Monterey & Carmel

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Half-Day Whale Watching Tour From Monterey

Badge of ExcellenceMonterey & Carmel, USA

Monterey 4 hour Whale Watching Experience

3 hours 30 minutes
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Look for whales as they migrate through the waters of the Pacific Ocean off of California on this half-day whale-watching cruise from Monterey. Your naturalist guide shares commentary about the whales and their habitat as you search for gray whales (most common), humpback and blue whales, and other marine life such as dolphins and sea lions during your cruise. Get tips for great photo ops and learn all about the mighty creatures at one of California's most famous whale-watching destinations.

Half-day whale watching tour, from Monterey
Keep an eye out for whales, dolphins, sea lions, and birds during this cruise on the Pacific Ocean
Learn about the whales and California's marine life from the guide
Set out from Monterey Bay, a premiere whale watching destination

What's Included

Live commentary on board
Professional guide

Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
Food and drinks
Souvenir photos (available to purchase)
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

66 Fishermans Wharf, Monterey, CA 93940, USA
Parking Address: 101 Figueroa Street Monterey CA 93940 Find beginning of Fisherman's Wharf with Pink building/Blue Lighthouse (Harbor House). Walk past all the gift shops and turn right when you see a giant clock or the Crab house Restaurant. Will be on the right the BLUE Building.

Start time

09:00 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Not wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Minimum drinking age is 21 years
Service animals allowed

Warm layers are recommended
Sun protection, camera, binoculars, water, and snacks are recommended
Near public transportation
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
If prone to motionsickness, please take precautionary measures and we also sell motion sickness remedies in the shop
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 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

Kelcee_A

All staff were incredibly friendly and knowledgeable about the sea life we saw. (Humpback whales, Rissos dolphins, sea lions, and lots of sea birds). Made us feel welcome on the tour. Would highly recommend during a family vacation to the Monterey Bay. Hope to do again on our next vacation!

Reviews

5.0

867 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 867 reviews

Amazing tour, we had the...

Georgios_P, Apr 2024

Amazing tour, we had the chance to see these beautiful animals. The crew was friendly and very knowledgeable. An experience I’ll never forget.

A must do!!

Sarah_B, Apr 2024

Saw two pods of humpback whales which were stunning. Also a pod of dolphins. Highly recommend this tour, the staff were friendly and knowledgeable

Great tour. Good value for money.

Javier_F, Feb 2024

Great tour. We saw a lot of whales, it was amazing. Staff was friendly and we had a great day. I’d highly recommend this tour.

10 Humobacks

Andrew_E, Nov 2023

We saw about 10 different Humpback whales and lots of sea lions. Had a great time. Crew was great and Andrew was very knowledgeable and informative. Would definitely encourage you to book with this outfit.

Great day of close encounters with wales, a variety of dolphins and marine mammals. Highly recommended!

Deborah_F, Nov 2023

Naturalist Isaiah guided with a wealth of marine knowledge and local information. Very seasoned crew made for a fantastic day on Monterey Bay.

Trip of a lifetime

Charleen_J, Nov 2023

The only thing negative I could say about my experience is that I did not get to see Orca. What a great time we had. Thank you so very much Capt Danny, Amanda and Jeremiah.

Wonderful experience on...

Joanne_C, Nov 2023

Wonderful experience on our whale watching trip. Isaiah was so knowledgeable and friendly. The entire crew was great. Love seeing lots of whales and dolphins.

Awesome

Monica_F, Oct 2023

It was amazing seen at least 9 humpback whales it was a precious experience in tour guide guy captain was amazing he talked us through everything and the person driving the boat did great totally leaving Monteray feeling happy but sad I’m leaving gotta go home

Exceeded Expectations

Mark_L, Oct 2023

Amazing for the kids to see whales in their natural habitat. The crew were fantastic & did their upmost for a great experience. The crew were very respectful to the sea life, keeping a decent distance between the boat and sea life, they crew also collected some rubbish from the sea on our way back with a brief outline of the harm litter is causing to sea life. I found this part interesting for the children to understand the harm being caused.

Best birthday experience

Ashley_B, Oct 2023

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this boating crew when trying to experience the beauty of whale watching. As soon as we hit the water there were sea lions jumping everywhere! Then a little into the trip we spotted orcas! We even got to see Frosty! Of course the humpback were spectacular! They got very close and we got them on a playful day! The captain really knew what he was doing. As we heading back we got caught in a dolphin migration! SUPER COOL! Not to mention the amazing crew. They answered all questions and i learned some cool facts. BEST BIRTHDAY EXPERIENCE! I would do it again!

Perfect trip

Sandija_G, Oct 2023

Fun trip. Lots of sea creatures. Saw a bunch of whales and dolphins. Crew was fantastic. Ride was comfy.

Disappointed

Mildred_L, Oct 2023

The trip was canceled at the last minute by the company. We booked another tour at the same time and surprise! the one we booked was actually out there! Very difficult getting a refund after going through the runaround. I've used viator before but they have become very unreliable.

Highly recommend this operator for sea animal viewing.

Diane_S, Oct 2023

Staff was friendly, flexible, accommodating, and went out of their way to insure we had a fantastic experience. We saw lots of whales, dolphins, otters.... great trip!

Half day whale watching worth it

Arnie_K, Oct 2023

Great crew and Very nice We saw dolphins whales and seals/sea lions as promised Boat was clean and we enjoyed the smaller group size

Highly recommend

Haley_S, Sep 2023

I did the morning tour on 9/27. This was an amazing experience and pictures/videos do not do justice. I would highly recommend this company and I would definitely do it again and recommend to friends to do. Not only was the experience itself worthwhile and breathtaking, but our guides Matt and Kevin were great, extremely personable and knowledgeable. They made a point to get to know everyone on the boat and provided lots of educational information while answering any questions we had. They definitely made us feel comfortable during this trip and the boat ride was even smoother than expected for myself despite not having been on boats many times.

I loved it!

Jaejin_L, Sep 2023

We saw humpback whales several times, and lots of dolphins were playing around very close to the boat. It was amazing and I'd love to do it again! FYI, if you have motion sickness, remember to take the pills before beinging on board.

What a day!

Ali_H, Sep 2023

The crew was great, making sure we were safe and amazing day. We saw plenty of dolphin....they were swimming along the boat! We saw several whale and were close enough to hear them. Fantastic experience!

It was a great...

uugansaikhan_t, Sep 2023

It was a great experience. We watched whales and dolphins. I would definitely recommend to my friends.

So awesome it can’t be topped. The best tour of anything, anywhere, and I’ve been all over the world.

Kimberly_S, Sep 2023

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. My trip was September 15, 2023, 9 am depart. Capt. Danny found at least 8 whales lunge feeding, sea otters , dolphins, and millions of anchovies 😂. We were watching those magnificent creatures for at least an hour and half The whales were so close to the boat, I think one may have rubbed up on it. THIS WAS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME BIRTHDAY GIFT TO MYSELF, a whale watching trip with Capt. Danny, who I’ve been following over a year. Our naturalist, Andrew, and deck mate, Isaiah , were soooo wonderful!!!! I’m going to start saving for another trip. Can’t wait to see any pics you guys post and Capt. Danny’s , because mine weren’t great 😂.

Whale watching

Jim_I, Sep 2023

Fantastic trip. Saw more whales, dolphins than I hoped for. Just great. Crew was great. Smaller boat, easy to.see everything

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