Whale Watching Worldwide

In Santa Barbara and Ventura County, trips are offered year‐round with the southern migration of gray
whales between late‐December and February and the northern migration between February and mid‐May.
The peak of activity is between January and March and particularly during the northern migration, as the
whales travel much closer to the shore and often more slowly as the mothers are travelling with calves. Blue
and humpback whale watching occurs between June and November, although the highest concentration of
whales usually occurs between June and September. The Santa Barbara Channel has very reliable sightings
of blue whales during this time and is one of the best spots in the world for boat‐based blue whale watching.
Bottlenose dolphins, short‐beaked common dolphins, Pacific white‐sided dolphins, minke whales and Risso’s
dolphins are also seen year‐round with occasional sightings of orcas. Adult ticket prices for operators from
Santa Barbara and Ventura County are between $30 to $50, with day trips to the Northern Channel Islands
costing between $65 and $95.
Farther south in Los Angeles and Orange County, operators also offer both winter gray whale watching and
to some extent, summer whale watching of blue whales. Humpback whale watching is not as prominent
here as north in Santa Barbara and Ventura County. Adult ticket prices for operators in Los Angeles County
range between $15 and $30 although many operators with larger vessels offer discounted ticket prices for
school and other group bookings which can be as low as $10 per person. Adult ticket prices for operators in
Orange County are between $30 and $55, with day trips to the Southern Channel Islands (Catalina Island)
costing around $70.
In San Diego, land‐based whale watching is popular at the Cabrillo National Monument, with an estimated
125,000 land‐based whale watchers in 2008. Visitation to the Cabrillo National Monument has decreased
from over 1 million visitors annually in 1998, to only 700,000 in 2008, resulting in a big decline in estimated
land‐based whale watchers ‐ down from over 300,000 in 1998. Apart from the Cabrillo National Monument,
a further six land‐based locations are identified in San Diego county, mostly at beaches or highway bluffs.
Boat‐based trips from San Diego are mostly offered between December and May and focus on the northern
and southern migrations of the gray whale. Off the coast of San Diego, unlike farther north, gray whales
swim closer to the shore during the southern migration and farther out during the northern migration. One
operator is offering year‐round trips that include other whales and dolphins by going farther out off the
coast. Commonly sighted species include long and short‐beaked common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins
and Pacific white‐sided dolphins. Occasional sightings of short‐finned pilot whales, fin whales, orcas, minke
whales and Risso’s dolphins also occur year‐round. Some operators based in San Diego run trips into
Mexican waters, in this report, passengers on these trips have been included in the Mexican numbers.
Average adult ticket prices for 2 to 4‐hour trips are $50. Sailing yachts and smaller vessels charge between
$65 and $85 per person, while larger boat‐based vessels charge between $30 and $35 per person. Nearly all
trips depart from San Diego.
226