Whale Watching near Disneyland, any experience?

[RSandRS]

Hi, We are planning a non park day and very much looking forward to trying out a Whale watching trip in the LA area. There are apparently trips which go from Dana Point and Newport Beach. I believe Newport Beach is closer to Disney (we will be relying on Ubers)? but the Dana Point one gets much better reviews. I just wondered if anyone had any experience of doing this and the logistics? We have whale watched before and no nothing is guaranteed but would still like to go with a good company. Many thanks!

 

[bsjs0708]

I've done whale watching from Newport and Long Beach. Dana point is a haul..Its a beautiful area but too far to go for whale watching

 

[Pluto468]

Aquarium of the Pacific has 2 whale watches daily. They update their page daily with what they've seen. Seems like they almost always see whales and dolphins. The aquarium is about half an hour away, I think. It's in Long Beach. We're going there on a non-park day in May.

 

[RSandRS]

Aquarium of the Pacific has 2 whale watches daily. They update their page daily with what they've seen. Seems like they almost always see whales and dolphins. The aquarium is about half an hour away, I think. It's in Long Beach. We're going there on a non-park day in May.

It looks like access is included to the Aquarium if you buy a whale watching ticket. Definitely an option! Would be interested what you think when you go. We go early June!

 

[mom25kiddos]

Aquarium of the Pacific has 2 whale watches daily. They update their page daily with what they've seen. Seems like they almost always see whales and dolphins. The aquarium is about half an hour away, I think. It's in Long Beach. We're going there on a non-park day in May.

thanks for sharing this-I am going to look at this as an option too!

 

[Pluto468]

My kids love aquariums and this particular one was in a "Baby Genius" video they used to love when they were little. Hopefully the weather will be nice for a whale watch the day we go. I will report back after our trip

 

[RSandRS]

My kids love aquariums and this particular one was in a "Baby Genius" video they used to love when they were little. Hopefully the weather will be nice for a whale watch the day we go. I will report back after our trip

Many thanks! Hope you have an amazing trip!

 

[Epicnemesis]

I’ve been on two whale watching trips and have seen 0 whales. Saw a bunch of dolphins both times through which made it worth it. Both were from Long Beach and both were fun. I would vote Newport due to proximity. Your odds of seeing a whale are basically the same regardless of port so I wouldn’t put much thought into where you leave from.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I've done lots of whale watching. Time of year makes a huge difference in southern California. January is the best month by FAR for whale watching. All the companies "guarantee" that you will see a whale or you can book another trip (which you probably won't want to do if you didn't see any whales). They count absolutely anything that involves whales/dolphins as a sighting. So, if there's just some blowhole activity in the distance, that counts. Dolphins are technically in the whale family and they count as a sighting. There's always lots of dolphins.

Whales are going to do whatever they want to do. You could have an amazing trip or you could be very disappointed with any of the companies. Pick the tour that will offer you the best experience as far as how you will enjoy the boat. Whales and dolphins don't care which boat is there or who the captain is. Choose what is best for your personal comfort level.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

It looks like access is included to the Aquarium if you buy a whale watching ticket. Definitely an option! Would be interested what you think when you go. We go early June!

I would go with this option if I were you. You likely will not see any whales in June, just dolphins. Migration season is in the winter, so that time of year is your best chance to see whales. If you don’t see anything, you’ll at least get to spend time at the aquarium afterwards. Aquarium of the Pacific is awesome!