Overview
UPDATE (5/9/2020): Due to COVID-19, we are delaying the start of our Farallon Islands whale watching season until June 6th, 2020. Should we need to make further changes to our schedule, all bookings for cancelled trips will be either fully refunded or given the option to reschedule at no cost. Thank you for your patience and support during this time.
Trips depart from San Francisco every Saturday & Sunday with select weekday departures, May-November 2020. Click here to see available dates and reserve a space!
(Select trips depart from Sausalito due to large events that close the San Francisco Marina, for example marathons and sailboat races. Click here to see dates that depart from Sausalito.)
Date you're looking for not available or sold out? Let us know, we add more trips when demand is high. Check back in regularly to see what dates are available.
Our highly-rated day trips to the Farallon Islands depart from San Francisco. We are a non-profit organization and have been leading whale watching trips in the Bay Area since 1972!
On each trip you may have the chance to see whales, seals and sea lions, dolphins and porpoises, and large numbers of seabirds. Our top-notch naturalists will help locate and identify wildlife and provide educational information throughout your trip. Join us to discover the breathtaking Farallon Islands!
The Farallon Islands, just 27 miles off San Francisco, lie amid the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, a food-rich marine ecosystem that attracts whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions and seabirds each summer and fall to feed and to breed. Researchers have catalogued hundreds of individual humpback and blue whales as seasonal feeding residents. 36 species of marine mammals, including 18 species of whales and dolphins, and more than 250,000 nesting seabirds can be found here.
The Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge is the largest seabird rookery in the contiguous United States with nesting Tufted Puffins, Pigeon Guillemots, Rhinoceros Auklets, Common Murres and other species. Migratory seabirds such as Shearwaters, Jaegers, and Phalaropes are also attracted by these nutrient-rich waters. Island beaches are covered with sea lions, including massive Steller sea lions, now on the Endangered Species List.
Each trip is led by an expert naturalist who assists with locating whales, identifying seabirds and other marine life, and who provide informative presentations throughout the trip on the islands and marine ecology of the area. Through the eyes of our experienced naturalists, you will discover and learn about this outstanding marine ecosystem. Get to know our naturalists here.
Your trip supports ocean conservation
Oceanic Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (EIN: 94-3105570). Your participation in our whale watching trips helps fund our global ocean conservation programs and local programs including whale entanglement response. Moreover, we use our whale watching cruises as an opportunity to collect photographic identification data on whales, which we share with a network of researchers throughout the eastern Pacific. You can see our recently photographed whales on Happywhale. Through our whale watching trips, we also help transport biologists and staff members to and from the Farallon Islands in support of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Point Blue Conservation Science. Learn more about Oceanic Society here.
Photos & Videos
Trip Details
Our full-day (8-hour) whale watching cruises depart from San Francisco at 8:00 AM aboard the 56-foot Salty Lady, a Coast Guard certified vessel, on Saturdays and Sundays, and select weekdays, from May through November.
TRIP COST & DATES:
• $150 / person (must be 10 years or older to join trip)
• Groups of 6-9: $140 / person ($60+ total savings)
• Groups of 10+: $135 / person ($150+ total savings)
For departure dates and current availability, please check our booking calendar.
DEPARTURES:
San Francisco: Marina Yacht Harbor (7:30 AM) located at 3950 Scott Street, San Francisco (map). Parking is free. Check-in time is at 7:30 AM, the boat leaves promptly at 8:00 AM. You will return to this dock at approximately 4:00 PM. Note: Select trips depart from Sausalito only, please check the information carefully when making your booking.
DURATION:
Approximately 8 hours. In order to visit the whale "hotspots," including the Continental Shelf dropoff, and to have enough time to observe the wildlife at the islands, an 8-hour trip is required.
ITINERARY:
Under the Golden Gate Bridge and west to the Farallon Islands (27 miles offshore), looking for whales and wildlife along the way. At the islands we take time to observe wildlife which may include seabirds, seals and sea lions, whales, and occasional great white sharks, sea turtles,
Mola molas, and more. Weather permitting, we may also visit the Continental Shelf dropoff to search for deep water whales.
VESSEL:
Our Coast Guard certified vessel, the 56-foot
Salty Lady, has front and rear observation decks, and an indoor cabin with 2 bathrooms. Our captains are experienced in nature cruises and committed to marine conservation.
PASSENGER MAXIMUM:
42
CLOTHING:
Warm, layered clothing with a waterproof outer layer is strongly recommended. Hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen are also advised.
PARKING:
Parking is free in San Francisco and Sausalito
FOOD & REFRESHMENTS:
Bring your own food and beverages; there are no concessions on board. Alcohol is discouraged, but not prohibited. Backpacks are fine, but please, no coolers due to space limitations.
SMOKING POLICY:
No smoking is allowed on Oceanic Society cruises.
AGE RESTRICTIONS:
Age minimum 10; an adult must accompany children under 18. Children under the age of 12 must wear a life jacket at all times while aboard the vessel.
WEATHER:
Trips go rain or shine, but may be cancelled due to high winds and/or high seas.
For cancellation policy, refund and reschedule policy, and other important terms, read our detailed Terms and Conditions.
What We See
Throughout the season we have the opportunity to see humpback and blue whales and, less frequently, other whale species including gray whales, fin whales, and Bryde's whales. We also see California sea lions, harbor seals, northern fur seals, Steller sea lions, and harbor porpoises regularly throughout the season. Less frequently we encounter Pacific white-sided dolphins, Risso's dolphins, Dall's porpoises, northern elephant seals, and Mola molas (ocean sunfish), and occasionally we encounter great white sharks and thresher sharks. We also see orcas (killer whales) and leatherback sea turtles on rare occasions.
Many seabird species are seen throughout the season. Bird activity at the islands is highest from May through early July, which is the breeding season, and general bird diversity is best from early August to late October, when many migratory seabirds are also present.
SPRING-SUMMER (MAY-AUG) SEABIRD SPECIES:
Western Grebes; Black-footed Albatrosses; Northern Fulmars; Pink-footed, Buller's, Sooty Shearwaters; Ashy Storm-Petrels; Brown Pelicans; Double-crested, Brandt's, Pelagic Cormorants; Black Oystercatchers; Red-necked, Red Phalaropes; Pomarine, Parasitic Jaegers; South Polar Skuas; Heermann's, Herring, Western, Sabine's Gulls; Caspian, Elegant, Common, Arctic, Forster's Terns; Common Murres; Pigeon Guillemots; Xantus's, Craveri's, Marbled (rare) Murrelets; Cassin's, Rhinoceros Auklets; Tufted Puffins.
FALL (SEP-NOV) SEABIRD SPECIES:
Red-throated, Pacific, and Common Loons; Eared, Western, and Clark's Grebes; Black-footed Albatrosses; Northern Fulmars; Pink-footed, Buller's, Sooty, and Black-vented Shearwaters; Ashy, and Wilson's (rare) Storm-Petrels; Brown Pelicans; Double-crested, Brandt's, and Pelagic Cormorants; Black, Surf, and White-winged Scoters; Black Oystercatchers; Red-necked, and Red Phalaropes; Ruddy Turnstones; Pomarine, and Parasitic Jaegars; South Polar Skuas; Bonaparte's, Heermann's, Mew, Ring-billed, California, Herring, Western, Glaucous-winged, and Sabine's Gulls; Caspian, Elegant, Arctic, and Forster's Terns; Cassin's and Rhinoceros Auklets; Peregrine Falcon.
Reviews
A Life Experience, a must do for real nature lovers! ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
TripAdvisor Member
Unforgettable Experience ... I can definitely recommend this trip ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
TripAdvisor Member
Best bargain in S.F! Wow - what a wonderful experience!! ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
TripAdvisor Member
Lived in the Bay Area for 10 years, boy have I missed a great experience before. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
TripAdvisor Member
For an up close experience with the islands, consider spending a full-day with the Oceanic Society ... You will get to spend eight hours with guides who know the best places to spot whales, especially humpback and blue whales that are common in the area.
SF Gate
The Farallon Islands are just 27 miles from San Francisco and the ticket to this classic adventure is aboard the nonprofit Oceanic Society's Salty Lady, a 56-foot-long whale-watching boat equipped with friendly staff and a naturalist who's a virtual water-borne Wikipedia.
Weekend Sherpa
The Oceanic Society runs top-notch, naturalist-led, ocean-going weekend boat trips – sometimes to the Farallon Islands – during both whale-migration seasons.
Lonely Planet