Year Round Whale Watching
on the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
 We have whales and dolphins year-round on the Monterey Bay. Our Whale Watching Cruises are usually about 4 hours long, which gives us plenty of time to see whales, dolphins and so much more in a relaxed and informative manner.
Whales by Season:
Winter: Grays, Dolphins, Orcas
Spring: Grays, Humpbacks, Dolphins, Orcas
Summer: Humpbacks, Blues, Dolphins, Orcas
Fall: Humpbacks, Blues, Dolphins, Orcas
Year Round: The species of dolphins we often see includes: Risso's, Pacific White-Sided, Northern Right Whale, Common, and Bottlenose. We also see Harbor and Dall's Porpoise.
Everyday we will usually see Sea Otters, California Sea Lions, Harbor Seals and Sea Birds (the latter, at times, by the hundreds of thousands).
CLICK HERE to check out some great fact sheets on the whales, dolphins and some of the other animals that we regularly see on our trips!
Our 4-hour long Whale Watching Cruises depart at:
- 9:30 AM - Tuesday-Friday - Year Round.
- 9:00 AM - Saturday, Sunday & Holiday Mondays - Year Round.
- 1:30 PM - Saturday & sunday - January into March - select weekends & holidays.
We also offer 3-hour long Whale Watching Cruises departing at:
- 1:30 PM - Saturday & Sunday - June through November.
The rates for our 4-hour whale watching cruise are:
- $44.00 for adults (13+)
- $40.00 for Seniors (65+)
- $34.00 for kids (3-12)
- Free for Infants (under 3)
The rates for our 3-hour whale watching cruise are:
- $36.00 for adults (13+)
- $32.00 for Seniors (65+)
- $26.00 for kids (3-12)
- Free for Infants (under 3)
To learn more, explore the following links:
Read our Captain's Blog for stories about our cruises; the whales, dolphins and other creatures we see. To view the wild sea life on the Monterey Bay, go to the galleries shown on the right side of this page. With the exception of a couple of researchers' shots, all of these pictures were taken on our boats, either by us or our passengers. |
Sanctuary Cruises is wheelchair accessible.