San Diego Sportfishing Boats
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Whale Watching in San Diego
California Gray Whales make their annual trip from the Bering Sea to Baja California in the winter. San Diego is strategically located along the migration route of the magnificent California Gray Whale. Not surprisingly, San Diego has whale-watching tour operators that know just where to spot the migrating Gray Whales. Starting in late December, about 26,000 gray whales make the heroic journey from the cold and volatile waters of Arctic Sea to the warm and gentle waters of Baja California. How heroic? It is a 10,000-mile round-trip journey.
View from Cabrillo Monument
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Thousands of San Diegans and visitors, both young and old, board chartered boats to greet the Gray Whales as they make their trek south to the protected lagoons of Baja California. California Gray Whales are pretty easy to spot because of their size - a length of 52 feet! These gentle giants get their name because of their gray color and the gray-white patterns left by parasites. If you have never seen a California Gray Whale, strongly consider taking a half-day whale-watching trip - it is an amazing experience. Most of the tour companies also offer a "whale-sighting guarantee" so if the whales aren't found, the next trip is free.
San Diego Pelican
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All the tours and charters have trained observers who teach everyone on board where and how to look for signs of whales. Two tours feature naturalists from the San Diego Natural History Museum and the Birch Aquarium that provide additional educational information about whales and marine life.
Our Whale-Watching Tips:
- Dress warmly. It gets cold on the water and it is gets VERY windy out in the Pacific Ocean.
- Don't leave the binoculars behind and, while you are at it, don't forget your camera.
- Don't miss the boat! Once the boat leaves the dock, that's it. You cannot catch up to a boat that has already left. Plan ahead.
Birch Aquarium/Scripps Institution of Oceanography/UC San Diego and San Diego Harbor Excursion - San Diego's own Birch Aquarium at the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of San Diego, California has collaborated with San Diego Harbor Excursions to offer daily local whale-watching cruises featuring Scripps naturalists.
San Diego Harbor Excursion
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These educational tours are offered daily from December 26, 2009 to April 4, 2010. The first tour is scheduled from 9:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. and the second tour is scheduled from 1:30 pm to 5:00 p.m. Please note that boarding is done 30 minutes prior to departure. The tours last for three-and-a-half hours, which allow the skipper to search the Pacific Ocean west of San Diego Bay for the Gray Whales. While you are out on the boats scanning the horizon for whale spouts, be sure to enjoy the incredible ocean and harbor views. While you are moving through the harbor, do not miss seeing the adorable sea lions take naps on the harbor buoys. Be sure to keep an eye out for dolphins and sea birds as well.
California Gray Whale
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The great thing about this tour is that knowledgeable naturalists share information about the whales, as well as ecological and historical information about San Diego Bay and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. This is not just a whale-watching cruise, this is also a seminar on whales and ocean life. New this year: Scripps Institution of Oceanography will utilize their special research equipment to detect and listen to whale and dolphin sounds in real time. Rates & Reservation Information Adults: $30 weekdays and $35 weekends
Youth (4-12 with paid adult): $15 daily Please note that reservations are strongly recommended if you don't want to miss the boat. Please call San Diego Harbor Excursions at (619) 234-4111.
San Diego Hornblower and San Diego Natural History Museum - Like the Birch Aquarium, the San Diego Natural History Museum provides an education on whales and marine life as you sail the ocean blue. The Natural History Museum has partnered with San Diego Hornblower to provide three-and-a- half-hour education whale-watching cruises that allow passengers plenty of time to get out into the ocean to see the Gray Whales, sea lions, dolphins, and marine birds. Tours are offered daily starting December 12, 2009 and going until early April, 2010. The first departure boards at 9:15 a.m. and cruises from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The second departure boards at 1:15 p.m. and cruises from 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please note that boarding takes place 15 minutes prior to departure. Rates & Reservation Information Weekday Day Rates (Monday-Friday)
Adults - $32
Seniors/Military (62+) - $27
Children (4-12) - $16 Weekend Rates (Saturday - Sunday)
Adults - $37
Seniors/Military (62+) - $32
Children (4-12) - $19 Reservations can be made online with Hornblower. Please note that Hornblower is unable to take online reservations within 5 hours of a scheduled cruise. If you would like to make reservations for a cruise and it is within the 5 hour limit, please make your reservations by calling: 1-888-HORNBLOWER.
California Gray Whale
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H&M Landing Whale-Watching - One of San Diego sports fishing's leaders, H&M Landing, provides daily offshore cruises to view the California Gray Whales. Like the aforementioned tour operators, H&M provides informative narration on whales, their migration and the other marine life and sights as passengers cruise. This is one of those great tour companies that guarantees whale sightings. If, for any reason, whales are not sighted during your cruise, H&M will issue you a pass to come out again. H&M has two trip options available: daily 3-hour cruises and 5-hour cruises. The 5-hour cruise includes a trip into Mexican waters for a thorough viewing of the Coronado Islands. Rates & Reservation Information 3-Hour Tours Daily departures at 10:00 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. Adults - $25
Juniors (13-17) - $20
Children (2-12) - $17.50 Group rates available Monday - Friday upon request. 5-Hour Tours Departures at 10:00 a.m. Please consult their schedule to see available dates. Adults - $50
Juniors (13-17) - $40
Children (2-12) - $40 Group rates available upon request. Reservations can be made at (619) 222-1144. Visitors and residents can take a peek at this annual migration aboard other regularly scheduled excursions from San Diego Bay. For other tour operators and related whale-watching special events, please go to the Port of San Diego's special Big Bay Whale Days website.
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