We took the morning tour (8:30AM) as a small group (3 generations of a family, including a 2.5 year old) and had a wonderful time. If you are considering a tour to see the amazing wildlife in this slough, I very highly recommend this outfit for three reasons: the captain, the boat, and the small group nature of the experience. (1) The captain had a long career as part of a research team at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and was extremely knowledgable about all aspects of the slough (history, geology, birds, mammals and fish). I am also a researcher and was impressed with his knowledge and demeanor (he was good with non-naturalists, as well as more experienced birders). (2) The boat was new, clean, and comfortable (it has clear siding that can be zipped up to allow protection from the wind, yet not affect visibility- and there was tea and coffee available). The boat was electric and extremely quiet, which allowed us to get close to the wildlife and converse with each other and the captain. (3) Being in a small group allowed us to really engage and learn, and have the captain steer toward/stop at the things we were interested in seeing. We saw another tour boat out there that was much louder and had far more people on it, which would have been a very different experience. Depending on what you are looking for from a tour of the slough, this is a wonderful option. I plan on taking this again when I am back in the area. read more

We had a wonderful time on our electric boat cruise. We were able to take a private tour with our three XL dogs. Very few boat companies are dog-friendly, and we always appreciate businesses that open their doors to our furry friends. The ride was very smooth and comfortable. We got to see seals, sea otters, and several different types of birds. It was a quick 30 minute drive from Carmel-by-the-Sea. read more

We had a wonderful wine and cheese cruise! Our group of five included a visiting relative and two teen boys. We all really enjoyed it. We saw all sorts of wildlife: otters, seals, sea lions, and a variety of birds. Brian was a fantastic guide - very hospitable and knowledgable. The boat was comfortable and clean as a whistle. We will definitely do another Whisper Charters cruise. read more

A perfect trip for my 91 year old mother, her two granddaughters, and in laws. She said it was the perfect, quiet ride where she could hear and see natures bounty. A joyous ride on a magnificent day with our wonderful host, Brian. read more

Whisper Charters - Boat Charters Near Me - Moss Landing, California

Highly recommended! The boat was very clean and comfortable with blankets and binoculars. The captain was very friendly and happily answered all our questions. He told us about the history of the area and about the wildlife. We got to see sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, and lots of different birds. Great way to spend a couple hours - you won't regret it! read more

My three kids and I had a fun and educational boat ride with Captain Wim. Captain Wim is five stars and the boat was clean and comfortable. Loved learning about all the wildlife. Would be a great date trip. read more

My friend and I are walking from Santa Cruz to Monterey on a Slow Adventure tour and took the morning to tour the Slough with Captain Brian. Great boat, great skipper, amazing morning and tour. He even had coffee ready for us! This was amazing and wonderful and more than worth the cost. We will make sure to come back and do this again read more

What a relaxing and enjoyable way to experience all that the Elkhorn Slough has to offer. The website is great, easy to book. I called Joonya because I had such a large party and he was very quick to respond and was extremely helpful. Our family had a memorable time during the trip, Joonya shared his extensive knowledge of the area and we are eager to add his catering services to our next outing! The boat is so quiet, and the atmosphere is so comfortable. We will definitely be using Whisper Charters again! read more

Perfect in every way. Captain Brian was so informative, calm, helpful, and funny. The whisper boat made the Slough a peaceful nature tour because the boat was so silent. The boat itself is very comfortable seating with tea and coffee and alcohol if wanted. You can either charter yourself or go with six people max so it is very calm and not crowded. We saw otters galore and so many different birds and sea lions. It was a once in a lifetime. But the best part is they let us bring our three little dogs and they had a great time, too. read more

Wonderful experience!! We were gifted the 2 hour cruise by a friend as a wedding gift. What a perfect gift and great experience. Captain Brian is really nice. Very knowledgeable and funny. His boat is beautiful. Amazingly quiet and smooth. It's clean, environmentally friendly (electric), comfortable, and can be covered or uncovered for any type of weather without compromising your views. Our tour was beautiful, peaceful, and relaxing. Capt. Brian has complimentary water and coffee/tea on board. You can also buy wine/beer and snacks if you want. Our friend had included/arranged with Capt. Brian for us to have a cheese and fruit platter as part of our gift. So we enjoyed delicious food while taking in all the wildlife and scenery. Definitely recommend this to tourists and locals alike. It's a part of the Monterey Bay experience you don't normally see but shouldn't miss. read more

Booked a special tour with Joonya who created and hosted a wonderful experience for me and my wife. He really went all out and made sure that we had a special day. The tour was a blast and full of laughter and priceless memories. We even got to see an otter and its pup (Joonya pointed out that that rarely happens) floating less than 30ft away from our boat. The sunset was amazing as well. Thanks, Joonya!! Can't wait to come back for another visit. read more

What a great experience. We were on the 11:00 o'clock cruise today. It was just my husband and I with another family of 4. Captain Brian is so low key & nice but very knowledgeable. We saw so many brown penguins, seals, otters , sea lions etc. it was unbelievable. There was a school of anchovies and the brown penguins were dive -bombing the water. We also saw white penguins but they use a different method of feeding which the Captain explained to us. I was using the binoculars they provided all the time. Very quiet & smooth ride. I would definitely go again. Terrific! read more

Highly recommend this service as a way to see Elkhorn Slough. Went with other birders and Captain Brian was very pleasant and knowledgeable. The boat is gorgeous and electric which means it's silent. A great way to view birds and sea mammals without obnoxious noise. For those folks that can't kayak this is the way to go. Reservations by phone were easy. Thanks for a fun couple of hours!! read more

The captain is incredibly nice and so knowledgeable! I saw lots of sea otters, seals, birds, beautiful scenery! I liked it so much that I am going to go again on my short trip to Moss Lsnding! Thanks for the relaxed adventure, Captain! Best, Melissa read more

We thoroughly enjoyed our Whisper Charters boat tour of Elkorn Slough! It was peaceful, beautiful & comfortable. Captain Vim was cordial and very knowledgable about the wildlife and the area. He gave us multiple amazing photo ops of the otters, birds, sea lions, etc. We brought a small cooler of snax and enjoyed our munchies while taking in all the beautiful scenery. It was a dream to be able to take my mom & family out on a tour like this. It was everything and more than we had hoped. Highly recommend. read more

We took a tour of the slough on the morning trip, and it was beautiful. A little foggy but the boat was covered so there was no wind. Very comfortable and cut boat, and super friendly captain! We had a great time! Plenty of otters and seals, so cute. Really pretty trip read more

We had a wonderful time on the Elkhorn Slough with Captain Brian. Top-notch boat, truly whisper quiet, max 6 passengers, excellent, knowledgable captain and amazing wildlife. We saw otters, seals, sea lions and many species of birds. We highly recommend this trip!! read more

Captain Brian gave a really informative and relaxing tour. He is a wealth of information and has great stories. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and look forward to perhaps doing a whale charter in the future! read more

Don't miss this trip. This is a fabulous chance to see the otters (we saw more than 50) the seals (even more), and lots of bird and plant life. The guides are very knowledgeable about the animals and plants, but also about the history and ecology and generally about Monterey Bay. The trip is low key and intimate, comfortable and fun. Great deal for the money and time. read more

We went on one of the whisper charter trips today, it was amazing, definitely looking forward to doing it again soon. Captain Brian and his daughter were very accommodating, and very knowledgeable about the area and the wildlife. It was so relaxing and beautiful. read more

Whisper Charters is reasonably priced, plus free water, tea, coffee, sodas and light snacks. We were on the 11 am Nature Tour. The Selkie II is electric - so quiet, you can hear the otters crunching the crabs. Our tour had five passengers.Captain Wim was cordial, humorous, easy to converse with and you could tell he was well educated and passionate about the environment, ecosystem, a Monterey Bay naturalist. Besides seeing the expected birds, otters, harbor seals.... we were treated to a pod of humpbacks feeding just outside the jetty. A special day! Highly Recommend! read more

Captain Brian is overqualified in the most delightful way. There is no better way to spend 2 hours, relaxing, educational, hospitable. If you forget something Captain Brian has 30 years of experience and has appointed his boat with everything you might forget. I enjoyed learning about the animals and birds that we saw and drinking wine while doing it. Don't forget to tip and refer so Captain Brian will be there for many more years. read more

We had a great experience with Captain Brian and Whisper Charters! He runs a 5 star tour and I highly recommend it when you are in the area. He is very knowledgeable of the area and the wildlife making this their home. His boat is so quiet and comfortable (it is electric) and he has provided many perfect touches such as hot and cold drinks, blankets, binoculars, bird guide books, etc. it was a wonderful 2 hours with great personal attention! read more

Captain Brian was an excellent guide. He had a huge knowledge of the animal life in the slough. We also were amazed at his knowledge of the history of the area. It's a perfect way to spend a few hours. We will be back again. Thanks very much, Captain Brian. read more

Tried to book a tour while my husband is playing golf in the area. They will not accept reservations for less than two people so I would have to pay double the price. So not worth that. read more

Peerless way to experience the wonders of Elkhorn Slough, which are legion. The quiet and comfort of the boat, the knowledge and graciousness of the captain and the extraordinary concentrations of wildlife make this a most memorable trip. Three thumbs up! read more

This is the tour to take to see the wildlife of the Elkhorn Slough. Boat is quiet and clean and the Captain was wonderful. We decided to take this cruise after reading about it in the Coastal Caninie magazine. We brought our small dog after reading that they are dog friendly. He even had a bowl of water waiting for her. He also had complementary tea, water and coffee for us. The 2 hour trip was quiet and serene, and beautiful. Once again, this is the tour to take; we would go again! Well worth it! read more

Just took this cruise today. It was lovely! Clean, well appointed, quiet boat. The captain was nice and had lots of knowledge to share. Tons of wildlife. This would be a great trip for people of all ages. I will definitely add it to my list of things to do with out of town guests! read more

A must do adventure for locals and guests to the area. The elkhorn slough is an amazing experience and doing it on the whisper charters was first class. Lovely boat ride and very educational guide. read more

Been on the tour a couple of times now. Both times were great! Highly recommended!

Capt. Winn was a great host. My wife and I really enjoy the tour. He was extremely knowledgeable. The electric boat is the way to go. We saw several rafts of otters and several pups. He was very informative regarding the Eco system and its future. One of the great things about this tour is only 6 guests max. My wife has been wanting to see otters in the "wild" for years. She was not disappointed. read more

Whisper Charters is the ONLY way to tour the Elkhorn Slough. The owner Brian was our personal tour guide. He is very informative and cares about the eco system. The electric boat was quite and allowed us to get up close to the otters and birds. This made for great photo shoots. His boat is spotless and offers everything we needed; hot coffee, tea, water and soda. (Wine or beer at a minimal charge) binoculars and blankets. The tour is intimate which allowed us to ask lots of questions. Brian is very personable and interesting. I am so glad we chose Whisper Charters, Inc. Thank you Brian. read more

Fabulous boat trip on the Elkhorn Slough. Capt. Brian is so knowledgeable of local wildlife and history of the area - Saw lots of otters, seals, and a huge variety of birds. We also took along our two dogs which was such a treat for us - since there are so few day activities which allow dogs. By the way - there were 6 people with reservations for our trip, but last minute 4 of the folks cancelled - Capt. Brian very graciously still did the tour with just my husband and I and our two dogs. Please people if you make a reservation, don't cancel at the last minute - Capt. Brian is a small business and survives based on 6 person tours - so unfair to him when folks cancel at the last minute so he cannot re-fill their reservations. We also saw another boat tour on the slough - open air with 50 plus people on board - Whisper Charter is the way to go - only 7 people on board and if cold weather the boat has drop down enclosure to allow great viewing still and yet allows passengers to stay warm - The ONLY way to go! read more

It began with the warm and friendly staff at Kayak Connection. They've us directions to Safari Tours and also told us we had just missed the boat going out and informed us of Whisper Charters nearby. We called, they had open seats, and so we went out with Captain Brian. He was very personable, knowledgeable and pointed out to us scores of birds: Elegant Terns, Brown and Great White Pelicans, sandpipers. plovers, Grebes, Cormorants and Great Blue Herons. The Harbor seals were interesting but it was the 100 or so sea otters, some in rafts, some alone, some in pairs pairing up that was most enjoyable to watch. Captain Brian also shared a good deal of recent and geological history of Moss Landing and the Elkhart Slough. The electric boat was especially quite enabling us to easily hear the sounds of water breaking as otters popped up nearby in their curiosity and the twittering, jabbering and calling of seabirds diving, swooping, darting, reeling, rolling and speeding off to distant shores. We joked: the edible pickled succulents covering the inlet beds what work well in an Elkhart Slaw. All in all, a great afternoon. read more