If you ever get the chance to go to Southern California, there is one excursion for your must do list: Whale Watching. It is an experience that will utterly amaze you because no trip is ever the same. You never know what you might see out on the open ocean.
Newport Landing Whale Watching was just a short drive south of Anaheim, CA and Disneyland. The beach parking lot was about a 10 minute walk from the check in office on the dock. There are quaint shops and restaurants in the area to explore before or after your ocean excursion. There are whale excursions seven days a week all year long. Depending on the time of year, you may see the California Gray Whales annual migration, Blue Whales, Finback Whales, Humpback Whales, or Mink Whales. You may also see large pods of dolphins including Common, Bottlenose, Pacific Whitesided, or Rissos dolphins.
On our particular trip we saw a mother Finback Whale that was 70-80 feet long and her calf. They were so close to the boat that when the larger one blew out her blowhole, she sprayed those of us in the front of the boat. The captain joked that we were all “baptized” by the whale. We saw them feeding with their enormous mouths. We watched them for a long time as they came right next to the boat to check us out. The captain narrated with some information as we watched and photographed these amazing animals.
On the way back to the dock we spotted a pod of about 20 Common Dolphins. They were incredible as they darted around the boat. WOW they are fast!! It was a great way to end the outing. The Newport Landing Whale Watching website includes prices and times, a whale count information for school and company trips, whale and dolphin information, directions, and contact information. It was really one of the coolest things we did on our trip to California.
I will be recommending it to everyone I talk to about my trip. One word of caution though, there were a few guests who got seasick on the excursion so make sure you are prepared for that if you happen to get some rough waters on the ocean. Luckily, my family and I thought the ride was awesome and would take the trip daily if we could. Too bad we live smack dab in the middle of Illinois. Next time we go to Southern California, Newport Landing Whale Watching will still be a “must do” for us.