The Cruises on the RV Explorer boat are the best! We did a Sunday morning in October Marine Mammal Cruise and saw; Blue whale with a baby, 2 species of dolphins, sea lions, a giant mola mola fish that the captain knew where to find, and lots of diving birds. It was like a dolphin superhighway, huge pods of dolphins were jumping and cruising along under the boat almost the whole time. We got just a few feet from them in the bow of the boat where you can see underneath you. The dolphins rolled on their side to look at us and we could hear them talking. Going on the Ocean Institute cruise is so much better than a commercial whale watching tour because the biologists really know so much more about the behavior of the animals and they are so enthusiastic about their work. They were all so excited to see as many things as we did in one day. We asked a million questions and they even pulled up some plankton from down deep to show us under the microscopes on board. I felt like everyone was there for the mutual love and to learn about the ocean. You also get free admission in the Ocean Institute the day of your cruise, bonus! We are planning on doing the nighttime Bioluminescence cruise next =] read more

Came here on a Tuesday with my fiance and our daughter. I was so excited for her to see the fishes !! We paid & went inside & it was only told AFTER we had alread paid that during the week its closed for schools but open to the public on weekends. It would've been nice if the lady at admissions told us we would be paying $10 to see ONE fish tank. I left so disappointmented and wanting to go to the Long Beach aqaurium. read more

I love the ocean Institute. It is a great spot for kids wanting to get more involved in ecology and its nice for visitors to the coast to see more without having to spend an entire day at an aquarium or water park. The location makes for an amazing spot for corporate events and weddings. The paths along the building make for wonderful romantic walks, and the staff is always kind and dedicated to marine biology which often means they are teachers to all. Parking is free and a bit tough around holidays when the harbor is packed, but the Tall Ships Festival is also an added feature and a must see spot for the OC visitor. read more

Amazing informal education facility for students of all ages and quality public programs on campus as well as whale watching cruises aboard the RV Sea Explorer. Staff is very educated and passionate about our oceans, so you can count on a great experience each time you visit. Highly recommend visiting in March since you will mostly likely witness the grey whale migration, as well as common Dolphins , California sea lions & a variety of marine birds. read more

Really hate to write a poor review of this place because I bet under the right circumstances it is great. But we went on a weekend and not part of a group and it just wasn't much fun. There was very little actually open, working, or staffed. I'd not recommend it as a walk in... read more

There are so many interesting things to do here and one of my favorite activities is to go out on their small research boat. We were able to listen to an informative lesson about the Dana Point marine life, drag the bottom of the ocean floor and study the microscopic sea life using a magnification system. We also had a wonderful bonus in following a cluster of dolphins and seeing the harbor seals. It is an unforgettable experience and I highly recommend it. read more

I love this place. I love the squid dissection days. My son goes crazy. He's totally my little scientist and it's the perfect place for him to learn and play. read more

If I could, I would give this a 0 stars. So today my and my mom and sister went to here. We thought it would be a place where you could touch and see sea life. But we were very wrong. We finally arrived, and my mom purchased a membership online. So we went in. A staff member greeted us by standing beside us and said "can you find the hidden eel?" We found it almost immediately. Then we went outside. We walked to go to another facility, then a staff member blocked us. They said there was a class there. We thought we could just go! Other museums let classes and people not in classes in the same facility. We were disappointed. So we herd they had a tour! We went to a classroom of fish where we could look at fish. SO CROWED AND SO BORING! We looked at only 2 fish actually move, which was a seahorse, and another kind of fish. We then left. We then went to the gift shop. Hardly anything besides butter knifes and jewelry and things for kids and other crappy things. Overall, this was very disappointing and we will probably never come again. Update: THEY ONLY OPEN ALL FACILITIES ON Sunday! read more

My younger sister came home bawling because one of the "actors" on the boat had singled her out and yelled at her profusely with a voice loud/harsh enough to cause other students to be frightful. He was not just acting in this situation and chaperones on the field trip had seen this to be abusive. All other classmates were terrified too because of the abusively harsh way that this man treated them, lacking sympathy even though it was obvious the kids were scared. If I could give this review 0 starts I would. Completely unacceptable to treat a child in that manner. read more

This place is great for children on a field trip but do not have your wedding reception here. There has been a change in management after I signed the contract with ocean institute. They are difficult to work with and much more strict than before. Avoid, avoid, avoid. read more

Took bus from SanClemente to Dana Point and walked steep hill down to the cove to go the Ocean Institute-great views from up the hill! Had a fun time learning (and touching) various starfishes saw a, jellyfish feeding session and talked to a lot of fishes in the tanks! Even saw the FULL skeleton of a grey whale washed up on HuntingtonBeach in 1979! And on our walk there to/from the jetty, gawked at the (huge) brig Pilgrim which brought RichardDana in 1879 from NewEngland to trade with NativeAmericans for their cowhides. Also had donuts brought w us from Fonuts at their outdoor benches. Recommended for a relaxing AND educational time! Will retrn for their nightboat trip soon! read more

ok price for what you get. This is a small ocean learning center. Only takes max of an hour to go thru. Some cool stuff to see, whale bones, sea stars and rays. Right by the beach and boats in the bay area. Very pretty outside view. Staff was nice. read more

We come here quite often when visiting baby beach. The staff is so friendly my baby girls 2 1/2 loves to stop by. Still not sure about the pirate ship schedule but watching the pirates practice is exciting. Thanks to the Maddie James Foundation and generous donations it looks like the Institute will be expanding. read more

I've been to two private events here, which is fun (company party, and high school prom). Touch tanks, sea life to look at. Big fire pit. The food they produced for the company event (probably catered?) was decent, too. read more

The tour was just a tour of a few fish tanks. Kind of a bummer. Could have walked it in 5 mins but they took 45 mins to talk through. Staff were friendly and knowledgeable but wouldn't do it again if we knew. Was expecting something more like gumbo limbo in Boca Raton. They should just let u walk thru and look at the tanks quickly. read more

I had a work function in their Surf Deck room and it was so gorgeous and such a wonderful environment. I had staff in from four different states and they loved being there. I have done events up the hill at the Marriott which is lovely but it's extremely pricey. This is a much more unique and beautiful setting. Jennifer was so wonderful to work with. I am very much looking forward to returning for more meetings/events in the future. read more

This place is fantastic to bring the ocean lover to in So. Cal. They have a fantastic gift shop that has a wide selection of California native sea life in toys, stuffed animals, books, etc. They are located at the Dana Point harbor, all the way at the end, and the walk around this institute is beautiful, and has amazing backdrops, benches, and a jetti to walk out onto. read more

We happened upon this place one Saturday by just accidentally parking near it. Kind of a museum and learning center all wrapped into one. The price was approx $10 per person. There are numerous buildings with different nautical themes such as whales. There are events such as Octopus feedings, whale talk, etc. the staff is knowledgeable and helpful. There are some really different displays that appeal to all ages. You can also participate in a tall ship tour as part of the entry fee which we did not do so I cannot comment. The place was not physically large and had plenty of places to sit if tired. You have the opportunity to touch sea life and there are many places to wash your hands including a centrally located bathroom. There is not a restaurant or snack place although the gift shop has some basic stuff to eat and drink. We spent about an hour and a half there. It felt like a 2 hour kind of place. Good value for $10. read more

The Ocean Institute is a wonderful organization that teaches visitors about marine life and how to protect it. It is a great experience and a wonderful trip to make, especially if you have kids! The programs are great and diverse. The RV Sea Explorer is a research vessel that takes people out on different types of trips. I went on a nighttime bioilluminescense cruise and had a fantastic time looking and learning about the glowing animals in the ocean! Also, they have an annual raffle with a grand prize of a million dollars cash or a million dollar home in Laguna Beach. The raffle keeps it running so buy tickets now! read more

A lovely spot in Dana Point. We made a day of it, hit the baby beach in the harbor - cleaned off changed and headed the 100 yards over to The Ocean Institute. My girls are 2 and 4, they loved the touch pools and both got to touch two types of star fish, they made swords in the craft area, my 2yo looked at fish while my 4yo watch some educational cartoons. The saw a dolphin skull, whale bones and checked out the tall ships. All in all we were there about 2 hours - perfect amount of time for young ones and we picked up cool stuffies, mermaid toys and pirate stuff in the gift shop. All in all it was a perfect day! read more

Thanks for another great field trip with my daughter's elementary school. Instructors were knowledgeable and very interactive with the kids. So happy to have this wonderful educational institute here at our home port. :-) read more

I love this place! I love this place so much. Beautiful place to look out at the ocean, beautiful learning center, and a really awesome gift shop. We went back to this place twice just for the gift shop! This place is one of the things I think of first when I think of Dana Point. read more

I took 101st graders to this place this year and for the past 10 or more years we have enjoyed The Ocean Institute field trip!

I was a chaperone for a fifth grade field trip here and our educator, Nikki, wasn't kind at all to the kids . She would tell them to quiet down in a very annoyed tone. In the evening majority of the kids had to use the restroom, it was an hour after dinner so it's understandable, and she got furious saying they only can go the restroom when there's breaks. Um at no time did ANYONE say there were certain times to use the restroom ! Besides you can't ask children to control their bladder. I disliked her as a educator/counselor read more

Don't go with small kids during the summer weekdays (I was told later weekends are better). We went with two young children, anxious to touch live sea creatures. We only got to do that with the lobby starfish and snail because children's day camps were using the actual labs where animals are. If we had been told this when we purchased tickets, we wouldn't have toured. Ask before you pay. The kids were so disappointed. Instead, we only saw a whale skeleton, a covered small shark tank (they were sleeping), and a small room with small aquariums that you might see present in a back warehouse. Nothing interesting for small children (except reading books in a small cave outside). Call ahead and ask if there are day camps in the actual exhibits/lab, and if so, don't go. Instead, take kids to the baby beach, build sandcastles, and save your $ until kids can do what the website promises. read more

We just left the ocean institute. They get a 4 star for the program coordinator Rachel!!!!! However Nadine was a harsh women who couldn't care less about customer service or taking care of the consumers of this location. We came here at 3:30 (didn't know they closed at 4) as Nadine didn't mention it when she sold us tickets. We swiftly got taken on a tour of the pilgrim and weren't allowed back in to see the rest of the institute. We have 3 year old toddlers they didn't care about a boat they wanted to see fish. I had gone back in at 4:01 to ask Nadine if we could somehow get tickets for the next day since we were only there for 31 minutes and she didn't tell us they closed at 4pm. She tried to hand me a card for free admission for kids and I said no I just wanted to bring the kids back the next day to see the fish. She was very rude and not helpful at all. For a small institute that doesn't get a lot of traffic you'd think customer service would be a top priority. I had to go back out to the boat and ask Rachle if there was any way we could Touch some Fish before we left. She graciously with a smile opened up a star fish tank for us and let the kids touch them. It took all of three minutes of her time and the children were very happy as was I. As for Nadine she gets a one star she was ruthless and rude to two 3 year-olds for absolutely no reason. read more

My son just returned from a 3rd grade school field trip there this past week. He actually came home crying because the instructor at the institute leading the "learning session" was incredibly rude and inconsiderate. He definitely did not know how to work with young children. This is sad because this is a great learning place for the young ones and for the experience to be ruined over an instructors rudeness is just not acceptable. I will be petitioning the school to go elsewhere in the future. read more

I had my son's birthday party here and it was a wonderful experience. The staff went above and beyond. The day was educational, fun, and every child had a fantastic time. If you are looking to have a unique birthday party experience that promotes the love of the ocean, this is the place! read more

I've been here for events when my company rented the place for a conference. It was a nice location and had adequate facilities. That said, the reason for my negative review is that the staff apparently feels the need to harass people on the beach (PUBLIC property) who are fishing in the intertidal zone. This recently became legal on January 1st, 2012, as the Fish and Game codes were updated all across southern California. This is not only annoying, it is illegal. I simply cannot condone nor patronize any organization that breaks the law by intimidating law-abiding citizens. read more

This place is wonderful. Learning about oceanography has never been so enjoyable. In Dana Point, the Ocean Institute is a great spot to visit, go out on the boat, or to take part in one of the numerous presentations they offer about sea life. The day I went out on the boat to go "marine mammal watching" (managing expectations of possible whale sighting) every mammal was out and active except the whales- sea lions and two species of dolphins. Unlike other whale watching tours, the boat ride here was a little less structured with time and circled twice to get better views of the dolphins swimming around us. The staff are experienced marine biologist and naturalist who genuinely love what the do and share their extensive amount of experience. In fact, all the staff here is genuine, passionate about the environment, and uber friendly. One of my favorite things to check out was the jellyfish factory. I have never seen anything like it. The gift store is reasonably priced and there is adequate parking. Unfortunately, there is no food service so bring a basket and have a picnic on the beach. read more

I've never been just to visit, but I had my wedding at Ocean Institute and it was incredible. It was such a unique venue, a great fit for us. We got a TON of compliments on the location. The booking fee is not cheap, but they let us bring our own alcohol so we were able to make it work with our budget. Renee was really helpful during the planning process, always quick to respond to emails during business hours. And on the day the ceremony and reception ran really smoothly thanks to the great staff. read more

Nice place to spend a few hours. Kids loved it there. Free parking. Wish they have more sea creatures in house.

If you plan to go on a weekday as general admission, skip and wait until the weekend! On weekdays many things are closed for school/camp visitors. I ended up paying $10.00 for my daughter and I to see one fish tank and pet one starfish, really a let down. We actually spent more time in the gift shop than the actual ocean institute center. read more

We went to the tide ponds first and there was a sweet institute volunteer worker who was informative and then we went down the stairs to the ponds. We didn't see hardly any fun creatures, and we got tar on our shoes which won't come off. After we went to the institute and paid $5 but the upstairs is closed bc they're offices and there's hardly any displays. They're pretty much all plastic displays. We went into one of the interactive rooms and we're promptly kicked out as the worker said we needed a tour guide. We went to the front and another tour didn't start for another 50 minutes. Overall so disappointed. read more

We brought our toddler on a rainy Sunday. Not too crowded and tons of activities and friendly staff. No where near as many tanks and fishes as a big aquarium, but so many activities for kids of all ages- seriously activities every half hour or hour (squid dissection, holding hermit crabs, petting sea stars, etc, etc). $10/adults and $7.50/kids BUT an annual membership for the whole family was $75 and then we got a military discount! So this is our new rainy day plan if we don't want to commit to a big adventure, just have a fun outing for a couple of hours... The membership also gets you discounts on whale watching trips, etc. read more

We enjoyed the ocean Institute today. We went whale watching on their boat which was fun nd all the staff were great. Then after we checked out the different displays of marine life. Everywhere we went the staff was very friendly. All the animal displays are great for the kids. Everything is very interactive. read more