San Diego Whale Watching: Gray Whale Migration

Annually, an estimated 20,000 gray whales make a remarkable migration from Bering Sea to the Baja California lagoons and vice versa. Join us off the coast of San Diego to experience this incredible voyage during an educational whale watching tour.

Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • 990 N Harbor Dr - Enjoy breathtaking view of the beautiful San Diego Bay before departing out into the ocean where you will have the chance to see whales, turtles, dolphins and so much more!
    Please not the bathrooms are not accessible for wheelchairs.
    Flagship’s whale watching cruises are educational and fun for the whole family. The incredible…
What's Included
  • Indoor and outdoor seating options
What's Not Included
  • We suggest dressing in layers. The temperature and winds can be unpredictable even if it’s sunny out.
  • warm clothing
  • medication - If you may be prone to seasickness, plan ahead. Medication only works when taken BEFORE boarding the vessel. Wristbands for motion sickness also can be effective. Either can be purchased at any drug store.
  • Snacks
  • Food and Drinks
Additional Information
  • Chances of spotting a whale are exactly the same, whether you choose the morning or afternoon departure. Whales don’t wear watches.
  • Same goes for the days of the week. Each day has an equal chance of sightings. Whales do not have calendars.
  • In the unlikely event that your departure is cancelled due to poor weather conditions, we do our best to…
Location
990 N Harbor Dr
North Harbor Drive
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.4
(614 Ratings)
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Anna_p
Mar 20, 2025
Best experience ever - Very good experience. Best $50 I’ve ever spent. We got to see a lot of dolphin, sea lions, and we followed around a humpback whale. Very unique experience and I had a blast.
Review provided by Viator
Diana_e
Mar 20, 2025
Excellent Day on the water. We were very fortunate that we saw a grey humpback whale who showed herself to us about 8x - You may or may not see sea life. We hit the jackpot and saw a humpback whale, dolphins, sea lions & seals.
Review provided by Viator
Natalie
Mar 19, 2025
100% worth the trip - Such a great experience. I want to say that we did not see a wh6glae - it's nature,6 so not guaranteed! But, because we didn't see one, they gave us a voucher for another trip, which I was really pleasantly surprised by! And we saw great wildlife - sea lions, and Best, a stampede of dolphins! It was the best encounter I have had. Plus, they provided great narration of the different ships and sites of the bay. I've already recommended this service to lots of personal acquaintances.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Zacc556
Mar 19, 2025
Great experience! - Amazing experience! My wife, my daughter and I were very nervous at first, the crew did a great job and was very accommodating. I would 10/10 recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lashaya_k
Mar 18, 2025
Would recommend! - We had a great time! Saw 1 whale, lots of seals, dolphins and birds. Boarding the boat we saw fish, oysters, and lobsters which was cool. The ride is a little windy uptop so i had my blanket/towel wrapped around me and was all good. Tip your tour guide at the end, he is super awesome! Recommend 100%.
Review provided by Viator
Kelley
Mar 16, 2025
Great Adventure suitable for everyone. - Wonderful experience. There were 5 of us, my mother is in a wheelchair and it was very wheelchair accessible. We had to board from different ramp but it was very easy. (Be sure to have ‘mom’ stay in wheelchair during the entire trip. The waves are strong and rock the boat) She stayed on the lower deck which was warmer and perfect views. The captain gave us great info over the speaker during the entire 3 hr journey. We had to go farther out than normal due to the season. We were about to give up hope when we came upon FOUR whales together. They came even closer to the boat and even got some tail shots a few times. It was amazing. They sell drinks (alcohol &non) and snacks, hot dogs, popcorn etc) along with seasickness meds on the lower deck. The captain recommends over and over to take the sea sickness if you believe you may need it. Some people didn’t and they needed to. Felt sorry for them but we were all fine. Highly recommend! Great way to spend the afternoon and price was very reasonable! Thanks to the crew also, they were all great!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jen_b
Mar 16, 2025
Family friendly - We had great weather, but too rough of waves, so we had to turn around before seeing the whales. However, Lila was a wonderful narrator about the marine life and landmarks around us! My family still had a wonderful expecting out on the water and really enjoyed the waves! Taking Dramamine before starting must have really helped!
Review provided by Viator
F9571mimaryh
Mar 19, 2025
Bad experience - We were disappointed with the tour, the people on the ship were very rude to the point that we could not see the whales that everyone was excited to see as well as the dolphins. I will not recommend this tour do to the uncontrollable crowd. So sad :(
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maria_i
Mar 18, 2025
We planned in advance and... - We planned in advance and traveled from far. Due to heavier that reported traffic we called that we would be less than 5 minutes late but they would not wait for us so we missed the boat We found another whale watching leaving a bit later which was SO ACCOMMODATING, incredibly clean, fun and pleasant that we are happy we missed this one. The other one even called us 10 minutes before departure to see if we were running late and offered to wait. We were actually waling onto the pier and not late but the fact that they reached out to us was outstanding service!
Review provided by Viator
Carter_h
Mar 15, 2025
Only 1.5 hours long - 45 minutes into a 3.5 hour whale watching trip a woman had an “allergic reaction” and we returned to the dock. With 2 hours left on the clock they decided to give everyone vouchers to come back. Great! I’ll hold on to this slip of paper for several years in the event that I am back in San Diego with a free morning.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
March 2025
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