San Diego- a Good Place for Whale Watching

If you have never been whale watching, you are missing out on an exhilarating experience that is bound to live on forever in your memory. Watching a gigantic fish leaping out of the ocean is an experience that is both haunting and beautiful.

San Diego is one place where you will find a lot of these ocean-faring mammals. Since the different species of whales have their own migratory patterns, you can find whale watching tours at any time of the year.

The city of San Diego is fortunate to have a kelp forest just offshore, attracting the mammals. When going for whale watching in San Diego, you don’t have to go too far to explore.  Most whale trips in San Diego are short, with some companies guaranteeing a redo if you are not lucky enough to spot any whales.

The Best Time to Take a Whale Watching Tour in San Diego

The best time to visit San Diego for whale watching depends on what kind of whales you want to see the most. In the winter season, the ocean is occupied predominantly by thousands of grey whales traveling 6000 miles down the coastline to the warm calving grounds of Mexico. During late April or May, some touring parties are fortunate enough to spot moms with their calves.

The summer season is the season of the gigantic blue whale. The whales pass San Diego as a part of the annual breeding and feeding migration. However, the large mammals migrate further offshore, so you might want to get on a boat to get a good look at the magnificent creatures.

Fin whales are slightly smaller than the blue whale, and you can see them around San Diego all year-round. However, you can encounter these whales in a shoal from November through March.

The humpback whale is the heart and soul of the city of San Diego. These whales are known for their breaching behavior. You would have come across countless viral videos showing these whales move in-and-out of water in an acrobatic fashion. Whale watching in San Diego provides you the live experience of witnessing the humpback just as you saw them onscreen.

How to Watch These Whales

There are many ways to go whale watching in San Diego. If you are not a fan of the idea of hopping onto a bobbing boat to see the whales, then you need to see them from the shoreline.

Fortunately, the beaches in San Diego are also known for providing visitors with a great view of the whales. La Jolla Cove is the best place to watch these whales. The whales are usually visible from the shore during the mid-December and mid-February season as they move closer to the shore during the northward migration.

The whale watching season in San Diego extends from mid-December through April, and migrating gray whales are the most common species. If you want to see females with their calves, then we recommend going late in the season as they take their babies with them.

Numerous whale watching tours take you from the shores to observe the creatures of the sea. You can book the tickets for these tours online from the various tour guides providing the service. However, before making the decision to tour with an online service, it is crucial to do your research beforehand.

Many of the services providing these services at a lower cost or offering a discount often sacrifice quality for the lower price. The reviews of the past whale watchers using these services revealed how they felt robbed with these tours. In short, be wary of the services offering discounts because of the higher the discounts, the more the chances of the trip of being of poor quality.

As a visitor, you will find plenty of ways to enjoy the whale watching season. When watching the whales, ensure that you don’t end up in the wrong spot. You need to be wary that while many of the whales depart from the waterfront down, the others don’t.

The services leading tours of whale watching in San Diego often set sail from different locations. The tours have no fixed location to set off from. Therefore, it is essential not to mix up the information and follow the rules of the sailing party.