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Monterey Bay Whale Watching: Marine Wildlife Tour
4.8
231 Ratings
Monterey
Embark on a thrilling 3-hour whale-watching tour in Monterey Bay. Learn from marine biologists and naturalists about whales, dolphins, and other marine wildlife while enjoying the stunning natural beauty of the area.
Embark on a thrilling 3-hour whale-watching tour in Monterey Bay. Learn from marine biologists and naturalists about whales, dolphins, and other marine wildlife while enjoying the stunning natural beauty of the area.
Duration:
3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- 66 Fishermans Wharf - Meet at Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey to begin your whale watching experience at 10am. Monterey Bay is considered to be a premier destination for whale watching year round as these animals are often spotted there. Your whale watching trip will be narrated by a marine biologist or naturalist, who will provide you educational…
- 66 Fishermans Wharf - Meet at Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey to begin your whale watching experience at 10am. Monterey Bay is considered to be a premier destination for whale watching year round as these animals are often spotted there. Your whale watching trip will be narrated by a marine biologist or naturalist, who will provide you educational and interesting information about marine wildlife.
In addition to teaching you about the wildlife, your marine biologists and naturalists will provide information about the natural history of the local area and talk about conservation. While out on the ocean, your marine biologists and naturalists will also be collecting sighting data for scientific research. During your trip, the crew will show you how to spot whales and dolphins as well as give you advice on how to best capture photos and videos of the wildlife. You will return back to the original departure point between 12:30pm and 1pm.
What's Included
- Experienced driver/guide
- Engaging live commentary
- Complimentary tea and coffee
- Experienced driver/guide
- Engaging live commentary
- Complimentary tea and coffee
What's Not Included
- Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
- Food and drinks
- Souvenir photos (available to purchase)
- Transportation to/from attractions
- Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
- Food and drinks
- Souvenir photos (available to purchase)
- Transportation to/from attractions
Additional Information
Monterey Bay stands as the top location for year-round whale observing. Enjoy a daily 3-hour journey, accompanied by a commentary from a marine biologist or naturalist offering insightful and informative details about whales, dolphins, and numerous marine creatures. Alongside guiding you about the wildlife, your onboard specialists will discuss the…
Monterey Bay stands as the top location for year-round whale observing. Enjoy a daily 3-hour journey, accompanied by a commentary from a marine biologist or naturalist offering insightful and informative details about whales, dolphins, and numerous marine creatures. Alongside guiding you about the wildlife, your onboard specialists will discuss the local area’s natural past and the importance of conservation.
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Minimum drinking age is 21 years
- Minimum numbers apply. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there are not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund.
- Subject to favorable weather conditions. If canceled due to poor weather, you will be given the option of an alternative date or full refund.
Location
66 Fishermans Wharf
Fishermans Wharf
Parking Address:
101 Washington 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.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(231 Ratings)
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Christians874
Feb 3, 2025
great whale watching with an amazing crew - Being a whale nerd, I joined Discovery Whale Watch on a couple of trips last week……and I was simply amazed, both by the wildlife and the crew!! I have been whale watching in many places and many different countries, but these guys are simply awesome: starting with the team in the ticket office, who were providing an excellent service and made me feel very welcome from the very beginning (a massive shoutout to Amanda, of course 😊), and after a little safety briefing on the pier, I found myself on board. The crews were simply amazing: you could feel that the captains (Danny and J-J) are definitely experienced whale watching captains that made sure that everyone on board felt comfortable (despite a little swell on one of the trips), and they were also taking great care around the whales. We got great looks at gray whales, big groups of pacific white-sided dolphins, northern right whale dolphins, Risso’s dolphins and also a small pod of common dolphins,……not to mention all the sea lions, sea otters and various species of seabirds. The naturalists on board (Ryan and Isaiah) were really knowledgeable and great fun to listen to, and deckhand Kenny took great care of everyone – I simply had a really great time with all of them! All in all, definitely a great whale watching experience and a must do whenever you are in Monterey!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Airshowsafety
Jan 19, 2025
A great trip - This was a great trip with friendly helpful crew and a great guide. Vessel was comfortable and felt safe. Saw 3 whales and lots of great information given over the PA system. A thoroughly enjoyable experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Danabr2437gy
Jan 12, 2025
Fun and fantastic tour. - We had a fantastic winter tour with Discovery. We went out on the smaller boat with the crew and had a great day on the water. Everyone was friendly, clear with instructions, friendly and fun…it was clear they enjoy what they do. Our naturalist had all kinds of information to share and she was great at keeping us all entertained and giving us new knowledge. We were incredibly lucky to see a large pod of Risso’s Dolphins and several Humpback whales that knew their assignment and were thoroughly majestic. Cute otters, loads of birds and a feisty sea lion rounded out our trip. It was a great adventure and we appreciate the crew for giving us a wonderful experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alison
Jan 1, 2025
What a way to end the year - Fantastic trip.
Well organised, awesome captain Andrew navigating us through the ocean, Isaiah and Sophie were there to provide us with useful information regarding what we saw and what lies beneath the ocean in Monterey, they answered all of our many questions.
Cannot explain how well organised the trip was and the icing on the cake....... we saw two types of dolphins and two hump back whales breach more than once.
An experience I will never forget.
Thank you!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Climber556477
Dec 20, 2024
Whale watching - The staff were very friendly, good safety instructions. Well organised - great day out.
Issac was helpful and knowledgeable
Review provided by Tripadvisor
946timw
Nov 3, 2024
Brilliant , do not hesitate - Brilliant!
It is a smallish boat which made it more personal and enjoyable
The guide Ryan and the skipper really wanted us to see the Whales and we did, big time!!
We got up close to three Humpbacks at play, and were lucky enough to see them diving out of the water. Wow.
We saw other Humpbacks feeding, a pod of Rizzo dolphins and even a black albatross.
We got a full three hours and a lifetimes memory
Timmy’s top tip, take a seasick tablet one hour before boarding and one just as you get on boat, and that worked a treat. I am normally awful on the water but this time no bother.
Safety was well handled as well
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nicci031074
Sep 22, 2024
Trip of a lifetime! - Hubby and I planned a trip to tour the west coast in honor of me turning 50 this year and one stop we planned was the Monterey Bay Area. I have always wanted to a whale watching tour. After reading reviews and watching lots of videos on the Discovery Whale Watching Facebook page I decided to book our tour. We were lucky enough to be booked on the Kahuna with Captain Rod, naturalist Andrew and deckhand Jesse for the 9 am trip. Although it was a somewhat foggy morning the whales showed up and showed off! Andrew and his wealth of sea life knowledge helped us to understand how amazing these incredible creatures are and how important each animal impacts each other. Captain Rod was awesome in navigating us through the fog and helping to find and stick with the whales as best he could. And Jesse was great at helping those that needed some assistance while on the boat. And all three of them performed somewhat of a miracle. My yeti rambler travel mug managed to work its way out of the side of my backpack and fell into the water. I was so upset about it falling in (because I didn’t want to harm any of the sea life) and thought it was lost forever! But lo and behold those three guys saw it fall in and found it about 10-15 minutes later still afloat and Jesse scooped it out of the water!! Talk about skills! Thank you guys for a great once in a life time experience! I would recommend this company and this crew for a truly awesome experience!
Nicole and Adam
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Vabt
Aug 26, 2024
Whale Watching absolutely with Discovery Whale Watch, Monterey - Our whale watching tour in Monterey Bay at Discovery Whale Watch was great! Super organized and in a correspondingly good boat we were 3 hours on the whale watching tour. Our guide Isaiah made the trip a very special experience. He conveyed extremely well the fascination that has driven him himself for many years. Thanks for the extraordinary experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Roy
Aug 9, 2024
Amazing experience! - We had a very cool experience! Apart from that, we were accompanied by a very enthusiastic Sophia who explained very well what we saw. The boat is not very big which we liked because the group is not so big.
We were lucky with the weather and saw a lot of whales. They had his in. For 3 hours they entertained us. Beautiful pictures also taken by Sophia that she shared with us.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Charlesdk8388ne
Dec 17, 2024
Saw whales. - Liked the tour. The deck crew was friendly and informative.
Booking on line through Trip Advisor was somewhat confusing.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
