Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching

I recommend Dana Whatf Sportfishing/Whale Watching. Check in with e-tickets is easy. Boats are crew are great. We had perfect weather (Tue 3/8), saw 2 whales. No breach, only flukes, but a couple good pix, friendly folks on board mid-week and 1/2 price Tuesdays--would do it again.

It was a fun experience, kids liked it

TRIP WAS FUN CREW WAS GREAT, SAW NO WHALES, GUESS WE WERE LATE NO DOLPHINS EITHER BUT IT WASN'T A WASTE, THEY GAVE US FREE TICKETS FOR SOME OTHER DATE. THE PREVIOUS TOUR (12PM TO 2PM) REPORTED SEEING 1000'S OF DOLPHINS BUT NO WHALES OUR TOUR (2PM TO 4PM) SAW NO WHALES OR DOLPHINS SO THEY GAVE EVERYONE FOREVER RAIN CHECKS THAT CAN BE USED WHENEVER. THE TRIP WAS STILL WORTHWHILE JUST GETTING OUT ON THE OCEAN AND SEEING THE COASTLINE FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. SEEING NO WHALES WASN'T THE CREWS FAULT, THEY HAD BINOCCULARS AIMED IN ALL DIRECTIONS. WASN'T THE WHALES FAULT EITHER, THEY JUST WERN'T AROUND AT THAT TIME. REMEMBER THE OCEAN IS HUGE, AND COMPARED TO IT THE WHALES AREN'T THAT BIG, NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK KIND OF THING. OVERALL IT WAS A FUN WAY TO SPEND MY BIRTHDAY, BESIDES- THEY HAD A FULL BAR ONBOARD AND WITH THE ROCKING OF THE BOAT NO ONE KNEW WHO HAD TO MUCH TO DRINK AS EVERYONE INCLUDING THE KIDS WERE FAILING THE "WALKING A STRAIGHT LINE TEST" - HILIARIOUS! I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO REDEEMING OUR "SEE NO WHALE OR DOLPHIN GET A FREE TRIP" TICKET. (WHICH IS A MORE THAN A FAIR POLICY CONSIDERING GAS PRICES THESE DAYS AND THE COST TO RUN THAT BOAT - THE (" DANA PRIDE"). ALSO DANA WHARF IS A GREAT PLACE TO SPEND A FEW HOURS ON EITHER END OF THE TRIP. SO I SAY GO FOR IT.

sort of sucks, period. It was my Japanese friend's first sportfishing trip. Only 5 SMALL fish were caught by 50 people. She said "I will never go fishing again" after that. Now you can imagine how awful the trip was. Don't waste your money.

Pod of dolphins was fantastic. Unfortunately no whales which I know cannot be guaranteed. However to bill it as a whale watch leaves the customer a little disappointed when non are viewed. Suggest...maybe 25% refund if no whales. Some offer free ticket to see them on another trip but seeing the dolphins was generally worth the trip and 25% is a nice gesture.

The tour was nice, we saw a HUGE pod of dolphins and were able to spend a lot of time watching them, however, we didn't see any whales. While we were disappointed, it wasn't the captain's fault. The whales are not just sitting in a certain spot waiting for us to come and see them, they are migrating and sometimes there just aren't any around. The captains were so nice and informative. They were very knowledgeable concerning the area and the wildlife in the area. We had a great time with the others on the tour and don't regret our purchase at all. The captain said the dolphin pod had approx 1000 dolphin in it. It was amazing to watch them "play" with us.

even thought we didn't see any whales, we stopped in an enormous pod of dolphins and hung out with them for a while. it was very cool. the captain and crew were very friendly and helpful and the boat was clean. we had our 2 year old and infant and were able to sit when we wanted and roam also.

What a great date it was, my wife and I had a BLAST! We highly recommend Dana Wharf Whale watching! The captain was VERY knowledgeable about the area and the marine life and seems to have extensive experience. I would LOVE to go again, and highly recommend this company and outing to anyone. The boat was very nice, comfortable, lots of room to sit and surprisingly quite a bit of room to move about so you're not stuck in one spot. We saw some elderly people on board with walkers, so it's handicapped friendly compared to some other smaller vessels. Food and drinks on board make things easy as well, but being able to bring our own snacks (per our diet) was a plus as well. I had no idea the CA coast was this thriving with interesting marine life outside of the norm! 100% loved it, will do again!

Never would've consider a whale watching trip, however it was a fun experience. I look forward to going again and maybe next time I'll be lucky enough to see some whales.

I loved seeing the sea lions and common dolphins, it was definitely exciting and fun. The entire party that came with me to celebrate my Birthday all enjoyed those same animal sightings. We were disappointed that we didn't get to see any whales but understand that it is nature and there's no control over that. However, there is control over the rudeness of the ticket takers and ripping people off. Allow me to explain: I purchased 8 tickets and arrived with 7 people. The 8th individual had a likely possibility of not making it on time BUT was still in route to attempt it. When I went to collect my 8 tickets, I was only given 7 because that's how many people were "there." I asked if I could have my 8th ticket and was told "semi-politely" that I couldn't have the 8th ticket if I was going to "re-sell" it. 1st off, I never indicated I was going to "resell" it. 2nd, I paid for the ticket, if I want to invite a total stranger and give my purchased ticket to someone else there, I think that is my right... I chose the other 6 people who were coming with me, why couldn't I pick the 7th, why is it the ticket takers decision all the sudden? 3rd when I was shocked and awed by the refusal of the ticket I asked for it again to at least have as a souvenir(even asked to pick it up after the ride) and was told no. I asked then if it was a wasted ticket and that no one was going to use it and was told yes. BUT when my 8th member arrived (BEFORE THE BOAT LEFT) she was denied because the boat was "full"... so, I got ripped off, my friend drove 1.5 hrs (round trip 3 hrs) for nothing and I didn't even get thank you when exiting the boat. So my recap is this. The sea life and the boat ride were great. The customer service, the deception and the thieving, were not so great. I'd recommend a tour like this again but I don't know that I would recommend this dishonest company.

So funny how some people on our trip actually seemed bummed and "cheated" that we did not see any grey whales on our trip. You've got to be kidding me! They are part of nature. We don't rope them in to make sure they are in the right spot when the boat drives by. What we did see? About 300 dolphins. We were in the middle of a giant pod where we were completely surrounded. I've seen more than a few dolphins in my day, and this was simply amazing. I will never forget our experience. We left at 8am, and it was pretty cold that day, but the boat was great. Not a person was seasick; it drives very steady and smooth. The breakfast burritios and hot chocolate were such a perfect treat for a cold day. What I would recommend is to arrive early so you can line up. When you get on board, quickly grab a seat outside where you can find one. They fill up, and several people stood the whole time. I definitely would not want to stand for 2 hrs., so don't be late! You will have a wonderful day out on the beautiful ocean.

Thank god for the dolphins and sea lions! Not to mention the bloody marys! All in all it was worth getting up for! Haven't given up on seeing a whale up close and personal! Until that day, The discovery channel will have to do!

We went on a morning Whale Watch for my son's birthday party and it was GREAT! All the kids had so much fun! We didn't see any whales, but it didn't matter at all to the kids because we saw LOTS of dolphins and sea lions and they enjoyed just being on the boat! We will definitely be doing this trip again!

I took my daughter on this trip for her fifth birthday with mixed group. Everyone had a great time! The crew was extremely friendly and gave us a ton of information on the whales we saw. The boat was beautiful and really well maintained and clean.

I had a wonderful experience and seen lots of whales.