Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching

Dana Wharf does an excellent job of getting the kids involved on these 12-day trips, especially the 12:45 Sunday trips. If you want more room and less kids, try the morning or twilight trips, or the 3/4 day trips. Tip: Use a 3 to 4 oz. torpedo weight and dropper-loop setup on these trips and you won't get tangled up as much...

I understand that whale sightings can't be guaranteed, but I knew it was going to be a slow day when they pulled up to the buoy to look at the sea lions. I get to see that on my kayak.... We did see a large group of dolphins, which was cool, but not quite what we were hoping for. My wife and kids enjoyed the trip which was the main thing. Like the website says: "Remember that sightings are guaranteed! If you don't see A GOOD SHOWING of whales or dolphin, you will get your ticket back and are invited to come out again with us! These "whale checks" never expire." Well, we did see a good showing of dolphins, but no whales...

The Sunday afternoon (12:45) boats are geared towards kids, especially with the "kids free" option. The crew definitely makes every effort to make sure the kids are having fun. I have been on several of these trips this year on the "Sum Fun" boat, and this crew works very hard. If you want a trip that's going to be very kid-friendly and fun for your kids, this is it. There are plenty of other trips for those who want something a little more quiet...

The crew was very friendly and extremely helpful. It was nice half day trip.

It was a great day at sea! We went on the 5pm trip and saw dolphins and sea lions. We didn't see any blue whales, but the trip was still awesome because it is well worth just the boat ride alone. You can move around the boat at your leisure (we were on the Sum Fun and it was not crowded) and if you stand at the bow you can get splashed with water. I would go back for a gray whale expedition in the winter. I would highly recommend this trip for vacationers and locals alike. We could see Saddleback Mountain. The only area for improvement might be for the Captain and Skipper to give more information on points of interest along the shoreline as the boat heads back to shore.

this is a great trip for kids although NOT great for catching good fish to eat. The smaller kids under 6 really need to bring their own poles if they are going to catch anything... The first time we went our 4 year old loved being the bait girl. The second time we were on a different boat and she could not REACH the bait therefore she got bored. The rental poles are way too big for her. The bait was also way too big for the bottom feeding fish which are always the ones we like to eat... It is a bit pricey for a family of five even on Sunday when kids are free it cost us close to $200 for the half day trip for everything and we did not even get any fish to take home and cook.... We would like to try a different time of day maybe twlight is better, but then it will cost us even more. The crew was great and very helpful.... We will be going again sometime in the future...

Combination of family from in state and Colorado, tour left on time and we were in the fishing boat. Partly due to the skill of the captain and partly due to the boat running on only one engine we were running slow and quiet enough to catch up with hundreds of dolphins and 6 grey whales. Skipper said it was the most amazing turnout he had ever seen. Everyone in our party agrees.

Found Whales right out of the Harbor. We tired of Whales and spent most of the day cruising through a hugh pod of Dolphin. At least 250 in this pod. The Dolphin put on a great show. We next sited 3 whales in a group on our way back to port. What a memorable experience.

Our Blue Whale Watching experience was a great value and thoroughly enjoyable. The crew were very knowledgeable regarding the whale. I have alot of experience with nature, the ocean and a variety of sea life but learned new tid bits which is always exciting.

Wonderful time on the dolphin cruise. Obviously the captain knew where to go to locate whales and dolphins. We sighted many and and it was a thrill. Very professional, on time, and a lovely boat. Thanks.

The success of our trip was primarily due to the fact that the weather was perfect and pod of orcas showed up. Since orca sightings are rare this far south, even the captain was excited. Still, I would recommend this trip as long as one realizes not every trip gets to see whales.

We had so much fun! The boat staff was so friendly and helpful. And we went straight to where the whales were that morning. The kids loved the whole trip! Thank you for a great day on the ocean!

What a great day fishing! My 10 year old LOVED it and had a great catch. Looking forward to our next trip!

We had a great time fishing together as a family. The crew was very friendly and helpful. Always available to take fish off our lines and answer questions. We didn't catch a ton, but were able to a have one meal of various fish. It was a beautiful day and we saw lots of other wild life such as dolphin swimming right along side the boat! It was awesome! We will definitely do this again next time we're visiting.

We found whales within 15 minutes or so. The boat stayed with them for the entire trip with narration from the captain. The food was good. I would reccomend this service to friends and family & I found being able to scedule online great.