We've also done this tour several times, and never a disappointment! The ship is lovely and…read morecomfortable and the crew are amazing!! I love that they take the time to allow everyone to enjoy these experiences. It was fun, it was awe inspiring, it was a wonderful morning! Thank you so much!!

We've been on this tour several times through the years, but two incredible trips come to mind;…read moreonce in 2019 and today in 2026! Each time has been incredible! We always learn so much AND see so much - we've seen dolphins, orcas, humpbacks, sea lions, and otters on this tour. The tour is the perfect amount of time and the staff are so knowledgeable, safe, and kind. We're lucky to live only two hours away; we always recommend this company to friends and family coming in from out of state. Can't wait to come back, we won't wait so long next time in between visits!

We saw a nursing pod of common dolphins which was breathtaking. In spite of heavy fog for most of…read moreour outing, we also saw a Mula Mula, Risso dolphins, several humpback whales, sea lions, and lots of sea birds. The naturalist was very knowledgeable, and the captain knew the best spots to explore.

i've been on well watches on both the east and West Coasts, but this was hands-down, the best one…read moreever, and it wasn't only because we saw more than 60 whales and 1500 dolphins. This , no frills boat is the perfect size to turn on a dime and rush to the action is. The cruise focus is providing the best possible experience for the passengers, as testified by the fact that although the boat is certified to carry 49 passengers, they voluntarily limit their cruises to 28 so that everyone has rail space and room to move around comfortably. The naturalist and the captain were knowledgeable and and the experience was phenomenal. We saw whales everywhere we looked, and they put on a great show: tail slaps, waving fins, and many beautiful breaches. I look forward to many with these folks.

Five Stars! My kids…read moreand I had an absolutely fantastic whale-watching trip with Sanctuary Cruises. Captain Joey made the entire experience incredible. His knowledge of the sea life, the Monterey Bay whale habitat, and everything we were seeing from the whales to the sea lions hunting made the trip so much more than just a boat ride. You can tell he genuinely loves what he does, and that enthusiasm made the experience even better. We had an amazing time and will absolutely be back. Thank you, Captain Joey and Sanctuary Cruises, for such a memorable day!

Sanctuary Cruises was *thee* best whale watching experience! Easy booking process, and very…read moreaccommodating staff (we were running late due to the lovely Bay Area traffic coming from SF, and they actually called to make sure we were coming and would make it for departure!). Both the guide and captain were so nice, and knowledgeable! I understand that our cruise wasn't usual, as there was so much activity - however we saw SO many whales. We could see no less than 3 at a time, and many were within 10-30 feet of the boat! An amazing time, both my 6-year old and I were thoroughly impressed :)

We did the 1.30pm tour today and it went for 3 hours. At 1 hour in we reached an area just past the…read moredrop off where Isaiah mentioned whales tend to hang out, and what to look for. My daughters (age 9&7) were thrilled to see splashes ahead and looked hard to find a whale and very excited to see a mom and calf humpback whale right after that. We also got lucky and saw a blue whale. Isaiah gave some info about blue whales and they took it all in. I was a bit worried about how it would go as my oldest daughter has autism but she felt comfortable enough to take herself off to a quieter space (indoors) when needed. It was also a small enough group that it didn't feel overwhelming for her. Overall we had a great time!

Great experience, we really enjoyed the naturalist on board answering all our questions and…read morepointing things out. They do a really good job of getting everyone on the "right" side to see whales. We saw several humpbacks breaching, and a ton of bird and dolphin activity. Really was a step beyond other whale watching trips to be able to see so many whales slowly feeding, you could even hear them breathing! Going back for a 2nd trip later this week to do it all again!

The most amazing experience ever! My whale watching tour was cancelled and I had driven 3 hours…read morefrom Sacramento when I meet Carol from Khauna Sports fishing and whale watching. She was amazing, she wrangled up her crew, Bryan the captain and Katherine the naturalist in half an hour. I wrangled 33 strangers, like me who were disappointed that our trip was cancelled. Carol and the Khahuna crew gave us the perfect outing and Katherine' s knowledge was amazing! We saw Risso's dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Humpback whales,Sea otters, Harbor seals, Sea lions and several different species of sea birds. We had Watchers from different parts of the country and world, China, France and Netherlands and USA I would say, the day was a successful meeting of different species ! Bryan even followed the Whales and dolphins for what seemed forever. He gave us an experience of a life time. Everyone was amazed at the trip. Way better than the other company. Thanks Carol, Bryan and Katherine you rock! Kat and Marian and group.

These folks are the best deal on the block. Their Groupon is an amazing offer…read more I love that they have coffee and breadsticks available to munch on before you get on the boat. The boat is nice enough although it's the smallest in the area. Their boat goes to the same place Sea Goddess goes so the experience is basically the same once out on the bay. As a whole they are A-OK (definition of a 3 star yelp review). The crew and staff are fantastic, and alone would get 5 stars. My only personal issue with their setup is that the boat you go out to admire marine life in is the same boat used to go out and slaughter marine life. Kahuna fishing does all day excursions where they take fishermen out to sea in this ride. I love animals so I don't kill them. I don't fund the killing of animals by eating them either. There's an irony that we can marvel at one segment of the marine life and thirst to destroy the other.

This is, by far, the BEST whale watching on the bay! Don and Captain Kate are knowledgeable and…read moreenthusiastic hosts every time!

It was a gray cool morning, and all 6 of us were bundled up, as if we were going into a snowstorm…read more That was a wise decision. Ten minutes after leaving Moss Landing we encountered 4 humpback whales foraging, 10 minutes later 2 more, and half a mile away more blows. In 3 hours we encountered at close range probably 40 humpbacks. We were able to get fluke photos of 18 different whales and using Happy Whale identify 17 known individuals and at least one whale not in the Happy Whale database. Fabulous morning on the water with Captain Kate Spencer.

My cousin and my thoroughly enjoyed our tour. The boat was comfortable and very quiet, and we were…read moreable to see lots of wildlife including otters, seals, pelicans, and more.

We had the best experience with Captain Joonya and were so lucky to see so many otters, seals, and…read morebirds on our trip. We even saw multiple groups of mating otters & a mother and baby!! The boat is so comfortable and beautifully decorated. My 99 year old grandmother had the best time & appreciated the extra blankets provided on board and how comfortable Captain Joonya made our family feel! We will definitely be back for another charter in the future!!

saw LOTS of wildlife (sea otters, sea lions, harbor seals & so many different birds even a…read morekingfisher!) the guides were so knowledgeable & funny & even offered hot beverages & a local brand of cookies which was amazing. hour & a half long tour but honestly flew by it was so much fun :) perfect for any age!!

Both our captain and naturalist seemed to truly love what they were doing and that really comes…read moreacross in the experience. It was clear that they worked with other groups to help track animals and when we stopped to take pictures of tagged otters and mating it made me feel like we were part of the scientific team. I learned more about otters than I had ever imagined. They are very endangered. I learned lore about seals that I ever imagined. Truly amazing trip. Worth every penny. Don't forget to tip your guide and captain.

Overall, I had a really great experience with Oceanic Expeditions. I went out recently while…read morevisiting the area and after following them on social media for years, knew I wanted to book a trip due to the small boat size (only 6 people max). I went on the 9:30am trip with two couples and we were lucky to have great weather and overall calm waters. We were lucky to see many humpbacks and several breeches and to see humpbacks relatively close to the shore. The reason however I docked a star is that we were back at the dock after 2.5 hours, when the trip was very clearly listed as 3 hours. Given that this was a pretty expensive experience, it left me feeling a bit confused and cheated. Even though we had seen a lot of "action" and I had a wonderful time, I still feel that we should have been on the water for the amount of time the tour was marketed for - if it was 10 minutes short I wouldn't have been as bothered losing half an hour is a significant portion of the trip. I have been on many whale watching tours and they are typically marketed with a range of hours or a minimum amount of time, and the duration has always met that minimum. I do think Oceanic Expeditions would be better marketing this as 2.5-3 hours if they are not going to be on the water for the full 3 hours.

Booked with them for my bf and I's 3rd anniversary. I was hoping to see Orcas but because of the…read moreprice point we booked the normal whale watching experience. They called to have us move our date a week before, due to not enough people being booked on our boat. While this was clearly stated on the website it was a bit disappointing as we had already booked our hotel in the area with that date in mind. Maria was so nice and we were able to join the orca expedition the following day at a slightly discounted price. I was able to move the hotel reservation for a small fee, but was excited at the prospect of seeing orcas. The boat was quite small, which is great for an intimate experience, but not great if you suffer from bouts of seasickness. I took every precaution I could and ended up in the back of the boat feeding more fish than I saw. Unfortunately no orcas came out that day, even after sailing the full 6 hours. We saw many beautiful humpback whales and the people working the boat were very sweet. While I understand orcas are not guaranteed, it seems you might be just as likely to see them no matter which tour you buy, it just depends on the luck of the day. I will not be going again anytime soon, but if you can handle being on a small boat in rough waters, I would recommend them!

Excellent tour. Boat is silent. Seals aren't…read more Restaurant at the dock is good too My 12 lb calm little dog was welcome too

This tour was so great! The El Cat catamaran is electric so it's super smooth and quiet as it…read moreguides you over the calm waters of the Elkhorn Slough. The guide was so knowledgeable and a great host to guide us through the 90 minute tour. We saw so much wildlife! Otters, seals, sea lions, loons, cormorants, and many other birds. Otters were my favorite of course! I noticed folks can even kayak through the waters which I think would be pretty cool to get up close to the sea life. I felt so educated when I left and appreciated this experience so much. I highly recommend!