Dana Wharf Whale Watching Experience Tips & Review Plus #Giveaway

Calling all Whale Watching Fans...

 

 Dana Wharf Whale Watching is a Family Fun Outing Must!

 



 

It's hard for us to find something fun for us to do days after the Christmas New Year craze... but... it's our boys birthday just days after New Years!

 

This year we were so grateful that Dana Wharf Whale Watching invited us to come on board for a tour.

 

My son loves the ocean, who am I kidding, we all do! For his birthday we surprised him with an early morning tour out.



 

We were so impressed with the Captain and his knowledge as well as clarity when speaking about the sealife he would do his best for us to see. The crew is great!

 

It was an amazing treat to see more than 500 dolphins swimming around us. The most precious of moments to me is seeing the kids faces when they see a massive humpback whale next to the boat.

See video here.

 



 

Whale watching is really a beautiful experience and it's not guaranteed you will see a whale. There is just something about being on the open ocean that is calming and peaceful.

 

 

Tips for your trip..

 

* we liked the early departure time of 10am.
During winter it was not too cold not too hot from the moment we took off to return to dock

Festival of Whales at Dana Point Harbor, Our Favorite Moments & Whats's Up for This Weekend too!

Dana Pont Harbor Welcomes The Festival Of Whales 47th Annual Celebration

 

Have you been to the Festival of Whales in Dana Point?

 

 

This beautiful family friendly event is in its 47th year and growing in popularity.

 

There is so much to see and experience! Parking is plentiful too in the assigned lots and there's a free shuttle trolley that runs from 10am to 4pm too!

 

 

A few must do's... stop by the SoCal Woodie Display, Harbor Music Series, and Art Show along the Harbor Walkway and Mariner's Village! 

Festival Of Whales Coming to Dana Point March 2016

Ahoy! The Dana Point Festival of Whales will be here for two weekends in March!

Thar she blows!!!! Just look for the water spray - that is how to spot a whale out at sea while whale watching. 

On March 5th and 6th and then again on March 12th and 13th Dana Point will host the 45th annual Dan Point Festival of Whales. 

This is so nostalgic for me. As a kid into my teens we would go with my parents to Dana Point to catch as many of the seasonal festivities they put on. This one was not to be missed. 

I can not wait to keep this tradition alive again this year with my own family. 

We love that there is always art, music, entertainment, food and much more to enjoy with our family and friends. You can see all the details of the entertainment line up and more here.

There are even special contests you can enter... ready to make and race your own Dingy... enter here!

Be sure to book your 2 hour Whale Watching tour and you can do that pre event on line here. There is a $15 8am trip special for all 8am trips out! That is a whale of a deal..hehe!

Follow along with the Dana Point Festival of Whales on their social media - Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Our Top 5 things not to miss at the Dana Point Festival Of Whales:

* Whale Watching - anytime is awesome but I have always heard earlier the better in the day. 

* Arts and Culture - so many vendors to see that have brought home made and personalized art to Dana Point for years. Each piece of art has a story of Dana Point Whale Festival history and depth. 

* Classic Car Displays - Who doesn't love a classic car?! We sure do. My dad always loved to take us to see and smell the original leather of a classic. He has a Packard so for us this is a sight seeing must do.   

* Music and Food - this goes hand in hand for us, much like the Ships festival and the Blues festival the music and food just pair well together. Take a moment to enjoy the sounds while you fill your belly with seafood and more. 

* Sand Sculpting and Parade - we usually check out one before the other and work up our appetite for the music and food. 

Two things we want to check out and maybe try out this year:

* Stand up and Paddle boat clinics. I have always wanted to try both. This may just be my opportunity to get a foot out on the water on the stand up paddle board! Exciting!!

* Movie in the Park - March 5th the Dana Point Festival of Whales will show Free Willy - Escape from Pirates Cove. We can not wait to see the movie under the stars with free popcorn too. Details here.

Doheny State Beach has campground and much more all year round to accommodate the festival fun for weekends long. Get more details on the fun you can have all year here and get all the details on the Whale Walk too. The Whale Walk is where a new painting will go up among those already on display. You can help paint it on March 6th from 9am to 2pm. 

What are you most excited about? We can not wait to attend, we just can't decide what weekend to get out there so it may just be all 4 days for us!

The best part about the event... there will be a FREE SHUTTLE to get you from one fun spot to the other, so don't worry about if and how, it will be easy to navigate to everything! 

Follow along on social media for more details as we get closer to the event.

Tag #FestivalOfWhales on social media to show your support and the fun you will have!

Harbor Breeze Cruises and Aquarium of the Pacific Advise Conservation While Whale Watching!

First Time Whale Watching a Success!

Thank you to the Aquarium of the Pacific for the invite to board the Ocean Breeze Cruise boat Triumph for whale watching yesterday.

I have always wanted to go whale watching but have never had the opportunity to go and yesterday I was able to take my kids as well.

Usually on outings like this I like that my husband comes along but because he was not able to go I decided that it would be worth it because this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to not only see Gray Whales but possibly catch an Orca too!

We were scheduled to leave about 11 and return at 1. I myself could stay out at sea for a half day if not more but I thought this was perfect for family time or even a date.