BUYER BEWARE: This excursion looks appealing because it promises a small group and a fun, fast boat…read moreexperience. However, booking with this company comes with a real risk: if the boat isn't completely full (6 people), they may cancel your trip. We planned a special outing around this excursion for our wedding anniversary, only to have it canceled with less than 8 hours' notice. Ironically, their own policy requires customers to give at least 24 hours' notice to cancel. If you don't want your plans disrupted at the last minute, I strongly recommend booking with a more reliable company.

My husband and I took our kids and my mom on the "Up Close Dolphin and Whale Watching" and we…read moreabsolutely loved it! We had a wonderful time. It was a more intimate setting, and we basically had the entire boat to ourselves. Nate was our tour guide / driver, and he was awesome! He was very personable and sweet to our kids. We saw a school of dolphins and they were swimming right under our boat! If we hadn't seen any wildlife, we would have been happy with driving along the coastline enjoying the weather and ocean. We had an absolute blast!

We booked Hot Tub Cruisin as a Bachelorette activity this past weekend and had a great time! There…read morewere 12 of us on the boat, and it didn't feel overcrowded--everyone had a spot to relax and enjoy. When we first arrived, most of us needed to use the restroom (since there isn't one on the boat), and the girl working at check-in seemed a bit annoyed by that. However, once we got on the boat, she was totally fine and helpful. A few things to note: someone in your group does have to drive the boat, so plan ahead for that. You can bring your own 21+ drinks as long as they're not in glass containers, and you'll need to bring your own ice. Once you're out on the water, it's pretty lively with lots of other boats and people. We played our own music and just hung out--it was a really fun, chill experience. The two hours definitely go by fast, so keep an eye on the time. They're strict about going over, even by a minute, so we set a timer and started heading back 30 minutes before our end time. Overall, a fun and unique experience we'd recommend!

If you're even thinking about booking a hot tub boat, stop thinking and just DO IT--especially with…read morethis company! From start to finish, the experience was nothing short of incredible. The boat was clean, comfortable, and perfectly warm even with the breeze on the water. It's not every day you get to combine luxury, adventure, and pure relaxation all in one, but, what truly made the day unforgettable was the amazing service. Huge shout-out to Kyle - he was fantastic! Super friendly, incredibly knowledgeable, and went above and beyond to make sure we were having a memorable experience for my friends bachelorette party. Do not be discouraged by the other ratings on this site, I highly, highly recommend and think this is the perfect addition to any plan in San Diego. It will create a lifetime memory. Plus you get to see Sea Lions on your way out!

Doing something on this lake had been on my mother's bucket list for years, so we finally made a…read morevisit. I booked the pedal reservation weeks in advance, and the registration was simple. The ladies greeted us with smiles, the four person boat was easy enough to navigate, and the lake was peaceful. Wow $15 per person was a bit steep for an hour of peace, it was reasonable and everyone had a good time. The only areas for improvement was that the day had started off grey so I left two voicemails to ensure the boats would be available and that despite it being a Friday afternoon in May, that someone would be there. While I never received a return call, everything ran smoothly. The second feedback is that there were spiderwebs on the middle table between the two seats. It would have been nice for that to have been cleaned before our arrival instead of discovering it as I took my jacket off. In any case, we had a great time and despite the heavy load of four grown adults, two of us had no trouble peddling. It was a beautiful day. Update: the reminder email was really well written. If a note could be in there on how or times to reach during off season would be sufficient. As for the webs, one gal was training the other, so I'm sure it was a simple oversight. I changed my review from 4 to 5.

Hi Wynn, Sorry I didn't see your response on Yelp, so I am…read moredelayed in responding. I can't seem to reply to your comment so posting here. To clarify, I first rented your mini-pontoon on September 1, 2024 - that cost was $60...we had 2 adults and 3 children on the boat. That is more expensive than what was offered at the lake before and many people can't afford that. I did see the Friday night special offered in November for $10 , so yes we did take a boat ride then too. I believe there were 4 nights last year that had reduced rates. Regarding accessibility, I am the spokesperson for the residents in Harveston that would like to see the cruise-style pontoon boats back in our lake. It has been heartbreaking to hear from residents who can no longer use the lake like once did. I have heard from a disabled Veteran who used to go on the boat with his dog and no longer can on the ones you offer. My elderly neighbors are no longer able to use the style you have either and I used to go out with them. These are just a few of the people that have been affected. I have shared my cell before in an attempt to speak with you directly and help get the cruise pontoon back in the lake. We have found a USA manufacturer (not China) who makes the same kind we had before. We are willing to purchase it for the lake. I say all that to say, I hope you understand this is not just coming from me, and certainly nothing to do with "my standards" as you remarked, but from many residents and lake goers that cannot use the lake as they once did for boat rides. This lake and situation are unique in that we cannot drop our own boats in the lake; residents are limited to just what is available at the boat dock. We have an online petition that was circulated just within Harveston residents (private group) and we have over 100 signatures. Thank you for your consideration. 310.945.7677

Do yourself a FAVOR & BOOK THIS YACHT!!…read more We had the best experience with the Champagne Yacht! The entire crew was absolutely incredible and made the whole trip so fun, relaxing, and memorable. Brittany, the bartender, was especially amazing -- she was so hands-on, attentive, friendly, and truly went above and beyond to make sure everyone was having a great time! The captain was professional and made us feel safe and comfortable the entire trip, and deckhands Jeff & Drew were awesome as well. Everyone on the crew brought such great energy and hospitality. You can really tell they care about creating an unforgettable experience for their guests. Highly recommend Champagne Yacht for an amazing day on the water! A day I will cherish forever & wish I could relive again & again!

this is the second time i've celebrated a friend's birthday with champagne yacht. their crew is the…read morebest. they're beyond nice and attentive. when it was time to dock, the yacht was cleaned up and everything was packed for us to take home. the yacht itself was super clean and well kept. brittany was one of the crew members that remembered my friend and i from the first time we attended a friends birthday party. looking to book my own birthday with champagne yacht next year because of the service !

The Captain, Naturalist, crew and snack bar staff, and ticket area folks were great. I went out on…read morethe Sunset Whale Watch trip and we saw large pods of dolphins. There were many babies jumping with their moms. As many times as I have gone whale watching I still love learning new things. The Naturalist talked about how really young dolphins don't know where their blow holes are located. When the little cute babies jump out of the water they leap very high so they are sure to get their blow holes clear to breathe!

On 06/19/26, we took the 9 am excursion. Listen to this…read moreadvice..... Upgrade to "THE BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE "!!! You will not regret it. It will accommodate up to 6 in your group. My Husband and I got in line early to check in. We saw the opportunity to upgrade and we took it! He and I had the whole outside of the Captain's deck all to ourselves! My Husband got to fulfill his childhood dream of whale watching and boy did we see some beautiful wildlife! We saw majestic whales, dolphins, birds, sea lions, and while waiting in line to board, fish and stingrays. I got really seasick and the crew there were so kind to me...they kept checking on me, bringing me bags, peppermints and water. Allison, the wildlife narrator, was especially kind. She was also very knowledgeable and her enthusiasm to educate the public about the local wildlife was evident from the beginning! There was also a very attentive young lady crew member that would often see if we needed anything. She also kept bringing me mints, water and bags...she was even kind enough to throw away my full bag. That takes a special kind of humanity to discretely do that. There was a crew member with a beard who also checked on us. I was so seasick by that point that I failed to get their names, but I hope someone lets them know how much I appreciated their hospitality. The star of the show, of course, was Captain Mike! He came out and talked to us and as he was talking to us about his job, we could hear the sincere passion in his voice! He perfectly plotted our trip and made sure that everyone was able to have a great view of the wildlife. We were impressed by how much love and respect the crew members had for the wildlife and the ecosystem. Captain Mike spotted a Mylar balloon, stopped the engine and the team picked it up! I'm sure a beautiful sea creature was saved that day! Thank you again for the wonderful opportunity we had today! This experience is definitely going in the books!!!

We love coming here at-least once a year! Its always a blast whether you do the peddle boat or…read moreelectronic! Staff is always super nice and friendly! Shout out to Jose for being so kind and helpful with us! 10/10 would recommend

For mother's day,my adult kids set this up. We rented the paddle boats…read more I love that this place is dog friendly. They even provide doggie life vests. We booked the boats for a hour. This allowed us to paddle around the marina and out to the mouth of the bay. They have bueys to let you know not to go past that point. Also the man who set us up ,gave us a safety talk . He explained the route to take and how to steer the boat. It was definitely a great time. Something different for mother's day.

My wife and I recently decided a great way to spend a holiday Saturday with our son, his wife, and…read moretheir daughter, would be to spend some time on Lake San Marcos - and what better way to do that then a gondola? After some quick research on Yelp, we made our reservations (VERY easy to do) and met everyone on said Saturday at the Black Swan dock. (side note - they want you there 20 minutes early...this does NOT mean you can check in 20 minutes early...chances are very high that the person checking you in is your gondolier, and he/she will be on the water at that moment). We had Conner (VERY traditional Italian name....cough) - and he was awesome. He shared some great details as we made our way along the shoreline, including some of the local nicknames for the houses on the water. He was VERY knowledgeable about when the lake was created, the various depths, and gave us tips on when to avoid being on the water (July 4th was high on that). We brought along our own drinks and snacks, and thoroughly enjoyed our ride. Highly recommended!

What a great experience. Drew was very good. I highly recommend this service. We did the sunset…read morecruise, and was fun for everyone. Thanks again Drew!

I surprised my boyfriend with tickets for Tiki Time Bay Tours for his birthday and had a couple…read morewere friends with tag along as well. Whether you're a local or visiting San Diego this is a really fun activity on the weekend with yummy drinks and good vibes. Originally we were booked for a 10:30am tour that goes out to watch the sea lions out on the bay, unfortunately not enough people booked that one so it was cancelled. Even though our original plan was cancelled Tiki Time Tours went above and beyond to make sure we had a good experience and not only complimentary upgraded our tickets to a more expensive tour, they also gave our party a free round of drinks for the inconvenience! I think this speaks a lot about a company; anyone can be happy with customer service when everything goes according to plan, but the most important times to step up is when plans get cancelled/changed and that's exactly what they did for us! Instead of the sea lion tour we ended up doing the Tiki Live! tour at 3pm. This tour is about 2 hours and while you're out on the water you mingle with everyone else and play games that can win prizes for yourself, your party or the whole boat! The games were fun, interactive and silly. At some points we got close enough to shore and made people on land be a part of our games! Donny was our tiki tour master and he was really funny during the whole tour. In between games he just let the music play so we could enjoy the atmosphere and drinks. My entire group left with nothing but great things to say about the whole experience. My friend even won a free tour for another time so we will definitely be returning for more tiki fun.

RANDOM SUNDAY -…read moreStunning Views - Drinks + shots - Stunning views - chances to win money and prizes My friends randomly saw this boat and said we should do it for fun. Tickets were around $47 per person for a 2hr water tour around the Bay in a boat decorated in tiki decor. For tourist this tour is great with a ton of fun information about San Diego and stunning views in the water. Minimum 8 people on the boat or there may be cancellation of the tour. PAY ATTENTION TO DETAILS. The guide will have some friendly trivia for a chance to win good cash prices, free drinks, gift cards, etc I think that was pretty fun to include in while getting a tour. If you are sensitive to getting seasick, I would recommend a Dramamine beforehand. Although the boat was spacious, it still felt the wakes from the other boats and you can go rocking. In addition there were slow times of moving and turning. Or you can just chuck down a few drinks and feel numb to it all! They have a Tiki Bar with a drink menu (no food) to purchase from and if you bring snacks to eat - you can't eat it on the boat. Drinks were good but their "house" made shots were pretty good! We had a couple rounds of those while on tour - paid round by a passenger or a free shot in the house by the staff. The awkward but not so awkward would be mingling with other folks on the boat that you don't know. One of my friends kept interjecting with another party and while they seem to not mind I could tell they were being polite but if it were me I'd probs be annoyed if someone kept interjecting while I'm having a good time with my friends. Although we all got along and occasionally shared cheers with shots. Luckily the boat was near empty with just a few of us to have some space to do your thing. Overall, nice little 2hr time in the water. Would highly recommend the later session to catch the sunset. Until the next review....

I've gone on their whale watching tour twice now, the first time in December and the last time was…read moreyesterday, May 29th. I was hoping I'd see just one whale but in December, we saw 5 humpbacks ! Yesterday I wasn't too confident because one of the staff said the tour prior, they saw absolutely no life. Not even birds. But we went out and we saw a Minke whale and 3 humpback whales! One even waved for us. It was great. The staff is very knowledgeable about the whales and other animal life and even the surrounding area. Will definitely be back.

Fantastic trip! Great staff on board. Comfortable inside cabin seating…read more We got to see a huge pod of dolphins and a whale with her calf!

I've lived here my entire life and have never been whale watching but have always wanted to,…read morehowever it's just not an experience I'd typically consider splashing out on for myself (**spoiler alert - my visit was less than two weeks ago and immediately after disembarking I told my husband I wanted to get on another tour stat!) For Christmas, my husband's aunt gifted tickets to our entire extended family to enjoy a whale watching tour together so we finally landed on a date and it was an awesome experience from start to finish. We arrived about 15 minutes early for our 9:30am boarding time, checked in at the kiosk and were given paper tickets to be handed over to the crew as we came aboard. Once onboard, we were introduced over the speaker to the captain and crew and given a quick rundown of the itinerary and safety procedures. We navigated through the harbor where we spotted our local sea lion neighbors basking in the sun which especially delighted the kids and the out-of-town/state passengers, sailed out of the harbor and into the open sea. It was a pleasantly calm morning with hardly any wind and very smooth sailing. The only slight downside was that it was a particularly gray morning, so there was little distinction between the color of the ocean versus the sky but it was very clear and we could see for a long distance. We got probably close to halfway through our two-hour tour without any sightings but once we were about 5 miles off the coast, we started hearing transmissions between the crew over their walkies so we knew to start keeping our eyes peeled. The next half hour or so was spent watching three beautiful fin whales take turns coming up for air, swimming under the boat, rolling playfully and showing their light-colored bellies. It was so fun to be able to move about the boat freely to try to get the best view, some photos and videos, while being filled in by the crew on interesting marine facts. Finally the whales took their deep dives, at which point we were informed they wouldn't be coming back up for air for a while and it was about time to head back. The cruise back was equally smooth as the adventure out, and we got in right on time and prepared to disembark but not before getting coupons for a future expedition and adorable fin whale stickers to commemorate our tour. I can't WAIT to go on another whale watching tour with Oceanside Adventures - it was the best time!! I would 100000% recommend.

What a great day for whale watching!…read more The crew is amazing! Ivy, Tekon, Saxon, Chris. Hope I got all the spelling right! I've been on this boat and it's not always a guarantee as nature is nature but today was perfect. Calm seas, thousands...yes thousands of dolphin and a dozen whales. Mostly humpback but we saw two finback as well. So rad. Can't wait until next time!