My family of 5 took a last minute private 1.5 hour sunset cruise and couldn't have had a better…read moretime. Captain Tiki was amazing, had a great sense of humor with the kids, and made the tour very fun. While it would've been great to be on the water longer, an hour and a half was still plenty! This was the highlight of our summer in Carmel/Monterey!

Our company recently booked a charter for our employees, and to say we had a wonderful experience…read morewould be an understatement--everyone absolutely loved it! Captain Vince was incredible. He was attentive, informative, and extremely kind. We felt comfortable and safe throughout the entire trip. Our employees couldn't stop raving about the experience, and many shared that they plan to book their own charters in the future for their families. It was such a peaceful and beautiful time out on the water--truly a memorable experience that will stay with you. Thank you, Captain Vince, for making our trip so memorable. You were awesome!

We just finished up a sail with Gene. It was amazing. He was so informative and knowledgeable about…read moresailing, the wildlife and the Monterey area (among so many other things)! And bonus to being out on open water was all the whales that happened to be eating in the area. I definitely recommend to anyone!

I booked Carrera Sailing for a private charter in Monterey on Valentine's Day where I proposed to…read moremy now fiance. With such a special event I spent a lot of time researching and was actually debating on booking with Carrera Sailing vs a few other private charters. I can confidently say that I made the right decision. What separated Carrera Sailing from the competition for me was Gene himself and his attention to detail. He is not a large company that churns through customers as quickly as possible. He focuses on quality and providing great customer service. From the start, he was very transparent to me regarding the wind and weather conditions and provided recommendations for the dates we were in town. You could also tell that Gene had decades of experience from the entertaining stories and experiences he shared during the trip. He knows every aspect of sailing and even custom manufactures carbon fiber additions to his boat. Overall, the experience was absolutely perfect and we will definitely be back.

My wife and I are visiting from Miami and came across Shearwater's charter quite fortuitously. We…read moreare with our twin seven year olds and our nine year old; Kevin could not have been more accommodating, engaging and amazing at allowing our kids to ingratiate themselves in the operation of the boat. It is not only a beautiful sailboat, departing from a very convenient location, but also offers a very cool experience to see Monterey from the opposite perspective that we're used to (especially the aquarium). We had an incredible afternoon and can't wait to be on the water with Atalanta again!

Kevin did a wonderful job with our trip! He was so knowledgeable about the entire bay. He provided…read moresnacks and drinks and made it a really fun trip on the water. Would highly recommend for a nice, casual trip with friends of family. Feel free to bring a few bottles of wine to enjoy (just not red wine, since it may stain during rough waters).

Amazing whale watching trip! Our all female crew was awesome! Lulu was so kind! Make sure to take…read moreDramamine or motion sickness pills, but the crew seemed well prepared to deal with sea sickness. The orcas we saw were incredible! Even though you are in the bay for a lot of it, there's still boat motion.

Best experiance possible. Burial at Sea. Can you imagine separating yourself from the ashes of…read moreyour Wife, Daughter's Mother' Your Best friend! A very difficult separation. Nancy and crew were so understanding and empathetic. They instinctly knew what to do. and made this another memory to treasure. Even as I write this, I have tears streaming down my cheeks. The Sea Wolf II was piloted in a circle and, as we completed the circle the rose petals had formed a large ring, as we were saying our final good-bye's, a large pod of dolphins surfaced. Most Beautiful experiance.

Finally get to check seeing a whale breach off of my bucket list ! The crew was enthusiastic and…read moreknowledgeable. They tell everyone which side of the boat they'll face the whales on and ensure everyone gets a spot to see. They don't overcrowd, so everyone gets to be against the railing on the viewing side. It's truly magical being surrounded by so much life. We saw 1500+ dolphins, multiple humpback mothers and calves, an escort, and a 34+ year old male breaching all in the span of an hour. They also provide the photos they get on Google Drive, so you can focus on taking everything in with your own eyes if you'd like. I loved knowing the identities of the whales we saw as well. Even if nature had decided to show us nothing, I'd still very much appreciate their service. Couldn't recommend enough ! I'll come back some day in hopes of seeing a blue whale !

One of the most amazing experiences of my life ! Naturalist…read morewas knowledgeable and all crew were friendly. Boat and group size was small enough to feel like you could get a good view of all animals. I would book a tour with them again!

My friend Hayes and I went on a tor with LB and had the best time. She was an expert guide and had…read morethe best jokes!

We had a blast kayaking with the otters and seals!…read more Parking was easy as was check in at the store. They gave an informational overview of where to paddle to see wildlife as well as other recommendations and safety tips. They provide life jackets, waterproof jackets and pants which were great too keep water off your clothes. There are porto potties available if you need to use the facilities. The staff were well very nice and helpful. The main con of our trip was the two person top sitting kayak we were on seemed to have problems with steering. No matter how hard we tried to turn right, the kayak always tended to veer the other direction which was frustrating. We got another kayak to check if they saw anything wrong visually on the water, but they couldn't see anything so maybe there was something going on with the underside of the kayak. Besides that, we had a nice time on the water and were able to enjoy seeing all the birds and cute otters and seals out and about. Later in the morning and early afternoon we even got to see the otters get more active and go diving for mud worms that looked like bright orange cigars. It was super cute seeing the otters sleeping nested in the kelp too. Try not to disturb them though since they need to conserve energy to stay warm! We unfortunately saw one tour group led by a guide that went right next to a sleeping pod of otters and woke them all up. Overall, fun place to go kayaking with wildlife! Glad we went on this trip here!

I have gone on many whale watching trips in this region, and today was honestly beyond wonderful…read more Sanctuary cruises does it all well! Brian was super helpful and kind with our booking and called us back promptly. The captain Joey knew right where the action was, allowing us to spend a whole hour watching two families of Bigg's Orca whales celebrate a successful hunt with breaches, tail slaps, and other incredible acrobatics. We also watched humpback whales put on a show and lunge feed off to the side of the boat! Naturalist Luke shared fascinating stories about these amazing creatures. I have regularly taken my science students out on this boat because they always provide personalized, phenomenal service, and make everyone feel at home and safe. You won't regret booking a trip with this outfit!

This was our first whale watching experience and it was wonderful. We did 8am Mother's Day morning…read moreand spent a little over 3 hours on the water. We seen 4 different species dolphins, 2 baby humpbacks near the harbor and a trio of full grown humpbacks further out. Chase was great and even let our little one go in steer the boat on the way back. We bought one of his framed photos before leaving and would for sure do this again. The smaller boat allowed them to get the dolphins to "surf" along the bow and that was a super fun experience.