San Diego Natural History Museum--Your Nature ConnectionAbout SDNHM
Whale-watching with the Museum
Season: December through April, Annually
Whale & Dolphin-watching

Enjoy a Hornblower 3.5 hour cruise, great for the entire family. See gray whales, sea lions, dolphins, and birds.

Two Trips Daily:
     9:30 AM–1 PM
     and
     1:30 PM - 5 PM
Boarding 15 minutes prior to departure.

Please call 877-946-7797 for more information.
Hornblower Cruises
Photo courtesy of Brad Hollingsworth
Museum Naturalists
Our Museum Whale Naturalist volunteers provide naturalist interpretation on board the Hornblower Whale and Dolphin-watching Cruises. Classes are held in October. If you are interested in this or other volunteer opportunities with the Museum visit our Volunteer pages.

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Whale spyhopping, Brad Hollingsworth, SDNHM
Museum Whale-watching Ticket Information
During whale-watching season, Tickets can be purchased in person at the Museum's Visitor Services Desk or request information/tickets by sending an email to customerservice@sdnhm.org.

Museum admission ticket is not valid for
separately priced exhibitions and events.
Adult Nonmember - including Museum General Admission*
$41
 
Child Nonmember - including Museum General Admission*
$22
 
Senior (62+) Nonmember - including Museum General Admission*
$35
 
Adult Member *
$28
 
Senior Member *
$24
 
Child Member *
$15
 

Whale-watching season is December – April .
Whale and dolphin-watching tickets are valid any day during whale-watching season.
*Museum admission ticket is not valid for separately priced exhibitions and events.

In winter months, San Diego offers the opportunity to see whales migrating south to Mexico. Don't miss them this year! The Pacific is renowned worldwide as the home of the magnificent gray whale, which migrates south every year from the Bering Sea towards Baja California in order to mate and give birth in protected warm waters.

During whale-watching season, the San Diego Natural History Museum offers exciting Whale-watching cruises and opportunities to participate as a Museum Whale Naturalist.

Photo courtesy of Brad Hollingsworth

Photos courtesy of Brad Hollingsworth, SDNHM
Whale Facts
  • Gray whales spend the summer months in the Bering and Chukchi Seas, and then leave for the breeding lagoons along western Baja California and off southern Sonora and Sinaloa, Mexico.
  • They follow the longest migration route of any mammal on Earth, traveling nearly 20,000 km (13,000 miles) round trip.
  • The southern migration begins in late September or early October. By December of most years, the first individuals pass along the California coast, with peak numbers passing by in early January.
  • After their stay in the lagoons of Baja California, the whales begin their northward passage, starting in February and usually ending in late March to mid-April. The last whales to travel north are mothers with young.