Up Close Dolphin & Whale Watching
Recommended by 94% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Carlsbad, USA
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Get aboard this cruise in hopes of seeing some amazing marine life- dolphins, sea lions, and whales. You’ll depart from the Oceanside Pier, which is a popular landmark and easy to find. Your guide will take care of you while you’re on the boat, and lead you to where you’re likely to spot these beautiful creatures. You just sit back and enjoy.
- A guide will be with you to take you to the hot spots for viewing marine life
- Observe the dolphins, whales, and sea lions off the shores of Oceanside
- Just sit back and relax, and your guide will do all the work for you
- The boat fees are all included in this price
What's Included
- Professional guide
- Cruise
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Oceanside Coastal Expeditions315 S Harbor Dr, Oceanside, CA 92054, USA
Our ticket kiosk is located outside of the Oceanside Sea Center (315S Harbor Dr)
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Oceanside Harbor Village (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 6 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Jamie_T
It was a fun experience, saw hundreds of dolphins, numerous pods. Nate was our captain and was great! Very knowledgeable and fun. We didn’t see a whale, but those guys will appear when they choose. Overall a great experience! Wear sunscreen 🙂
Reviews
4.8
based on 101 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Brittany_S, Jun 2026
We were denied boarding for this tour because our 5-month-old infant was not listed on the reservation. We completely understand the Coast Guard requirement that every person onboard must be accounted for. However, the Viator booking page only allowed Adults, Seniors, Youths, and Children ages 3–12. There was no option to add an infant under 3 years old.
What disappointed us most was the customer service. We arrived on time and were ready for the tour, but after being denied boarding, we were also denied a refund despite the booking system not providing a way to register our infant. A little flexibility or understanding would have gone a long way. Families with infants should contact the operator directly before booking.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for your feedback. We understand your disappointment and appreciate the opportunity to clarify what occurred.
For safety and Coast Guard compliance, every passenger—regardless of age—must be included on the reservation and manifest prior to departure. When your party arrived, there were four guests present, including your infant, while the reservation was made for only three passengers. Additionally, check-in occurred after our required boarding time, leaving very limited opportunity to address the reservation discrepancy before departure.
Unfortunately, the vessel was fully booked for that tour and operating at its maximum Coast Guard-approved passenger capacity. Because of this, we were unable to add an additional passenger, regardless of age, once the manifest had been finalized.
While we were unable to accommodate your party on that departure, our staff did offer the option to reschedule to a future tour. We always try to find a reasonable solution when possible, but we cannot exceed our permitted passenger capacity or compromise safety requirements.
We welcome guests of all ages, including infants, and many families join us each season. If there is ever an issue with a third-party booking platform, we encourage guests to contact us before their tour so we can ensure all passengers are properly accounted for and avoid any issues at check-in.
As outlined in our booking terms, reservations that cannot be honored due to an incorrect passenger count remain subject to our cancellation policy. While we regret that we were unable to accommodate your party that day, our team followed the same safety, capacity, and operational requirements that apply equally to all guests.
We wish you and your family all the best and appreciate your understanding of the regulations and capacity limits we are required to follow.
Carol_L, May 2026
Great open air experience. Nice to be out on the ocean. Had fun observing dolphins close up. Guide was friendly and capable.
Laura_G, Apr 2026
From start to finish we were greeted and well taken care of. Nate is the absolute best guide and made the entire tour enjoyable!
Sabine_H, Mar 2026
Bring a sweater or jacket even if it’s warm out. When the boat is going fast, it can be cool. It was fun being out on the water. The dolphin pod was awesome, the fin whales were a little elusive but we did see them.
Kristen_W, Mar 2026
Excellent experience great tour guide very informative learned a lot felt safe. It was an amazing experience.
JOSE_E, Feb 2026
GO! looking for great family fun and adventure, you found it.
The driver was excellent and was our own personal DJ. Well worth the time investment into your family!
Jenny_C, Jan 2026
Rib boats! The boats only allows 6 passengers . Up close to wildlife. Excellent experience! How gel Recommended!
Carlos_B, Nov 2025
What an awesome experience... We seen a huge group of dolphins up close... It was really cool... The guide was very knowledgeable...
Joseph_R, Sep 2025
It was a very cool experience. Never saw so many dolphins in my life! Boat captain was awesome and made the experience very enjoyable. I highly recommend it!
Colby_S, Aug 2025
Great captain on the boat very personable and knowledgeable about the wildlife. Got to see sea lions, a sunfish and atleast four groups of dolphins, whales weren’t quite out during the tour but it was still an amazing experience highly recommend you take this tour!
Jamie_T, Jul 2025
It was a fun experience, saw hundreds of dolphins, numerous pods. Nate was our captain and was great! Very knowledgeable and fun. We didn’t see a whale, but those guys will appear when they choose. Overall a great experience! Wear sunscreen 🙂
Connie_S, Jul 2025
We had a great time. We knew we wouldn't see whales, as it's the wrong season. But Nick was amazing and found of a huge pod of dolphins! The up close and personal experience of the smaller boat combined with Nick's expertise, made this an unforgettable experience! We'll be back in November for a repeat trip!
Thomas_A, Jul 2025
Great time, Nate's a great guide. No whales, but we played in a pod of 900 or so dolphins for quite some time.
Antonio_G, Jun 2025
Nate was our tour guide. Was super experienced and knowledgeable. Family friendly. Had a great time seeing multiple species of whales and thousands of dolphins!
Wes_R, May 2025
Tons of dolphins and whales to see. Nate, our guide, was amazing!! Would highly recommend. Very informative
Wendy_K, May 2025
We were excited to be on the ocean and to potentially view dolphins, whales, and sea lions. We did see sea lions, however the whales and dolphins were being shy ☺️. Nate took us to all the places by following the clue of nature, yet the wild one must have had a big weekend and slept in on our early Monday tour. 🤣 2 family members were from Africa and were thrilled with being on the ocean and felt safe in Nate’s capable hands. (They do not swim). All in all it was a wonderful experience, and the music an added bonus. Wendy
Diana_V, Apr 2025
6 person boat, plus captain. Great energy, better eye for marine life sightings. Experienced a pod of 2-3 thousand dolphins, and 3 fin whales. Captain Nathan was excellently at finding the wildlife, and telling us all about it as we took in the sights.
Rose_S, Mar 2025
The interactions with the dolphins were amazing. We had tons around us and we were boating with them. I was sad that we didn’t see whales but the dolphins were amazing captain Nate was very knowledgeable and knew what he was doing.
Rosie_C, Nov 2024
What a great time! If I was a better photographer you'd get to see the whales. Our captain found a pod of two to three 🐳🐋 to follow. He knows alot about the area and the species there. Exciting , educational and fun!!
jjellz, Oct 2024
We had the best time on this whale & dolphin watching excursion. Our group was small so we were aboard a large raft type boat which made this even more exciting and amazing!!! Up close and personal experience with all the beautiful common dolphins!! The whales were shy this day but we did see one Minke whale! We’ve been on several whale watching excursions but this one of 10/24/24 was the best experience we had. Our group guide was absolutely the best! Thank you for a great experience and we’ll definitely do it again in the future! Highly recommend this company!
Laiza_G, Oct 2024
This was an amazing experience, the tour guide was amazing, sweet and so caring. Definitely worth the funds. Trust this is a great experience to go with both friends and loved ones. Bring a jacket!
Paula_D, Oct 2024
We went out with Captain Justine and had the greatest time. We seen a pod of Dolphins, there were hundreds of them. Then we seen a mom and baby humpback whales. Just the best time. Ask Captain Justine to hit it. You cannot go wrong!!!!
Kathleen_M, Oct 2024
No whales but a very large pod of dolphins. Driver made sure we had plenty of time to enjoy them. Really enjoyed it.
Danielle_C, Jul 2024
Absolute highlight of our day. The tour was just the right amount of time to enjoy. We saw dolphins, a shark, and sea lions. The dolphins were abundant and our captain did a great job keeping us on the path to see them. Great music, made sure everyone was comfortable, especially our little guy.
John_M, Jun 2024
Dolphins sightings were great, no whales unfortunately. 1 1/2 hours a bit short with the harbor entrance and exit
Dusti_H, Mar 2024
My tour got canceled and they said I would be getting a refund but I haven't received my money back.
Matt_F, Aug 2023
Great time. Lots of dolphins, a sun fish and even saw some tuna jumping completely out of the water.
Bob_H, Jul 2023
following a Dolphin School ! It was awesome...... A great day with my kids and our captain did a great job finding the Dolphins.
Janet_V, Jul 2023
We had an amazing time with Captain Justine. We saw a school of Dolphins and a juevienile whale. Thank you so much for a fantastic time.
Eric_S, Jul 2023
We had a marvelous experience. It was a great tour with just seven of us in our family. We saw so many dolphins up close and also a sun fish and a large shark in the distance. It was an incredible day and we will remember this forever. Highly recommended!
From $76.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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