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    Newport Surfrider

    5.0 (29 reviews)
    Closed 9:30 am - 7:00 pm

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    Seals in the sun
    Stephanie K.

    Dustin was awesome and made sure we saw dolphins, whales and seals. We highly recommend a tour with Surfrider.

    R L.

    Dustin is the best captain!!!! In our 2 hours whale watching trip, we saw 2 whales (twice), countless dolphins and some very cute bell ringing sea lions. Dustin also spent time to educate us about the marine animals. The ride to the ocean was a bit bumpy but it was totally worth it!!!!

    Leonard A.

    We had a great time on the water. We were able to see a pod of dolphins and spent time with them. The sea lions were also a great treat. Dustin was very accommodating, knowledgeable, and caring. I would highly recommend this experience. And look forward to booking again with Dustin.

    K S.

    Best experience in my 50+ years. Run, don't walk to Dustin's boat! You will not be sorry. Worth every penny , and The captain has amazing depth of knowledge as a naturalist and a local.

    Naomi T.

    We booked the "wildlife adventure" and had an incredible time. We saw tons of dolphins & sea lions and because the boat was so low to the water, we were able to get extremely close to the dolphins. Our guide Brian was super knowledgeable and friendly. Highly recommend this experience over booking a tour on a larger boat because of how close you're able to get to the sea animals as well as the more intimate feel.

    Dolphins

    Amazing tour! Dustin was a great guide and extremely knowledgeable! Boat was clean and more intimate experience as you are not crammed on with others. We spotted wales, dolphins and sea lions! 1000% recommended!

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    5 years ago

    The coolest way to spend your bday!!! Thank you Dustin for the perfect time! You are so knowledgeable and kind!

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    Ask the Community - Newport Surfrider

    Review Highlights - Newport Surfrider

    Dustin took my family including my 2 young daughters ages 4 and 6 to see their very first mega pod of dolphins.

    Mentioned in 20 reviews

    Read more highlights

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    Newport Coastal Adventure

    Newport Coastal Adventure

    4.9
    (462 reviews)

    After stumbling across Captain Erica Tik Tok's page, we wanted to book an adventure. We have been…read moreon other whale watching adventures in Newport and Newport Coastal Adventure is by far the best. We are hooked and will ONLY go on their adventures now. Went on a 2 hour tour with Captain Erica and Molly, down in Newport Beach. They were absolutely the best. Captain Erica was knowledgeable and friendly that we were able to enjoy the whole ride. We saw a momma grey whale and baby and hundreds and hundreds of bottle nose dolphins. As Captain Erica said, we must have had lucky people on board to experience both on the same tour. Molly got some awesome and amazing shots that she was able to share with us. We thoroughly enjoyed the surfing dolphins that were created by the wake from our boat. The conditions were perfect, and the experience was worth every penny. We're already planning our next tour for the upcoming season and can't wait to book an Oxnard adventure with them. Hopefully we can get this dynamic duo again. Can't speak highly of Captain Erica and Molly. Total worth it. See you guys soon.

    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.

    Newport Landing

    Newport Landing

    4.2
    (86 reviews)

    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.

    SoCal Charters

    SoCal Charters

    5.0
    (14 reviews)

    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!

    Capt Dave's Dana Point Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari

    Capt Dave's Dana Point Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari

    4.8
    (874 reviews)

    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.

    Paddle Pub - Newport Beach

    Paddle Pub - Newport Beach

    4.5
    (48 reviews)

    This was a wonderful time and all of our friends enjoyed it! I would 10/10 recommend anybody doing…read morethis! Caroline and Gordy made the trip!!

    My broworkers and I were planning a joint team outing for our teams. Most other duffy boats have a…read moremaximum of 12 people and we had a bigger team than that so we searched for a larger option and stumbled upon the Paddle Pub that fits a maximum of 16 passengers. The 90 minute Private Brew Boat ($590) which includes a captain and a deckhand, bluetooth speaker on the boat for you to play your jams, and you can bring your own brews, limited to closed canned beverages. Good times! They have a parking garage, no validation offered, but the majority of us just lyfted/ubered down for safety. Prior to the event, we were provided the waiver links to share with our team. Everyone had a change to review the waivers and sign prior. On the day of the event, they ask that everyone arrived 15 minute early, and they will be checking IDs to confirm the names of the waivers signed. We had Lily as the deckhand who was helping us for the day. After we were all checked in, we were lead into their docks and boarded the board, where we met Captain Joe. Captain Joe started off with a safety speech, and from there we were ready to party. Keep the boat fairly balanced, don't all run to one side, not too many people at the front all at once, the front is on the opposite end as the Captain. There were 10 pedaling seats and an area in the front. There was one broken pedal. This boat has a motor so the pedaling is optional but it's for funsies. One of the pedal seats were broken and not in operations. Also these bike like seats were not very comfortable. After the first hour folks got off and stood around, but they were over-it with the bike chairs. Good for groups of 12-16, but if we had a smaller group I would have prefered the standard size duffy boats. It was hard to mingle since you were essentially stuck in the seat and spread pretty far out from everyone. Still a fun time, but I just had better. Also remember to Tip. They have their venmo information up, or afterwards they send you an email asking you how your experience went, and there is an option to tip after that fact if you were unable to on the day of the event.

    City Cruises

    City Cruises

    4.0
    (322 reviews)

    I was adamant that my bridal shower be something different and unique and my mother and I stumbled…read moreacross City Cruises. From the moment we reached out until disembarking the yacht, the staff at City Cruises went above and beyond. The boat itself was gorgeous. The food was delicious. The service was impeccable. I swear every time I turned around our server, Geri Lynn was there to refill my glass. When my group of guests wandered upstairs to the top floor, I overheard the manager alerting the staff that we were moving... I didn't know what that meant until they all popped upstairs to make sure that everyone up there was still having their glass of champagne refilled and bringing us anything we needed. I have never had so many compliments on an event in my life! Thank you so much to everyone at City Cruises for the amazing experience. I will remember it forever!!

    Nicky is a superstar!! She served our large group and was SO sweet and really took care of us. Both…read moreNicky and the photographer had such great energy. The cruise itself is a great deal (they also have Groupons!) because it includes unlimited mimosas, breakfast, and some nice photo spots. Was pleasantly surprised by the food variety and quality! I think the service at the tritip station could be a little more energetic, or we were just so used to the energy of Nicky and the photographer, that it seemed a little off and not as welcoming. My favorite items were the petit four cakes, tritip + horseradish, and chicken tenders! A lot of people in the group loved the smoked salmon bagels. Our drinks were always topped off and Nicky was always around in case we had any questions or needed something else. Would go on another city cruise!

    Newport Surfrider - boatcharters - Updated July 2026

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