When you’re in San Francisco, you are firmly out of the world of Southern California whale watching cruises, a surprisingly vast industry with several major players. While the whale watching opportunities might not be quite as vast further north, there are still a number of whale watching cruises in San Francisco and the surrounding area. If you are in San Francisco and want to take a whale watching cruise, we have compiled all the information you need to know in the following guide.
Unlike virtually all of the whale watching cruises in California we have written about so far, those that depart from San Francisco do not last the customary two to three hours. Instead, they are much longer affairs: they begin early in the morning and do not return to port until mid-afternoon. One of the main reasons why the cruises from San Francisco last longer is that they all sail out to the Farallon Islands, which are part of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, a marine ecosystem that attracts whales, dolphins, and other animals because of its abundant food supply. The Farallon Islands aren’t particularly far from San Francisco – it’s a little under 30 miles from the coast – but evidently the journey there and back, combined with exploring the sanctuary itself, takes some time.
As for who you can book a whale watching cruise from San Francisco with, there are three main options: SF Bay Whale Watching, the Oceanic Society, and California Whale Adventures. All three of these companies/organizations offer similar whale watching experiences off the San Francisco coast and in the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. Because the company is dedicated exclusively to whale watching, SF Bay Whale Watching is probably the primary provider of these cruises in San Francisco. The company offers cruises on a daily basis, and they are offered all year long. (For the record, SF Bay Whale Watching is the same company as San Francisco Whale Tours. Confusion can arise from the fact that SanFranciscoWhaleTours.com is distinct from SF Bay’s main website, even though both websites serve the same company. It was surprisingly difficult to figure out that SF Bay Whale Watching and San Francisco Whale Tours are actually the same entity, so keep this in mind as you search for cruises.)
As you might have guessed, the Oceanic Society has a much larger objective than offering whale watching cruises, but they still offer plenty of them, with sailings happening virtually every weekend throughout the year. From May through November, the Oceanic Society’s tours focus on the marine life around the Farallon Islands, and from December through May, their tours are primarily concerned with watching the gray whale migration off the California coast. (These gray whale cruises depart from Half Moon Bay, and do not last as long as the cruises during the other part of the year because the ship doesn’t travel all the way to the Farallon Islands.) California Whale Adventures also offers plenty of cruises, but it is worth noting that this tour company is as concerned with seeing sharks as it is with seeing whales. The company’s dual aim isn’t necessarily a problem – indeed, many may consider it a virtue – but it does mean that California Whale Adventures is not exclusively a whale watching operation. Finally, if you can’t manage to get a whale watching cruises that leaves from San Francisco, there are companies outside the city that offer these sailings, like Santa Cruz Whale Watching, in nearby Santa Cruz (obviously).
As you can see, there are a few different whale watching options in San Francisco, although all of them offer somewhat comparable experiences in the same region off the San Francisco coast. If you can’t manage to sail out of San Francisco, it is worth checking out surrounding cities for whale watching cruises. Ultimately, we recommend choosing whichever cruise is the most convenient since they are similar, although the differences are worth keeping in mind, as is the price. Occasionally a company will offer a promotion, and those are always considering. For more general information, check out our article on whale watching in California.
