Check off your “Bucket List”: Whale Watching

Travel surveys reveal that Whale Watching is consistently listed in the Top Ten Travel Bucket List. People arrive from all over the world for this uniquely West Coast phenomenon that can only be experienced a few months of the year—late winter through spring. Choose from a long list of whale watching experiences—from guaranteed whale sightings to journeying to the whales birthing destination in Baja. No matter what experience you choose, the whale watching phenomenon is akin to having a living, breathing, moving Yosemite off the west coast, according to Captain Dave Anderson in Dana Point Harbor. It is definitely an experience you will long remember when the calm of the Pacific is suddenly replaced by a liquid explosion created by gigantic popping tails in tandem, signaling that you have found yourself in the midst of the gray whales’ wintering adventure.

About 28,000 gray whales follow a 10,000-mile migration path from Alaska to Baja, Mexico and back again each year along our dazzling coastline, beginning now through late spring. The journey to their birthing grounds is an amazing sight to see, and, hopefully, this year may very well follow last year’s record sightings.

Quiet enough to hear them breathe

You won’t forget a whale watching adventure, sailboat style. Sail San Diego, based in picturesque Shelter Bay, is a three-hour trip reserved for just two to six lucky whaling adventurers on each trip. Guests choose from a morning or afternoon sail on a comfortable 40-foot Catalina with plenty of room to stretch out and secure up-close views of the whales. Sail San Diego furnishes blankets, extra jackets, hats, windbreakers, sunscreen, sunglasses and binoculars. The hospitality extends to complimentary drinks and snacks, as well as knowledgeable and fun hosts. There is nothing but praise for this whale-watching choice, but probably the most convincing reason to choose this tour is the lack of both crowds and noise. Because the sailboat is so very quiet, you can often hear the whales breathing as they approach. The gray whales are known to avoid the large, motor-driven vessels and head straight into the sailboat’s path. In a hurry? This season, Sail San Diego is offering a speed boat version!

Hike Bike Kayak San Diego offers a very novel way to catch sight of the spectacular creatures—by kayak. Launching from scenic La Jolla Shores and paddling at a leisurely pace for about a mile, the three-hour tours are offered daily through February and include kayaks, paddles, wetsuits, life jackets, a guide and after-tour warm drinks and snacks. No kayaking experience is required (they use stable, easy-to-sit-on vessels) and a brief paddle and safety lesson happens before you hit the waves. Check out some of the other incredible tours offered, including swimming with leopard sharks!

Licensed Coast Guard Captain Dave Anderson is a marine naturalist who has been leading dolphin and whale watching trips from Dana Point since 1995 in his Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari tours. Anderson is also in the forefront of whale rescue programs, largely due to the whales’ propensity to become entangled in fishing gear. Passengers on the 2 ½-hour adventure that leaves Dana Point Harbor daily are uniquely transported on a high-speed catamaran with underwater viewing opportunities. The 35-foot craft allows for intimate encounters with pods of dolphins and the wintering whales. “We have a living, breathing, moving Yosemite off our coast, and people who live here are unaware of it,” said Anderson. “That is what the boat is all about. It’s like getting down on the floor to be at eye level with a child.” As an added bonus, a guest expert from the Sea and Sage Audubon Society is onboard to point out the incredible birding species in the area.

Guaranteed whale spotting

Of course, whales don’t always cooperate with a whale watching schedule. So, if your bucket list involves any kind of guarantee, head to San Diego-based Hornblower Cruises where whale watching season runs through the end of March and offers a 3 ½-hour cruise aboard its 150-foot-long vessel, Adventure Hornblower. The 600-seat yacht is one of the fastest whale watching vessels in the Pacific and offers a great sundeck with bird’s eye views of the marine life. The interior of the ship is climate controlled with hot food service and a complete bar. What makes Hornblower truly unique is its guarantee—if you don’t spot a whale on your cruise, you a get a pass for another cruise, aptly called a “whale check.”

Custom-made whale watching in Long Beach

Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach has the distinction of being the first Los Angeles whale watching service to provide passengers with boats custom made for whale watching. Catamarans used specifically for whale watching are designed to include optimum viewing amenities, from stadium seating to spectator viewing points.  The boats also contain salons with multiple 52” flat panel televisions, which display interesting information about whales.  The vessels clock a cruising speed of 20 knots which means cruising double the ocean of other boats and double the whale-viewing possibilities. In addition, a whale-savvy biologist from the Aquarium of the Pacific accompanies all tours.

The ultimate whale watching adventure

This bucket list choice will stretch the travel budget a little more, but it is totally worth it. After all, how often can we journey to the very destination where the gray whales’ wintering migration ends –famed Scammons Lagoon (Laguna Ojo De Libre) in Baja. Like no other whale-watching expedition you are apt to experience, The Best of Baja’s Whales, Dolphins & Sea Lions Tour is a six-day trip that combines air and boat and is offered exclusively by Baja Airventures. Your small group is flown from San Diego in private planes to Scammons Lagoon where whale watching means visiting the whale “nursery” where adventurers are close enough to pet the baby mammals. A boat takes you to Las Animas Wilderness Retreat for the remaining days to kayak, snorkel, bird watch, hike and play in one of the most scenic spots in the world, embraced by the clear aqua waters of the Sea of Cortez. Transportation, lodging, meals and more are all included in the six-day, once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

Courtesy photos