Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching

with a couple of breakfast burritos and the family on a 2 hour cruise, We did get to see 1 whale, not a good showing whale just saw the spout actually. The dolphins were very playfull and the sea lions did not dissapoint either. Will definately take the family again

I'm trying to get my land legs back as I'm typing this. I managed to score a couple of really cheap advance tickets for Dana Wharf's whale watching tour last month. Two hours of cetacean-stalking 'n gawking on the Dana Pride for $10 a head! It wasn't indicated on their sales webpage, but I'm guessing the generous discount was a daylight-savings special. We started by following the trail of a wayward gray whale going south for about 30-40 minutes. It went up to breathe every once in a while but we were never able to get more than 1/4 mile close to it. I got a "Screw you guys, I wanna get to Mexico ASAP!" vibe from the giant beast. That's OK, I understand. Dana Pride's boat commander guy finally gave up and steered us toward a distant pod of dolphins. The host guy on the lower deck kept reassuring us that we would see "thousands" of dolphins (the company guarantees a sighting ya know, or your next visit's free). I wouldn't say there were thousands, but there were definitely a bunch of dolphins leaping and following us north for the majority of the tour. Quite a sight to behold; I just wished that southern California seawater were clear blue instead of murky green. After that, we made a quick stop at a green buoy convered with photogenic sea lions and returned to the harbor. There was a tip jar for the hosts next to the exit and a discount coupon for a future trip. The last time I had taken this tour was during a field trip back when I was a kid, and I didn't see anything more than a *very* distant whale tail. I'm very glad I got much more out of the tour this time around. Your experience will most likely vary. I'm sure there have been other excursions where whales have come up close to the boats. Don't expect too much and you'll leave satisfied.

We went to see whales, but even in their absence, we had a good time. The captain really tried his best to find some for us to see, but in the end, we were unsuccessful. We did see see lions, and the captain gave us a lot of interesting information about them. We were also on the sunset trip, and it was beautiful seeing the sun approach the ocean. They also gave us free passes to come back because we didn't see any whales, which I thought was a really stand-up practice.

This company gives you a free ticket to take anytime you like which is excellent

This was our first time at Dana Point and we really enjoyed the excursion. We were fortunate enough to see whales and the captain was very nice and informative.

Arrived late and kindly they rebooked us to the next boat even though the ongoing festival (high season) , luckily watched a couple of whales (then mostly we followed them along the coast, are we actually harrassing whales?). Nobody prevented us from seasickness, not very rough but several passengers got sick. Personnel on board was very kind though. I highly recommend it but with a word of caution, not for the faint of heart.

We really enjoyed our whale watching. We saw several whales and the boat got close enough to give us good viewing. I wish the boat had more seating since it was hard to stand with no seats for the full two hours.

Picture this, you see whale spouts 300 feet in front of you, and once in a while you will see a little bit of a whale, no tails, no heads, not like the brochure.....pretty boring time. The protection of the Whale does not allow the ship to get closer, so that's the REAL story

this was a great trip. Everyone on the boat was so nice and informative. Would do this again.

The trip was great the staff was wondedrful. The seas were quite rough that day other than that it was great.

The weather was perfect! We followed 2 gray whales around for quite awhile and were able to get some good photos. The captain was knowledgeable and taught us a few things about the gray whales that we were not aware of. I would absolutely do it again :)

We were out there a hour and a half before we finaly saw a couple of whales. Well worth the wait. Its hit or miss when you go out there, we got luck at the end :-)

Did I just pick a good day for it, or is it always so beautiful on the ocean? Went for the kids, but I loved it myself! My boys were still talking about it when we got home. They really felt as though they'd had an adventure. The 2 hours went quickly as there was so much to look at (that did not include telephone wires, or fast food signs ruining the landscape) Lots of big sky and ocean - as yes we did see some whales. What we saw were mostly tips of their heads as they came up for air and their tails as they dove again. The exhalations from thier blow holes are visible and audible. Really cool fun! We will go again. ALSO .. The Ocean Institute is literally 2 minutes from Dana Point harbor and affords you the opportunity to touch sea cucumbers, sun fish, star fish, and even rays. An amazing variety of sea creatures are on display and much information is presented in regards to whales. There are fun interactive displays and the staff is very knowledgeable. Zerve customer service is super!

My boyfriend took me on the whale watching cruise for my birthday. After over an hour on the water seeing only sea lions, we weren't sure we'd end up seeing any whales, but we really didn't care because we loved being out on the water on such a beautiful day. We were thrilled when the captain told us that another boat had radioed him to say they spotted some whales. We immediately took off for the area and saw two gray whales swimming side by side. It was amazing! Definitely something to do for anyone who has a chance to get to Dana Point. Loved it!

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