Monterey: Whale Watching Tour with Marine Biologist Guide

4.84

(1045 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I noticed was the slap of salty air when we stepped onto the boat at Fisherman’s Wharf. There was this low hum of people shuffling around, some fiddling with camera straps, others clutching coffee cups like they were lifelines (it was colder than I’d guessed). Our guide—Jenna, a marine biologist—waved us over with a grin that made me feel less like a tourist and more like someone she actually wanted to talk to. She pointed out the sea lions barking from the docks, said they always argue over the same patch of sun. I liked that.

As we pulled away from Monterey, Jenna started telling stories about whales migrating through the bay—her voice carried over the engine noise in this calm way that made even scientific facts feel personal. At one point she stopped mid-sentence because someone spotted a spout in the distance. Everyone shuffled to that side of the deck (probably not great for balance), but there it was—a gray whale’s back breaking the surface, slow and deliberate. The smell of ocean spray mixed with coffee was oddly comforting. I tried snapping photos but mostly ended up watching through my own breath on the lens.

I didn’t expect how much I’d laugh—like when Jenna showed us how to spot dolphins by their splashes (“Like champagne bubbles,” she said) or when Li, one of the deckhands, teased me for nearly dropping my phone overboard. Later, a photographer onboard gave me tips about light angles—not that my hands ever stopped shaking long enough for a perfect shot. There was this moment where everything went quiet except for distant whale sounds picked up by their hydrophone; I still think about that silence sometimes.

We got back to shore just past noon, hair tangled from wind and cheeks stinging from salt. It wasn’t just seeing whales—it was hearing them, feeling small in all that gray-blue water with people who cared enough to share what they knew. Hard to explain exactly why it sticks with me—but it does.