So this was part of my husband's surprise birthday Sunday, where he had no idea where we were going…read morestop after stop. This will stop number three and my thought is even if we never see a whale. It's always a pleasant way to spend a few hours out on the water.. Everyone on the boat was super professional and informative. We really appreciate Laura spitting facts at us and making sure we knew what was going on. At one point, I was standing in front of the boat and I was about to go sit back down, but Laura told me to stay because she knew we would see something soon and we saw a Fin whale, which we stopped for a while to watch come up and down and no matter what it's always magical. We ran into a bunch of dolphins and watching them chop and play as always fulfilling. There's no way you can go wrong with this excursion, especially with a discount. They seem to always be offering. They also give all the birthday people a drink cozy. Highly recommend a great way to spend a few hours..

We went on a family trip together for this Independence Day weekend. My dad suffered a stroke in…read moremid-December last year, and luckily he has recovered quite a bit since then. However, since he still can't travel too far, we decided to visit somewhere close by. So, we booked a hotel in Dana Point and had a wonderful two-night trip. On Saturday, July 4th, we all booked tickets for a whale/dolphin-watching cruise. When I booked the tickets, I asked how long the tour would be, and they said it would be two hours. The ticket prices were $78 for adults and $68 for seniors. At first, my brother accidentally bought all five tickets at the adult rate when three of them should have been seniors. I noticed this on the receipt, so I managed to get a refund for the price difference for the three senior tickets. We bought five tickets for the 12:00 PM cruise and were told to wait at Dock 6 starting from 11:45 AM, but the boat arrived a bit late. Once we got on board, the wind was blowing incredibly hard, and the waves were quite high, causing the boat to rock violently. After boarding, a friendly female crew member gave us a briefing at the front. She kindly advised everyone on board not to run, and said that if anyone felt seasick, it would be better to stay towards the back of the boat rather than the front. She also mentioned that if the motion sickness got too bad, they could provide peppermint or ginger candies, and added that there was a bar and snack counter inside the boat. Come to think of it, I once went sailing on a yacht with my friends a long time ago. For the first 30 minutes, I was clapping, taking photos, and having a great time, but then I got so severely seasick that I had a truly miserable time (the same thing happened to me on a cruise trip before). Still, when I rode a boat at Lake Arrowhead last year, I didn't experience any seasickness at all, so I thought I would be fine this time too--though looking back, that was probably because the lake was so calm. But during this cruise on July 4th, I ended up getting so incredibly seasick that I felt like I was dying. About 10 minutes before we docked, the seasickness got so severe that I even started dry-heaving, and it was just awful. I was dizzy, and my stomach kept churning. Even so, it was really wonderful to see so many dolphins during the cruise, and the crew members were all so kind. When I was struggling with severe seasickness, my brother went to inform the crew. A crew member came over and asked if I wanted a peppermint, ginger, or ginger ale candy. I asked for a peppermint candy, and they handed it to me, saying it was free. When I asked, "Does it work?" she assured me it would. I sucked on the candy while sitting at the back of the boat and fell asleep, but later on, the seasickness became so overwhelmingly intense that I ended up throwing up everything and had a horrible time. Anyone who gets easily seasick should definitely take this into consideration before going on a cruise. Still, seeing so many dolphins was a huge highlight.

Love, love this area of Dana Point. This has been my families spot to learn about the ocean and to…read moreenjoy sea life. We have always come to the Marine protected area when the tide is low and walked along the beach and sand outside the Institute to see all sorts of sea life. It is amazing what you can see, even saw an octopus one time. Just make sure that you know when the tide is rolling in and out to not get caught out on the rocks! On the backside of the Institute there are also benches to sit at and listen to the ocean. The Institute itself is filled with wonderful sea life and is a great learning experience no matter your age. Outside, there is a calm bay area where paddle boarders are all over as well as the educational ships filled with history. There is nothing that you cannot do in this area!

We came to the Ocean Institute for a homeschool field trip and was it ever worth it for waking up…read moreat 6am! The initial lesson part was split into groups and we were assigned to Sydney. She was absolutely delightful! Very knowledgeable and receptive to the questions the kids have! After the lesson, we headed out to the open sea. To our delight we got to see dolphins, sea lions, and even spotter a whale! Overall it was a great experience and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a lesson on ocean mammals!

The guys down at daveys locker do an amazing job! Me and the family will definitely be making the…read moredrive down to Newport just to revist them and go on another charter!

Well run boat, friendly & helpful crew on deck esp Jake and Tomas who were always guiding and…read moreassisting anglers as needed, and kept the mood light.

3rd year in a row with Chris and he never disappoints. Last year was the best trip to date, landing…read morea monster bluefin. This year was even better with 6 yellowtail and an epic day of fishing with the family. If you want a captain that knows how to fish and is focused on giving you the best experience possible Chris is your guy.

Captain Chris provides a safe and fun experience - I've done 2 all-day trips with him in the last…read moreyear and both were epic! Great time, great dude, and great fishing! Can't recommend highly enough!

Incredible, epic time out on the water with Newport Surfrider and Captain Dustin. Weather was…read moreperfect and being out on the ocean just is amazing. We had fun the entire time and can't wait to do this experience again in the future. Saw so many dolphins and a huge sun fish. Highly recommend A+++

Captain Dustin was the best! He navigated us right into a massive dolphin pod and was also very…read moreknowledgeable about the surrounding area and marine life. 10/10 experience!

I got to know Capt. Steve last year when I bought my first boat . I had no clue what the heck I was…read moredoing until meeting Steve . Within a short time he train me well enough to operate the boat. It's been a pleasure and honor knowing Cat. Steve. He is a very knowledgeable, patient and more importantly fun guy. If you're in Dana Point and like to have a fun day on the water, look him up.

took my grandson and son-in-law out with Capt Steve and we had a blast. My grandson had a great…read moretime interfacing with the crew and learned a lot about how to read a depth finder. even though we didn't keep any fish, we still caught lots of undersize barracuda and calico bass to make it interersting. Great time on a 5 hour morning trip and we will do it again. As a long time ocean fisherman I would recommend this establishement to anyone who would like to take a short fun trip on the water

Kind people, clean boats, good fun! We took out the fishing boat and had a great time zipping…read morearound and chasing fish.

Look no further for your boat rental!!! We had such a great experience with Harbor Rentals for my…read morefriend's bachelorette party! From start to finish, the process was smooth, professional, and stress-free. The boat was exactly as expected! Super clean and well-maintained. The staff was friendly and made sure everything was seamless so we could just relax and enjoy the day. They even helped me with instructions on where to park (which was just a few steps from the rental). When o got out the car, they helped me carry all the decor to the boat. They had the fridge stocked with water which was a nice perk. It ended up being the highlight of the entire day. Highly recommend Harbor Rentals if you're planning a fun group outing or special occasion on the water!

We did a four person (three hour) fishing trip with Capt. Anton and Logan. They were both super…read morefriendly, professional, and knowledgeable. The boat was very clean and comfortable. My friends and I have near-zero fishing skills so we didn't catch much, but we still had a great time and we'd definitely do it again!

Fantastic trip. The guys helped our group of newbies have a great trip and taught us how to fish…read more We each caught over a dozen fish (mostly yellowtail) but we did also catch some Dorados and a few other fish as well great time, I'd do it again.