Advice - Santa Barbara Whalewatching

[boringperson13]

 

Santa Barbara is the only port that offers whale watching and that's what I'm interested in for me and my children.

 

The longer 4.5 hour cruise-sponsored excursion is listed as "sold out." But based on what I think is the vendor website, it actually doesn't run during the month  I will be in Santa Barbara. I am inferring it actually doesn't exist / is not available rather than it is sold out. 

 

On the other hand, the 2.5 hour "coastal" excursion is open and runs from 7:30-10:00 am. It would cost $260 for me and my two sons from the cruise line. The descriptions explicitly mentions Condor Express as the vendor.

 

If I made reservations directly with Condor Express it would be a 9:00-11:30 am run but would cost $170. Since the cruise ship is in port until 4:00 pm, it seems like plenty of time to get back.

 

Is the earlier leaving time, at 7:00 am versus 9:00 am, worth the extra $90 in terms of the likelihood of seeing whales/wildlife?

Is early April just a generally bad time to take a whale-watching excursion?

Any other thoughts or advice would be appreciated, including alternative excursion suggestions for 10/12 year old boys.

 

 

 

 

 

[princeton123211]

4 hours ago, boringperson13 said:

Is early April just a generally bad time to take a whale-watching excursion?

Any other thoughts or advice would be appreciated, including alternative excursion suggestions for 10/12 year old boys.

It's right at the tail end-- humpback whales are on their way from Hawaii to Alaska at that time of year and it can be hit and miss along the coast of California. Best time is in Jan/Feb/March. 

[jkrislc]

Keep in mind that this is a tender port, so it will take some time to get ashore and the ship will prioritize getting passenger ashore for the ship’s tours. 

[CruiserBruce]

8 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

It's right at the tail end-- humpback whales are on their way from Hawaii to Alaska at that time of year and it can be hit and miss along the coast of California. Best time is in Jan/Feb/March. 

The whales you see in Santa Barbara are probably coming up from Mexico.

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

On 3/21/2022 at 4:33 AM, CruiserBruce said:

The whales you see in Santa Barbara are probably coming up from Mexico.

We live in Rosarito and haven't seen many whales this year at all (compared to last year) and almost none in the last couple of weeks.  Since there isn't much else to do in SB maybe go for it.  But don't get your hopes up.  

[CruiserBruce]

1 minute ago, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

We live in Rosarito and haven't seen many whales this year at all (compared to last year) and almost none in the last couple of weeks.  Since there isn't much else to do in SB maybe go for it.  But don't get your hopes up.  

Were just in Cabo...saw an average number. Hawaii seems to be having a fantastic season from everything I have heard.

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

1 minute ago, CruiserBruce said:

Were just in Cabo...saw an average number. Hawaii seems to be having a fantastic season from everything I have heard.

Yes, our kids just got back from HI and had a great WW trip.  We have read that with the change in global warming some of the MX whale pods aren't migrating as much as in the past.  

 

[princeton123211]

18 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Were just in Cabo...saw an average number. Hawaii seems to be having a fantastic season from everything I have heard.

Hawaii was wild this year-- especially Lahaina Roads area. Just tons of whales everywhere and lots of calfs.