Newport Beach: Private Whale & Dolphin Watching Tour

4.99

(165 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll be honest, I was a little nervous stepping onto that 26-foot boat in Newport Beach — I’m not exactly a sea person. But there was something about the way Captain Dave (he’s been doing this for over two decades, apparently) welcomed us, cracking a joke about sunscreen and “California noses,” that loosened me up right away. The harbor was still waking up, pelicans gliding low over the water, and you could smell salt and engine oil mixed with someone’s coffee from the dock. It felt like we were sneaking out before the world got busy.

Once we picked up speed past the breakwater, I realized how different this is from those big whale watching boats. There were only four of us, so everyone could actually talk to Dave — he pointed out a pod of dolphins before I even spotted them. They came so close I swear one looked me right in the eye (or maybe I imagined that). The wind whipped my hair everywhere and my cheeks stung a bit from smiling so much. Dave told us about gray whales migrating this time of year — he knows all their habits, even which ones are “show-offs.”

Afterwards, back on land with sea legs wobbling, we wandered over to Balboa Island Berries for chocolate-dipped strawberries. That first bite after all that salty air… honestly, it just hit different. There’s something about eating something sweet when your hands are still cold from holding onto the railings. We sat on a bench and watched people walking dogs in flip-flops — classic California scene. I didn’t expect to feel so calm after all that excitement out there.