Southern California is a favorite destination for our family. There is so much to see and do, and different times of the year offer different experiences. While the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, Sea World, and Disneyland can fit into a trip any time of the year, a visit during whale migrating season is something special to experience. While different species of whales migrate at different times of the year, gray whales and humpback whales migrate from January – April, making Spring Break an excellent time to catch a glimpse of them.
During March, we took a whale watching excursion from Newport Beach. Not long after our boat left the harbor, we were greeted by some California Spinner Dolphins. They played in the boat’s wake for several minutes as we headed out to sea.
We didn’t have to go much farther before we started seeing small pods of gray whales. At first we could only see water spouting above the ocean as they came up for a breath. Having never experienced this in nature before, this was really exciting. Little did we know this was only the beginning.
A few minutes later, we started seeing even more. While none of them made a full breach, we saw plenty of spouts and their backs and flukes breached the water countless times. Each time was absolutely magical. My boys were in awe of how graceful these giants of the sea are. Over and over again they kept saying “Did you see that!” and “Whoa!”
We lost count of how many whales we saw that day. It was easily more than a dozen. We thought our sea life spotting was finished for the day as we headed back to the harbor. We were wrong! We were greeted by a pod of harbor seals. They were super cute and a fun way to end the trip!
As you can imagine, pictures and videos don’t do the whale watching experience justice. This is something you need to experience for yourself! I would love to help you make whale watching part of your next Southern California vacation.
Wishes Travel with Naomi 
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