Santa Barbara Whale Watch

Name: Santa Barbara Whale Watch
Address: 302 W. Cabrillo Boulevard, Santa Barbara, CA, 93110, US
Telephone: +18056956894

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08/17/2026

EPIC whale watching today; we found ourselves right in the thick of it! 🐋 A massive feeding frenzy consisting of 8+ humpback whales and 3,000+ common dolphins made for a classic SBC outing 👌🏼

The warm waters brought to us by an El Niño weather pattern have spread the whales out a lot this year. They’ve constantly been on the move, momentarily popping up in different feeding grounds throughout the channel. The past week however, they’ve grouped up in one of their classic feeding spots, taking advantage of an endless anchovy buffet! 🐟 🐟 🐟

Video by Captain Adam

08/08/2026

This past week we’ve seen the most minke whales we’ve ever seen! 🐋

Normally a rather shy species, their true personality really shines when they’re in groups. It all culminated in some awesome sightings with over 20 minke whales seen on yesterday’s trip; our highest count ever! Here you’ll see (and hear) a half dozen of these small whales feeding with a humpback. Later in the day, one even came by to investigate our boat! 🛥️

You just never know what you’ll find out in the Santa Barbara channel.

Video by Captain 𝘼𝘿𝘼𝙈 𝙀𝙍𝙉𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍

08/03/2026

Incredible feeding frenzy today with 6 humpback whales, 4 minke whales, 200 sea lions and thousands of seabirds all feeding within a quarter mile radius! 🐋 💥

El Niño weather patterns have made the channel warmer than we can remember. We’ve seen water temps exceed 74 degrees this week! These unusually warm ocean conditions are making the whales move moving around A LOT in search of food, everyday has yielded something new. Luckily today they all banned together to enjoy quite the feast! 🐟

We enjoyed this feeding frenzy for over an hour today. The action was nonstop! We’ll be heading back to this area first thing in the morning, with fingers crossed for some more action 🤞🏻

Video by Captain 𝘼𝘿𝘼𝙈 𝙀𝙍𝙉𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍

07/05/2026

Rising from the depths, it was almost as if a new island formed right in front of us today as this HUGE humpback lunged a mere 30 feet away! 🐋

This actively feeding whale was one of 25+ we watched today. Whales, dolphins, and seabirds were everywhere as they fed on the bounty of anchovies the channel provides 🙌🏻

Thanks to our 6 awesome guests for joining us in today! Photo by Captain 𝘼𝘿𝘼𝙈 𝙀𝙍𝙉𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍

06/24/2026

We spent an incredible day with “Kink,” the humpback whale in absolutely PERFECT seas today 🌊

Named after a curvature in its peduncle, this 6 year old whale was as curious as ever today! Kink has been hanging out in the channel all year, and we’ve seen it on multiple different occasions. We played a whale-sized game of cat and mouse, as Kink would come over for a few friendly pirouettes before disappearing into the blue. It would appear in the distance and when we’d motor forward to catch up to it, only to be surprised as it popped up under our boat again.

A sneaky whale indeed!

Video by Captain 𝘼𝘿𝘼𝙈 𝙀𝙍𝙉𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍

06/19/2026

Summer is here and with it, comes some of the best whale watching of the year 🐋

Today we watched 6+ blue whales, 11 humpback whales, 1 fin whale, and over 1,500 common dolphins as we traversed the channel. A staggering number of both fish and krill have swarmed to our waters, creating two different feeding hotspots. We’ve been spending time watching the humpbacks and dolphins mid channel, before sending it out to the islands for the big blues 🐋

We have very limited availability the rest of the month, so grab those tickets before they’re gone!

Video by 𝘼𝘿𝘼𝙈 𝙀𝙍𝙉𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍 with captain Devin Hunt at the helm 🛥️

06/16/2026

The BLUES are back in town 🐋🙌🏻

It’s been a few weeks since the blue whales have made waves in the channel 🌊 We sent it over to Santa Rosa Island after recent reports of their reappearance. We were treated to an all time day with close looks at 9 BLUE WHALES, with another 10 or so to the west of us! Huge masses of krill have attracted these behemoths to the channel, gifting us spectacular looks at the world’s largest animal 🐋

It is always such a treat to see these endangered whales in our backyard, especially with perfect sea conditions and some SUN to top it all off! ☀️

Video by Captain 𝘼𝘿𝘼𝙈 𝙀𝙍𝙉𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍

06/14/2026

Humpback action has been so stellar close to the harbor lately! We’ve been seeing breaching, pec slapping, and lungefeeding whales along with thousands of dolphins everyday 🐋

Thanks for this awesome photo from friend and wildlife photographer Ralph A. Clevenger

05/19/2026

5 BLUE WHALES TODAY!! 🐋 In the middle of May!?

It’s been quite some time since the channel has welcomed these giant whales so early in the season. 2020 and 2024 were the last big blue whale years in the channel. When we have high krill years like this, there are typically a few blues spotted by late May, and more arrive in June and July. Some years we don’t even see a single blue whale at all!

Their early presence has become a rare treat the last few years so more of this is certainly welcome!! With plenty of space and beautiful weather this week, we hope you can join us in the presence of the largest animal on earth 🐋

Video by with captain .hunt at the helm 🛥️

Address

302 W. Cabrillo Boulevard
Santa Barbara, CA
93110

Telephone

+18056956894

Website

http://whalewatchsantabarbara.com/

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