Overview
Due to current COVID regulations, our 2021 Half Moon Bay season has been postponed. Check back in soon for more details! Our current estimate is that we will return to action sometime in mid-January.
Come witness the gray whale migration for yourself, led by Oceanic Society's local wildlife experts! Every Saturday & Sunday morning, January-March, we have naturalist led nature cruises running from 9AM-12PM.Our highly-rated gray whale watching trips depart from Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay. 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 seabirds. Our top-notch naturalists will help locate and identify wildlife and provide educational information throughout your trip. Join us to experience the gray whale migration!
The annual gray whale migration is one of the world's most magnificent and accessible wildlife spectacles. Each fall, thousands of gray whales migrate from their summer feeding grounds around Alaska down to the waters of Baja California, Mexico where they breed and calf. In the spring, the whales and their calves migrate back up north for the summer.
Their migration pathway follows closely along the California coast, providing us with outstanding opportunities for coastal whale watching.
Your trip supports ocean conservation
Oceanic Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ocean conservation. 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. Learn more about Oceanic Society here.
Photos & Videos
Trip Details
As we look for gray whales and other wildlife, one of our expert naturalists will talk about gray whale biology and the conservation efforts that brought them back from near extinction, and will provide natural history information on other seabird and marine mammal species that we encounter. The trip price is $70 per person (ages 10+).
TRIP COST & DATES:
- $70 / person (must be 10 years or older to join trip)
- Groups of 6-9: $65 / person
- Groups of 10+: $60 / person
For departure dates and current availability, please check our booking calendar.
DEPARTURES:
Trips depart from Pillar Point Yacht Harbor in Half Moon Bay, approximately 1 hour south of San Francisco. Currently scheduled departures leave at 9:00 AM and return at approximately 12:00 PM.
(Select dates may also have afternoon departures leaving at 1:00PM returning by 4:00PM.)
DURATION:
Approximately 3 hours.
ITINERARY:
Our itinerary will be flexible, and we generally travel 1-12 miles offshore depending upon the location of the gray whale migration pathway.
VESSEL:
Our Coast Guard certified vessel has an observation deck and indoor cabin with bathroom. Our captains are experienced in nature cruises and committed to marine conservation.
PASSENGER MAXIMUM:
38
CLOTHING:
Warm, layered clothing with a waterproof outer layer is strongly recommended.
PARKING:
Free parking is available at the harbor.
FOOD & REFRESHMENTS:
Bring snacks and beverages.
SMOKING POLICY:
No smoking is allowed on Oceanic Society cruises.
AGE RESTRICTIONS:
Age minimum 10; an adult must accompany children under 18.
For cancellation policy, refund and reschedule policy, and other important terms, read our detailed Terms and Conditions.
What We See
MARINE MAMMAL SPECIES:
The focus of our trip is to observe gray whales as they migrate from feeding grounds in Alaska to breeding areas in Mexico, then return back north again to Alaska. We often see gray whale mother and calf pairs (the calves having just been born in Mexico), as well as whales traveling individually or in small pods. We also regularly encounter California sea lions, harbor seals, and harbor porpoises, and occasionally see humpback whales, Dall's porpoises, elephant seals, Steller sea lions, and other species.
SEABIRD SPECIES:
We see a wide range of seabirds on every trip. Some of the species we encounter are: Common Loons; Eared Grebes; Western Grebes; Brown Pelicans; Double-crested Cormorants; Brandt's Cormorants; Pelagic Cormorants; Black Scoters; Surf Scoters; White Winged Scoters; Black Oystercatchers; California Gulls; Herring Gulls; Western Gulls; Heerman's Gulls; Common Murres; Pigeon Guillemots; Buller's Shearwaters; Sooty Shearwaters; Red-necked Phalaropes; Cassin's Auklets; Rhinoceros Auklets; Northern Fulmars
Reviews
Easy whale watching for the whole family. Great experience on this whale watching excursion! Easy for all ages and just enough--not too little or too much. Great staff that knows all about the sea life you will encounter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
TripAdvisor Member
The staff was very friendly and informative and the crew of the ship was outstanding. I would highly recommend this experience if you can fit it into your schedule. You won't regret it! ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
TripAdvisor Member
Lived in the Bay Area for 10 years, boy have I missed a great experience before. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
TripAdvisor Member
For those who don't want to wait patiently for the action to come to them, catch a ride aboard a whale watching expedition out of Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay [...] Sightings are not guarantees ... but if it's rush hour, the payoff is great.
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
On trips out of Pillar Point Harbor, I've seen whales parallel the boat's course for an hour. They can give a tail salute, spy-hop, even breach, with lots of "puff-of-smoke" spouts, as in, "There she blows."
Tom Stienstra, San Francisco Chronicle