Every travel and tourism site on Orange County, Los Angeles, and California suggests a whale watching cruise where you can view giant blue whales during the summer and fall
months and the annual grey whale migration that brings tens of thousands of grey whales along the coast during the winter and spring months. Huge pods of several species of dolphin are very common during these excursions as are the resident sea lions, harbor seals, porpoises, and marine birds. With a 96% success rate, almost every cruise has many viewing opportunities. An added plus is picturesque coastal backdrops of Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, and Huntington Beach. It was advertising like this as well as recognition as one of the top whale watching destinations in the world that led me to include whale watching on my Yearly Bucket List. Davey’s Locker was my top choice because of their excellent, long-standing reputation, prices, and location.
Davey’s Locker offers daily departures year round and coupons can usually be found at Gold Star or Living Social. Their primary whale watching ship is 65 feet in length with a large upstairs sundeck, wrap around outside seating, snack bar with food and beverages, indoor seating with large windows. The ship was designed just for viewing marine life. Captains and crews have backgrounds in marine biology and are incredible knowledgeable providing details on marine creatures, environment, and ecosystems during each tour.
Located in Newport Beach, Davey’s Locker offers spectacular views along the Orange County coastline. With a snow-capped mountain backdrop and superb, nationally recognized beaches along with crystal blue sparkling waters and a golden sun, the low cost of a ticket is worth the coastal sights along.
I was happy to have my Mountain Mama jacket during the excursion. Even in sunny California, it winds can be chilly, especially on the ocean.
Although we were not successful in finding any whales, we enjoyed lots of sealife and birds
on our boat excursion off of Newport Beach, CA plus, with our 50% off next visit coupon, we’ll return for another great day on the ocean.
Prices
- Adults……………………………………….$31
- Juniors (12 years old and under)………. $26
- Seniors (60 years old and older)……….. $26
- Toddlers (2 years old and under)……….. Free ($3 Fuel Surcharge)
Davey’s Locker also offers The Newport Christmas Boat Parade and deep sea fishing.
Hi,
What a great day out, and fantastic photos. Seeing animals in their own habitat you just can’t beat it I feel.
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Great photos! I saw an article about people that were whale watching and a whale surfaces a few feet away from them…scary stuff…great post!
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Although we didn’t see any whales this trip, I’ve had a few up-close and personal encounters myself. They are beautiful creatures. 🙂
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I love California! Huntington Beach is my favorite city and Laguna Beach can be absolutely breath-taking on a sunny day. I also liked people watching on Venice Beach AKA Muscle Beach.
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You should check out a whale watching excursion. It’s great for the whole family 🙂
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Hi Lesley, Thanks for Liking Crimezine! took a look at your awesome site, you certainly are action girl, great photography too! Keep up the good work and don’t forget to sign up as a follower to Crimezine http://[email protected]/ so you do not miss all the cool Crime Fiction News, Movie reviews, and scurrilous comedic asides.
Happy New Yeeeeear!
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Beautiful! I wish I was close enough to there…to go! Thank you for sharing.
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Very cool. Perhaps when your daughter is ready, you can do it from a kayak?
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This is just awesome! Okay, there might have been a lack of whales, but seeing dolphines and seals seems kind a cool too, right? 😀
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It was a beautiful day on the ocean with my husband a quite a few encounters, even if they weren’t whales. Besides, it gave us a reason to return.
Have you ever been whale watching?
Thanks for reading,
Lesley
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Beautiful! I have been wanting to go whale watching and that’s not too far to drive for a quick ocean adventure 🙂 Thank you for sharing your experience with us!
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There is actually a 1/2 price deal on right now for whale watching at http://www.goldstar.com/events/newport-beach-ca/whale-watching-and-dolphin-cruises.
It’s a great time to go; you’ll love it.
Don’t forget to bring a sweater. 🙂
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There are not too many natural wonders that can compare with seeing whales… spectacular!!!
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Hopefully I’ll see them next time, but the 2.5 hours of beauty were worth the first trip.
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Cool! Dolphins!
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There were hundreds of them! It was amazing; they were surfing the waves of the boat.
🙂
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Gorgeous! My last experience whale watching was more like whale puking. Both my daughter and her father were really sea sick.. most on the boat were. Yours looks much more idyllic!
We know who has the sea legs in this family!
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Being on the ocean is one of my favorite ways to spend the day. I hope to break in my baby girl before she’s born.
🙂
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Hi,
Thanks for stopping by my blog. You have some really cool travel posts…how wonderful to be so close up with the dolphins!
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I actually swam with them last year in Mexico. You can see the photos at: https://lesleycarter.wordpress.com/2011/08/19/dolphin-foot-push-a-mexican-vacation-highlight/
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment; it’s appreciated.
Lesley
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Oh my gosh what amazing photos! My brother recently went whale watching in Newport and said it was amazing! I’m going to have to go soon!
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There is actually a 1/2 price deal on right now for whale watching at http://www.goldstar.com/events/newport-beach-ca/whale-watching-and-dolphin-cruises.
It’s a great time to go; it could be a Christmas gift 😉
Don’t forget to bring a sweater.
Lesley
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hmmmmm…. you’re making me think about doing my tour in OC instead of San Diego now! Never thought of the view coming back until your post 🙂
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I’ll happily show you around if you’ll take some of your great shots with my camera 🙂
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That is great! Looks and sounds like a wonderful day!
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Even though we didn’t see whales, it was still a perfect day and now we have a reason to go back 🙂
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Hey just wanted to say thanks for stopping by my blog and liking some of my posts. You’ve got a very interesting blog here! The dolphin photo’s are fantastic!
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great dolphin shots! Looks like a nice decently priced excursion
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Thanks for the info. My hubs has family who live in CA and we are planning a trip in the near future. I’ll have to make sure I remember to take this info along!!
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There are always online deals too so make sure to check them out before booking.
happy Holidays,
Lesley
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Hey, Lesley! My friends and I went (non) whale watching from Davey’s Locker in the spring — had the same luck you had! 🙂 The dolphins and sea lions were fun to watch, though. Don’t forget — the Newport Harbor Boat Parade is from Dec. 14 – 18 this year. Lots of photo ops!
Have fun — Susie C.
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I’ll be participating in the boat parade on December 16th with Holiday 2011 Diego
Newport Landing’s Holiday Cruises: See Newport Beach’s Light Displays. There are half price tickets at: http://www.goldstar.com/events/newport-beach-ca/newport-landings-holiday-cruises
Watch for a post a few days after the parade.
🙂
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Wow. What a great travel. I like the sea.
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Quite a few years ago, I was travelling across Australia’s Nullarbour Plain when my then girlfriend and I pulled off the Eyre Highway. We parked our campervan and hiked south to the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight, where the Southern Ocean meets the land. As we were sitting on the edge of the cliffs, a blue whale and its calf sounded in the ocean only a few hundred metres out from us. We watched the whales for a good half hour from the cliffs, with no sign of human activity apart from ourselves. Just desert behind, ocean in front, cliffs below and the whales. That was an experience and a half.
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The rates look affordable! I enjoy reading about your travel adventures. So many places to go and things to do!
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The rates are great and 1/2 price deals can always be found online.
It was a prefect day on the ocean 🙂
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So cool! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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great shots Lesley!
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thank you for posting this…now i know where to go
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It’s 2.5 hours of beauty for a really great price. You can’t go wrong.
🙂
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Seeing those dolphins reminds me of going on the ferry to Catalina Island…they are always surfing the waves and swimming along side! Have you guys been there, yet? If not, I think you would definitely like it. On a clear day from my parents house in San Diego, you can see the island, which is pretty neat!
I am glad you had a better experience whale watching; the one time I went the boat was small and water choppy…there was a lot of sickness going around! And by the time the whales showed up, I didn’t even want to look at it! haha
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Thanks for the like! I just left OC four months ago, funny coincidence!
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I love living in OC. There are unlimited possibilities.
🙂
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Such beautiful animals! Looked like fun.
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It was a great day on the ocean and I wasn’t even disappointed that we didn’t see whales; it gave us a reason to return.
Thanks for reading,
Lesley
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Wow, those are some beautiful photos.
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There were so many dolphins and marine life that it was easy to get some great photos. We’re going to return again soon with hopes of seeing some whales.
Lesley
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greetings by
http://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/2011/11/25/whale-rescue/
+
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The photos make me home sick. Especially since I’m in the cold nether reaches of SD (7 degrees today) I grew up in Camarillo just south of Ventura. We’d drive up and down the coast line on the PCH all the time. It’s not extreme, but have you ever gone on the Point Mugu beach, right at where that big rock is where you see all those car commercials and just a mile south of the Naval base. It’s a great place to sit and let the world stop. Love that beach and you can watch the marine life playing in the ocean.
Thanks for the pictures and the information. Next time I’m down that way, I might
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Newport Beach is really pretty and fun to wander around in. We’ve rented little fishing boats out of Davey’s Locker and tootled around the harbor catching halibut and bass. Great dolphin pictures, hope you get some whale sightings next time!
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Love these awesome pictures! I went whale-watching in Queensland in 2010, and there’s absolutely no sense of ‘been there, done that!’ about it. I want to go again, and again, wherever there are whales to be seen.
Happy New Year,
Keith
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Its whale season here in Sri Lanka, maybe you should come around here sometime 🙂
Thanks for the like on my blog.
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Hey there! I did some whale watching from a park in Rancho Palos Verdes a couple weekends ago for the first time… it was awesome. Boats and I don’t get along well, though, so my pictures are nowhere as intriguing as yours. Nice work!
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It’s just nice to be on the ocean even if you didn’t see whales. My husband and I did a whale tour in Maui in January, it was so much fun we went twice in one week. If you get there, we loved Pacific Whale Watching in Lahaina. A dingy close to the water allowed for great pictures.
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