The crew was very helpful in many ways. They removed the fish from the hook, filet the fish that we…read morecaught, and overall made the whole trip wonderful. I definitely fish again.

good morning I been fishing all my life but for my first…read moretime fishing on the thunderbird I was very impressed of everything clean boat, food ,clean bunks with ac captains Wer out there helping too and the cook very nice guy when u ask for something very polite. deckhands Wer good. but there's only one problem that I didn't like is how this guy was talking to some customers about using bait or they wanted to replace there bait with a live one and he was telling them No so this customers paid $$ to go fish and have fun not tell them wat to ... sorry I didn't like tha maybe you need to talk to this older guy to me he was ok. Thank you I will be back and this time with my son

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!

This experience was incredible! Courtney was super helpful and accommodating, and Taylor (our…read morecaptain) was amazing! We saw tons of dolphins, some sea lions and a minke whale. We had the best time, I highly recommend this business and we'll be back!

Are you interested in a thrilling trip across the sea to adventure and awesome natural wonders?…read more From the moment we left the dock until we returned I was completely enthralled. The booking is easy, Captain Nick is a total pro. His presentation is knowledgeable and entertaining and he is funny! We saw whales dancing off the Newport Pier, we saw a massive pod of common dolphins. The spray in my face the wind in my hair! I loved every minute. I enthusiastically recommend this immersive ocean-going adventure!

Such a great time on our June 11th tour with Capt. Dani and her crew. We has a very successful trip…read moreseeing 3 species of whales (humpback, fin, and minke), tons of common dolphins, 1 sea lion in the water and many of them on a buoy. All throughout, Dani was aptly guiding the vessel and explaining the strategy of her decision-making from protecting the whales to not encouraging the common dolphins to unnaturally ride with the boat by slowing down to let them pass. Though success is not guaranteed, this crew knew where to go and how to navigate it! We chose the mid-level cruise option and loved it.

This was by far the worst whale watching tour I've ever taken. I've done whale watching multiple…read moretimes before -- in Boston and other locations -- and every other tour actually went out into deeper waters where whales are usually found. This tour, however, barely left the coastline. If whales could be seen that close to shore, I could have just stood on the beach and saved my money. The trip was advertised as 2 to 2.5 hours, but it only lasted about 1.5 hours. Most of that time was spent heading back toward the harbor, and then we sat near the harbor entrance for around 20 minutes just watching sea lions. I honestly don't understand why anyone should pay $50 per person just to look at something you can easily see from the shore. It felt misleading and disappointing. The boat never seriously attempted to go offshore, where whales are actually located. What made this even more frustrating was that I specifically asked the staff before booking whether we were likely to see whales, and they assured me we would. Do not waste your money on this tour.

Paid by card online. Capt. Dave's is located by the harbor and offers a lot of parking. I was…read moreeasily able to book online for the 2.5 hour 8 am tour, for my child and me. When we arrived at the harbor, we went upstairs to check in and got the passes to get on the boat. The staff was super friendly at check-in and on the boat (Capt. Matt, 1st mate, Mike, and photographer, Andy.) Everything about the experience was well-organized. The boat was clean and comfortable so it was an enjoyable ride. We saw about 400 dolphins and 1 humpback whale! It was such an enjoyable excursion! I would recommend you bring your own snacks and/or drinks on board if you don't have a chance to eat beforehand, since snacks and drinks are not provided on the 2.5 hour 8 am tour. There is a small snack shack upstairs where you check in if you forget to bring things to eat and drink. I would recommend this tour and would go back.

Highly recommend going out with the Capt Dave's crew!…read more Had an amazing time out on their Manute'a boat. Cannot say enough about how cool it was to view the wildlife through the underwater viewing pods. It was an unbelievable experience to come nose to nose with wild bottlenose dolphins. We visited on a busy day on Memorial Day weekend, and the crew still took time to make sure that everyone on the boat was having a good time and getting their questions answered. I also brought along my rambunctious 2 1/2 year old son, and felt totally safe on the boat, which felt very secure for kids. On our cruise we saw dolphins, a fin whale, a sun fish, sealions, and common dolphins. A great day. Special thanks to Matt and Amanda for all their fun facts and knowledge sharing! We will definitely be back later in the year to look out for blue whales and white sided dolphins.

They had a good crew the captain put us on some good fish we fish some patties on the way out then…read morethe backside of Catalina got a lot of small baths, but a lot of fun all day

Amazing I booked a 1/2 day for my husband, son, son in law and 4 grandkids. They had the time of…read moretheir lives. THANK YOU SO MUCH. For making this happen.

BEST DAY EVER ON THE WATER!!! I wanted to do something special for my son for his 15th birthday…read more I called SoCal Charters and arranged to take my son and some of his fiends out on a private whale watching trip and we had THE BEST TIME EVER!!! Captain Jeff was just fantastic. He gave us a great tour of Newport Harbor pointing out the various points of interest along the way. Once we cleared the harbor and opened the throttles up and really started to fly across the water. The whales are still enjoying the warm waters and we saw some amazing marine life. The boat is really nice and holds up to six passengers and has an amazing Tuna Tower where the kids had a great time hanging out and looking out for whales. I would definitely recommend SoCal Charters to anyone looking for a private whale watching trip, harbor cruise or maybe even a romantic dinner cruise (without the kids, of course)!

Wow! What an amazing day we had with Jeff at SoCal Charters. I called a day in advance and reserved…read morea whale watching trip for my hubby and I the next day. It's been on our bucket list for years and I was looking for something more intimate than the larger boats I've seen before. Jeff was very easy-going, nice and professional.. The boat was exceptionally clean and comfortable and I loved the name, "wasabi". Within the first hour Jeff spotted a huge Blue whale! We were able to view it multiple times. I appreciated that he took his time for it to re-surface, and asked us whether we were okay moving on in search of other things. Shortly after we ran into a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins, and after that a huge pod of Common Dolphins that played right along his boat. We will definitely be back. Thank you again for the five star experience!

I took the 2 1/2 hour Whale Watching & Dolphin Tour. I've always wanted to see a whale…read more When you check in you get a paper ticket and they tell you which dock you go to then you line up. There was a lot of people in line. I was in the middle and thought I wouldn't get good seats, but I ended up sitting outside in the front. The boat is really nice and big. The front is the best place to sit with a good view of the whales and dolphins. The inside was packed and you don't really see a lot and sitting outside in the back you could smell the fumes from the engine. I did see dolphins and whales - the mom and the calf. They had a couple of experts talk about the whales and dolphins. We were past Newport Beach when we finally saw the whales. We spent a good amount of time seeing them. Then we went back. It's gets windy. It was a fun experience.

When you say the trip is at 3:15...and you don't start loading UNTIL 3:15. It is currently 3:30 and…read morewe are still just BAKING IN THE HEAT!!!!! LAME I realize there is a downstairs that I could sit in-WHY WOULD I DO THAT??? 3:32 Finally started the engine.