info. He is extremely quick to respond, and makes setting up a trip very easy! Definitely recommend this amazing trip to everyone!

Had a wonderful trip! We got lucky enough to see Rizzos dolphins and a juvenile grey whale. Our captain was very friendly and knowledgeable. Boat is small and basic but allows you to get closer to the wildlife. Loved supporting the only woman-owned tour operation in SD!

Had an unexpected solo sailing trip with captain Rod aboard his ‘Wind Drum’. Since his captain called in sick and it was my last day in town (and the sailing trip could not be postponed on my end), he spontaneously decided to take me on his own. He was incredibly friendly, welcoming and we had nice chats.

Trip and views were simply mind blowing and will be remembered:). Although there was hardly any wind, his fantastic boat allowed us to pick up some pace with the sails alone. Also great views of downtown after sunset.

Really thankful for this unique experience and can highly recommend it to anyone who is coming to San Diego! Thanks again…

Capt Rick and the crew worked hard to get everyone on bluefin. We were only a few fish shy of limits for all. Great trip, great fish

When researching whale-watching tours in San Diego, I had many options.
I'm SO glad I chose Offshore Blue Adventures.
Tony was the most friendly, informative, laid-back guide.
We did not see any whales (seasonal/temperament), but that's totally OKAY because we saw so many dolphins and sea lions and sunfish and it was just lovely.
I also chose Offshore because you're in a 21' rigid inflatable boat, just feet away from the animals.
So much more personal and "hands-on."
Highly, highly recommend if you're wanting to cross it off your list of CA things-to-do.

My son, my mother and I absolutely loved our sailing experience with San Diego Sailing Tours! Captain Dustin was very friendly, patient (as we ran a bit late), accommodating (answering endless questions from my kiddo & teaching him about sailing, and he also came up w/ a new sailing route on the fly since our delayed departure didn't allow enough time for the route originally planned), informative about the area, and overall just made us feel right at home on the boat!

Our trip was smooth and we will definitely be scheduling another sailing excursion with San Diego Sailing Tours/Captain Dustin next time we are in the San Diego area. I highly recommend choosing them to sail with!

We did a Sunset Sail with Capt Corey this week, and dispute my wife's lack of sea legs, we had an AWESOME time! If you can make time to go for a sail I highly recommend it! We were in SD for a week and this was the highlight for us! A great memory we will cherrish for many years to come!

Great time with Captain Ron. Booked the tour same day. Weather turned cold and cloudy and Capt Ron called to ensure we still wanted to go, or offered to move to another day. It was our last day in town so we went with it. Capt Ron was very accommodating and even with the cold and clouds we had a great time.

Where to start?!?!
My hubs booked this for us to celebrate my birthday and we did decide in this extremely late BUT thankfully right on time!!!

I loveeee the water and it was a great blessing to spend time with Captain Alan was so funny, knowledgeable and chill.

The lunch provided was delicious and we crushed our food quite quickly lol.

Seeing the seals and pelicians so closely was the highlight because there were in their natural habitat, being them and being an observer of that brought about peace and calmness.

So much so, we were able to enjoy an nice sun-kissed nap on the ride back to the dock.

Alan, thank you for being you and pursuing your passion enough for us to make these unforgettable moments in life.

Thank you and until we meet again,
Stay Curious

My family had the most magical evening sailing with Capt. Jesse!! We often do sunset cruises while in San Diego but this was by far our favorite company to work with. It was my birthday and they were absolutely amazing and gave us so many memories, the kids enjoyed watching the seals and loved chatting with Captain Jesse and crew. We can’t wait to do it again.

Captain Matt took my friends and I out for a bachelorette cruise and it was AMAZING! We brought poke bowls, drinks, and “last sail before the veil” decorations. Matt was friendly, helpful (he assisted with decorations and was willing to take great group photos!), and kept us out much longer than we had paid for - so lovely! Within our time, he sailed us around the bay, to a warm (75 degrees) swimming spot, past a pod of seals, to a sunset view, and along the downtown skyline. Perfect size boat for our group of 10, I think up to 12 would be comfortable.

My friends and I went out with Fun Cat Sailing for a bachelorette party in October. They were so easy to coordinate with, payment was straightforward, they're reasonably priced, the boat was PERFECT, and Captain DJ was a great captain. I would highly recommend booking with Fun Cat Sailing, I will absolutely book with them again if i'm in the area.

The Ocean Odyssey boat, the crew, the Captain, the fishing was epic! I couldn’t have imagined a better time. We limited out on fish over the 2.5 days on the water. The trip wasn’t for the faint of heart but if your seeking an adventure check these guys out.

Took the sunset cruise around the bay. Most relaxing thing I’ve done this year. Captain Rod is awesome! It was a stress free professional ride would recommend for all ages. Do yourself a favor and book a cruise.

We had the BEST time with Captain Ryan. He was welcoming and awesome to chat with and made sure we had a great time on our tour. You can tell he really cares about customer service and loves what he does. I was nervous about sailing (I don’t love boats) but this was the most pleasant boating experience I’ve ever had. 100% recommend!

They were hitting all week when we get on and the captain was very discouraging from the beginning and then couldn’t get us on the spot most all day real low for fish count I know fish is hit and miss but the captain didn’t communicate well the crew .I think was the problem he seemed very grumpy from the very start

We had an awesome experience for our first time sailing with Captain Danny! From the moment he greeted us at the fountain, till the time we stepped off the boat was a blast! Not only was here knowledgeable about sailing, he also knew a lot about the area and the history as well. To top it all off he entertained us with a couple of jokes, asked us questions about our travels and was very personable in speaking about himself and his travels! Sailing with Captain Danny was a lot of fun. The bay was beautiful and the weather, while not as windy as he might have liked or would’ve been perfect for sailing, was on point as well! I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone.

The boat and crew were wonderful. The captain didn’t put us on fish. I’d say that’s just fishing but I’m currently looking at another boat that came back at the same time loaded with fish. We spent the majority of our time just motoring to another spot. On a sports team you can’t replace every player sometimes you just need a change in the coaching position. I won’t be booking this boat in September.

This experience is amazing !
2:30h on a catamaran appreciating the San Diego sunset, seeing sea lions is just the best feeling.
The captain really professional is just the guy that you want to be your best friend. He impulses the best ambiance to chill on the boat. You feel safe , comfortable. Private and romantic take time to lay down in front of the catamaran with a drink you won’t regret it. Last but not least the price regarding the quality is out of this world. 5 stars and thank you captain !

Went on 1 3/4 day trip. The load was good, food was great and the fish...SPECTACULAR!

They help you do what you're there to do! Great crew. Really enjoyed the trip. Perfect amount of time spent out to sea with the 24hr/1 day charter. *Thank you guys*

Great fishing trip at a lot of tuna in August

Great boat, great crew. Went on 1.5 day trip with my two sons (15 and 13) and we caught yellowfin tuna, yellowtail and dorado. Captain Rick finds the fish! Whether kelp patties or boils, he always put us on fish and we caught a bunch. Also the included food was terrific -- even had a steak dinner for us after a full day of fishing. Would recommend this boat to anyone thinking about a trip.

This is an AWESOME sailing adventure! Seven of us (2 adults and 5 teens) sailed on the Wind Drum Catamaran with Captain Rod. Booking the sail was very easy and Captain Rod was very informative by giving us all the details we would need and letting us know exactly what to expect. He supplied drinks and snacks, including fresh fruit!! We loved every minute of seeing the sights, getting up close and personal with the seals, and just relaxing on the beautiful water! I highly recommend booking a Catamaran cruise with Captain Rod!