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Snorkeling Adventure in La Jolla

Badge of ExcellenceLa Jolla, USA

1 hour 15 minutes
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Join our seasoned guides with a passion for the ocean for a snorkeling session to see the world underneath the waves. We offer high-quality dive gear and wetsuits to keep you comfortable in the cool ocean temperatures. Leopard sharks, sea turtles, Garibaldi, and sea lions are just some of the sea life you might witness. We’ll tour the famous La Jolla shoreline and make our way to the famous Emerald Cave. (Participants must know how to swim.)

High-quality dive gear and wetsuit
Led by an ocean-loving local guide
See plenty of native marine life
Swim to La Jolla’s famous Emerald Cave

What's Included

Use of Snorkeling equipment

Wetsuit Rental Available at our shop

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

8008 Girard Ave suite 190, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
We'll meet at our shop - the La Jolla Cove MARKET. It's a small shop a quick walk up from where we'll jump into the ocean! We'll suit up there! There's a big sign that says MARKET. Here's the address: 8008 Girard Ave, Suite 190 La Jolla CA.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Not recommended for pregnant travelers

No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Melissa_B

I took my 12 year old son and 17 year old daughter on this snorkeling tour. Both said this tour was their favorite thing they did while we were in San Diego (and we did a ton of things)!! Griffon, our tour guide, was super nice, and made everyone feel comfortable. I would definitely recommend paying extra to rent the wetsuits. They help you stay warmer, and help with buoyancy.

Reviews

4.5

109 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 109 reviews

Must-do in San Diego!

Jackelyn_B, Aug 2023

Amazing experience with our instructor Jane—breathtaking and memorable day trip; highly recommend 11/10.

Nice and safe

sandeepkumar_k, Aug 2023

Excellent snorkeling experience guides were really good calm and patient without rushing people. The spot is really safe the sea lions and shark will not kill you but Griffons dad jokes might kill you :)

Great!

Tim_S, Jul 2023

Great trip, both tour guides were awesome, enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone. Thanks again

Fun adventure

Kristina_P, Jul 2023

Seeing underwater fish and having a guide who explained things well. The cave was interesting but a bit crowded with kayaks and scuba divers.

it was really fun! we...

Adisen_L, Jul 2023

it was really fun! we swam for what felt longer then 1 hr and 15 mins and seeing all the wild life was super cool, i would do it again with my sister!

Easier Than You Think, Incredible Wildlife, Superb Guide

Lucas_F, Jul 2023

My wife and I had an incredible time snorkeling in the cove. Cassidy was our guide and she was very informative and let us enjoy what we wanted to enjoy as long as we were being respectful of the wildlife. Plus, she's funny. My wife was very nervous about the experience before getting into it. She is able to swim somewhat, but she is not a strong swimmer and tires quickly. She rented a wetsuit, which helps with warmth AND flotation. It's HARD not to float in one of those things. Plus the fins are like little jet engines strapped to your feet. Once she got in the water and felt how effective the fins and wetsuit were, her anxiety evaporated into bliss. A day later, she's still talking about how she never thought she would ever be able to swim for that long and not feel tired at all. The wildlife is AMAZING! I grabbed a horn shark by the tail, saw a lot of pretty orange fish, senorita fish, sheep's head fish, and tons of sea lions. They swam right under us and came to check us out. They make you feel oddly comfortable and safe. 10/10 would recommend this to anyone who can swim even a little bit, and Cassidy will make the experience even better.

Very beautiful day in the...

Natalie_V, Sep 2022

Very beautiful day in the water. Saw lots of wildlife and even went into a cave. Sean was great and very informative. A couple of the jokes even made me laugh😂

Sea lions and caves, and fish, oh my!

Lisa_M, Sep 2022

Swimming near sea lions was awesome! Great location. Guide was informative and interesting. Wet suit was a must to assist with buoyancy. Not a far swim out to caves but may not be best activity for a smoker. There are a couple spots to climb out if you decide to pail.

Beautiful adventure, poorly run

Carey_G, Aug 2022

I booked several weeks in advance I was texted at 9:30pm the night before to see if I would be willing to change to the 12:00. I was flying in and replied at 5am when I got the message that it would be very hard to juggle my schedule as I am here for work. Since it was an ask to switch and not- you have been switched-I went to the shop in the morning. At 9:15 the shop opened and I said, I’m here for snorkeling. A series of the shop staff calling for over 30 minutes one of the guides called me and said, if you want to go with a guide the only option is 12. I was told I would be compensated for the extra Uber charges, however my credit card was charged full price. While the snorkeling was incredible there was no discussion regarding abilities, 4 in the group swam back early due to feeling over whelmed- a young boy and his mom were paddled back by life guards. The 4 of us that wanted to stay and explore needed to swim back for safety/ comfort of others. Guides were kind and knowledgeable about wildlife they were very good at keeping the group away from rocks however not asking about swimming abilities was at best negligence. Poor communication

Response from Host, Sep 2022

Hi Carey, We are a bit confused about this review. We want to acknowledge the last-minute change as your guide came down sick and when we asked to change over to another Tour, you ensured us that you wanted to make it work regardless of the various options we provided. In addition, we comped half of your snorkeling ticket to further apologize. However all refunds, regardless of the business take 5-7 business days to process refunds so you will be seeing it if you haven’t already. As for the tour itself, we cannot control the waves or swim test everyone that joins us so we apologize for the unknown variations of any tour Either way we are elated about the other 70+ 5 star reviews that speak our best in class experience we take pride in serving! We hope you can understand all the aspects that our small business has to juggle and would love to host you again if you are town.

Must Try!!

Lucky_N, Aug 2022

Giff and Jake were the best! They were fun, professional, and made the experience worthwhile. I would highly recommend if you or someone in your group has never been snorkeling. Overall, a great experience. One note… don’t expect to see a ton of fish. The sea life in San Diego is kinda boring compared to other places. Definitely worth !!

Amazing

Tonya_L, Aug 2022

We had a outstanding time with my family and friends. The tour was very exciting and the fellas were very helpful and friendly

My Kids Favorite Thing We Did in San Diego!!!

Melissa_B, Aug 2022

So fun and beautiful!

Kari_J, Aug 2022

This excursion exceeded our expectations! My daughter and I did this for my birthday and we both had a blast. Our guide Sean was awesome. I would definitely recommend this if you are in La Jolla!

Just trying it for the...

Ryan_J, Aug 2022

Just trying it for the first time was a amazing experience. For sure going again maybe bring some friends.

Book it!! What a fun experience!!

Suzanne_M, Aug 2022

We had a blast yesterday on the 9:30 snorkeling/cave adventure with Grif & Jake! Went with my 20 yo @ 16 yo daughters. One did the whole trip, including the sea cave part (which was awesome!) and the other opted to just snorkel along. The guys were great identifying the vast ! varying degrees of all of our experience/confidences, etc. From a midwestern mom’s POV- that was so much appreciated! If you’re considering booking it- push the “buy” button now! You won’t regret it. We arrived @ 8:55, got a prime free parking spot just across from the store/shop. We stayed parked there the majority of the day, not realizing how much of a benefit that would be. We rented wet suits and Ian happy we did. Not having tons of experience in the ocean., having the suit on made us all feel less antsy and uncertain. We got to swim near sea lions, see the beautiful kelp & fish 🐠. Great experience for novice novice snorkelers!

Need a partial refund

Charles_J, Aug 2022

I was told by the sales person that if my daughter, age 9, was a good swimmer she could make it to the cave. After getting there the instructor, who was very nice and professional, was honest that it takes about an hour to get there and there will be no where to stand up and there is no flotation device. The waves were very strong to the point that even one adult in the group started crying and could not continue after just trying to get out of the cove area alone. I would like my money back and only be charged for the equipment rentals.

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Hi! We can’t control the ocean, wish we could. We’re always happy to issue refunds if people are unsatisfied; why wouldn’t you just reach out and ask instead of leaving a review?

Well worth it! Had a lot of fun.

Christine_G, Jul 2022

Griff was our guide, he was funny and full of great information. It was just my daughters and myself snorkeling so it was like having private tour of the cove. We saw a lot of fish and even a horn shark! Highly recommend this snorkeling tour.

Great guide and easy everything else!

Ashlee_D, Jul 2022

Jacob was a wonderful guide. He was personable, fun and had a lot of information about the local wildlife, area and even restaurant recommendations. The conditions were decent but with the low level of visibility we weren't able to see much. It definitely was a cool swim though and with Jacob guiding us it made the swim more comfortable for us. My husband isn't a great swimmer and I get nervous in water I can't see clearly in, but Jacob was able to keep track of us, help me calm down and give us a great time to remember in La Jolla!

Amazing!

Melany_M, Jul 2022

Brilliant! I was very lucky that I was the only one who participated in the snorkeling trip at that time. I went with Griffon and it was a lot of fun. He explained and showed me a lot. I know how to snorkel but not professionally. However, Griffon always made sure it was safe. It was a wonderful experience! Absolutely recommendable! Thank you and happy to do it again sometime.

It was okay.

AJ_B, Sep 2021

This is for people who are familiar with snorkeling and have experience in it. There aren't any signs that tell you this. If you're inexperienced, not worth it. Finding the place was a bit difficult too. Had to ask where it was. Be prepared to walk to the beach and back. It is about a 5 minute walk. We did enjoy it the best that we could.