San Diego Whale Sightings — Updated Daily!

See what our naturalists have spotted during our last 7 trips in Mission Bay and off the coast of San Diego.

3

Whales Spotted

3,780

Dolphins Spotted

6

Different Species Spotted

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Today's Sightings Summary

Detailed Sightings Log - August 27, 2026

Tour	Species	Count	Behavior
Sunset Tour	Short-beaked Common Dolphin	250	ForagingSurface ActivePlayingJumpingChin SlappingTail SlappingCow/Calf PairBow RidingBreaching

Detailed Sightings Log - August 26, 2026

Tour	Species	Count	Behavior
Morning Tour	Long-beaked Common Dolphin	150	ForagingMatingCow/Calf PairBow Riding

Detailed Sightings Log - August 25, 2026

Tour	Species	Count	Behavior
Sunset Tour	Risso's Dolphin	30	ForagingHuntingSurface ActiveCow/Calf PairRaftingBreaching

Recent Sightings

All

Popcorn dolphins!

August 27, 2026

Short‑beaked common dolphins lit up the skyline tonight, playing in the golden sunset light and showing off…

Glassy Dolphin party!

August 26, 2026

Glassy morning dolphins! The long‑beaked commons were out right at the drop‑off, playing around and surfing excitedly…

Our Favourite Dolphins showed up!

August 25, 2026

The crew and passengers alike were very happy to get off the dock and get some cool…

What. A. Day! We hung out with a friendly Humpback and happy Common dolphins!

August 24, 2026

We left Mission bay and cruised out to the north and hung out in La Jolla!…

Snoozy Sunday

August 23, 2026

Our early Sunday excursion started with the densest fog! Reminiscent of June gloom. But there was a…

Definitely a delphini-dae!

August 22, 2026

Two dolphin‑heavy trips this afternoon — and the ocean delivered. We pushed off into what felt like…

Our Typical Route

While our route varies with sightings, we typically follow a similar course near known feeding areas.

A typical route that San Diego Whale Watch takes from Mission Bay into the Pacific Ocean to see gray whales

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This Year's Stats

Total: 22,227 dolphins and 317 whales.

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