Whale Watching & Guided Boat Tours in San Diego

Fun, Safe, Guided Tours on Military Inflatable Boats.

 

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“The most exclusive & intimate boat tour in San Diego”
Small group sizes ensure that every guest has a personalized experience. With a maximum of 10 passengers per boat, we customize each tour to fit the interests and preferences of the group on board.

360 degree views are a luxury every passenger gets to enjoy on our inflatable boat tours. Every guest on board gets an interactive experience with front row seats to the action.

Limited capacity on our tours allows each passenger the opportunity to speak one-on-one with our knowledgeable & experienced captains. Our staff offers educational information, as well as genuine hospitality, and we encourage all guests to ask questions of their own.

Less Crowds More Adventure

Humpback Whale Breach

safe & fast Military boats

The most safe and exciting way to explore the ocean is on our custom built Military Inflatable Boats.

 

What sets us apart is our boats. We have the fastest tour boats in San Diego with the ability to reach speeds of over 50 mph. Moving fast means that we can cover more ground and see more of what we love!

Our Rigid Inflatable Boats (R.I.B.s) were purchased from the NAVY SEALs and completely customized to make them ideal for San Diego guided boat tours.

Each boat has plush, custom made bench seats, new Yamaha engines, and a Bluetooth sound system installed.

Our low-profile vessels carry you just above the surface of the water. This virtually eliminates sea-sickness, puts you within arms reach of marine wildlife, and gets you closer to the things you want to see.

 

 

Public tours & Private tours

Our ocean safaris will take you out in to the ocean looking for marine mammals, pelagic birds, and any other wildlife we can find!
Private whale watching tours in San Diego are the most popular tour that we offer. Our private tours reserve the entire boat for your group so that we can focus on finding the wildlife you love.

Public whale watching tours in San Diego are also available every day. These semi-private tours allow multiple groups on board. This is a fun way to meet some new friends and explore the ocean together!

No matter which San Diego boat tour option you choose, you will have no crowds and an unforgettable adventure!

 

Public Whale Watching Tours

Our Public Whale Watching is a semi-private excursion which allows you to purchase individual seats on a 10-passenger shared boat.

This is a great way to meet some friends and share your adventure with other nature lovers!

San Diego private Boat tour options

Whale Watching

Our most popular tour! Embark on an exciting, 2.5 – 3 hour Wildlife Safari that will take you out into the ocean on a search to get arms-reach away from whales, dolphins, sea-lions, and other marine wildlife. This tour can be booked as a public tour with other passengers or as a private tour with just you and your group.

San Diego Bay Tours

Cruise around the beautiful San Diego Bay on a two hour private tour. Enjoy a unique perspective of San Diego’s most iconic landmarks including the Coronado Bridge, USS Midway, Star of India, and more.

Mexico Island ecotours

Grab your passport and your binoculars and get ready to explore the Los Coronados Islands in Mexico! On this four hour private tour, we will take you around each of the islands where you will get to view rare wildlife rookeries, unique rock formations, and animals that live on the islands.

photo & video support

Our safe, versatile, low-profile boats allow us to compliment any photo or video team. We have worked on set with Jay Leno, David Hasselhoff, YesTheory, Oakley Sunglasses, and many others. We are the most experienced marine photo and video support team in the industry.

Security & Transportation

We can help with any type of on-the-water activities. We offer water-taxi services in the San Diego Bay and near-coastal areas. We also offer security services for events such as sailboat regattas, water parades, and more.

Custom charters

If none of of pre-made itineraries work for you we are happy to work with you to create a charter that will fit your needs. We offer custom charter packages with special pricing based on the duration of the event, travel, and staffing needed.

Customer Reviews

Amazing Experience

“More than we expected. Knowledgeable, friendly staff from the moment we arrived until we left. The Rib boats allowed us to travel to sites at speed and with ease. We were lucky enough to see hundreds of Dolphins and 6-7 Humpback Whales. Would strongly recommend if you want an intimate whale watching experience close to the action.”

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Extreme whale and dolphin watching

“We had the most amazing adventure with our captain! He found two adult whales and they came right up to our small boat and allowed us to watch them for about 30 minutes. Then he took us to find a pod of more than 500 dolphins who were jumping & flipping all around us. It was smooth sailing on our trek out to sea and back. We ended the trip by watching sea lions basking in the sun on their own dock. It was one of the best excursions we’ve ever done. I would highly recommend this trip to everyone!”

– Cher B

Too Awesome for Mere Words

“Our captain and his jokes and amazing knowledge were as fast paced as the adventure. We experienced a super pod of dolphins up-close and personal. Our captain had each of us hang over the bow to get to look a dolphin eye-to-eye. I wonder what they were thinking? It is indescribably awesome to be moving amongst a super pod and dolphins doing a water ballet starboard and port. It should be on everyone’s bucket list.”

– FellowTraveler582418

One of the Best Experiences

“I don’t normally do reviews but this was one of the best experiences of my life. We saw dolphins, sea lions and humpback whales. We were insanely close to the whales and the small boat allowed that (you are down at water level so they are easier to see and the boat can maneuver much quicker and closer than bigger boats.) This is ABSOLUTELY  the way to whale watch. Also our captain was awesome. Very knowledgeable and interesting. If they can’t find you whales they aren’t out there. I would do this again in a heartbeat.”

– Michelle A.

Highly Recommend

“Can’t say enough about how great the experience with our cpatain and the Adventure Whale Watching crew was this morning! They give you snowmobile suits to keep you warm, but it was sucha  gorgeous day we didn’t need them. Our boat had 6 people in it so everyone got  great views of everything, and we were even lucky enough to catch a blue whale cow and her (giant) calf! Highly reccomend Adventure Whale Watching if you’re in the area and looking for an up-close experience with whales, dolphins, and California sea lions!”

– Stephanie P.

So Cool!

“Our captain didn’t disappoint! They put us on breaching humpbacks along with a megapod of dolphins with at least 500 dolphins. Such an awesome experience. Go ahead and book this trip now. You will get right up close and personal to the animals on this tour. I’m still wiping the whale blow off of my glasses! Again, So cool!”

– Jeremy B.

A Forever Memory

“Our captain was first class, knowledgeable about the water and marine life and cares passionately about hwat he does. He has a great sense of humour. During the trip I felt that he was watning to show off what the ocean has to offer and boy did he do that for us. Health and safety was paramount to the company and the captain made sure we understood what was and wasn’t acceptable. We went out on an ex navy non sinkable boat. It was fast! Exactly what we were hoping for and what was advertised. The captain was very open an honest and admitted that we may or may not see what were hoping for. I have seen other companies guarentee seeing wildlife. This company doesn’t count sea lions sitting on the bouys on the way out as seeing wildlife. They want you to see dolphins and whales. We were so lucky to see 3 or 4 pods of dolphins and amazingly a blue whale. This was an experience of a lifetime and can’t thank our captain enough fo rhis persistent I’m trying to find the Blue Whale. This is a memory that will forever stay with us. Thank you”

– Wayne B.

Extremely caring and knowledgeable

“Absolutely fabulous experience. So relaxing and exhilarating at the same time. From office staff to our captain, these guys really take care of you, both extremely caring and knowledgeable in their jobs. We saw several Blue Whale really close up along with a full pod of dolphins, making the whole 3 hour trip one of the best we have ever taken. Highly recommend this company to anyone.”

– Martin B.

Fun and Thrilling Boat Ride!

“This tour company is more than simple dolphin and whale sightseeing. They take the “adventure” in their name seriously and provide guests with a fun and thrilling boat ride on their ridged inflatables. Our captain was entertaining and informing. The tour lasted about three hours and included passing through a giant kelp farm, hundreds of dolphins, skipping over the waves at “22 mph”, and lots of fun facts and humor. The tour is suitable for kids and adults of all ages. Highly recommended for anyone that wants to get close to marine mammals in a small fast boat.”

– Jeff C.

Chills.

“Our captain was absollutely phenomenal! We had a complete blast flying through the ocean in search of marine wldlife. We saw huge pelicans, lots of sea lions, a school of tuna, and a giant mega pod of dolphins. Our captain had us lean over the front of the boat to watch the dolphins swim under us, and when the dolphins turned over to make eye contact…just…wow. Chills. It was a once in a lifetime kind of experience that we will never forget. We even got to see a dolphin give birth right beside the boat! This experience was the highlight of our trip and we would very highly recommend!”

– Christina G.

Truly Unforgettable!

“The best part of our week in San Diego! Truly a bucket list experience that we will remember forever! Adventure Whale Watching is incredible and made the whole experience easy and so fun. I will be rebooking with them every time I find myself back in San Diego! We saw hundreds of dolphins and around 15 whales during our few hours out on the water – truly unforgettable! “

– Sara C.

Hidden Gem

“What a great way to get out there and see the whales. The big boats can’t give you this feeling of adventure, speed, and see more stuff. I live in San Diego and feel like this is a hidden gem that I will turn on to my visiting family and friends. Our Captain is the best.”

– Frank S. 

Phenomenal Captain

“Our Captain was truly amazing, *****Kind, patient, a phenomenal captain ( I had Zero zero Motion sickness) and would not give up until we saw gray whales… which we did!!!!! So awesome! Absolutely 100% recommend!!! Our kids (11, 15) had a great time too! Do not hesitate to go enjoy the ocean and the wildlife with one of the captains! Thank you!”

– Dr Wendy S. 

Exclusive Offer

10% off gift certificates

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Buy one as a gift or save it to use on your next trip to San Diego.

 

Use code GIFT10 for 10% off of your gift card purchase

Gift Certificates are non-refundable 

 

Limited seats fill up fast!

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Use WEEKDAY10 for 10% off your public tour!