Join us for a Dolphin cruise!

We have been taking dolphin cruises off the coast of Los Angeles, out of Marina Del Rey, for over 20 years. Our Captains have been trained to find migrations running up along the wall of an underwater canyon created by the Santa Barbara Channel.

This creates “upwelling” where nutrients from the bottom of the ocean are brushed up to the surface by the current. This can attract whales and littler fish which dolphins love to snack on! We have pretty good luck most seasons of the year and are happy to discuss the details with you. Click Ready to Book for pricing and availability!

Tag us @Aboard_the_BlueMoon

We would love to see your pictures and videos too. Use #bluemooncruising post below!!!

What types of dolphins can I see?

Dolphins love LA! In addition to spectacular bursts of migratory dolphins who stop by, you can see the Common Dolphin, Bottlenose Dolphin, Pacific White-Sided Dolphin, and the large Risso's Dolphin all year round. In our 12 years on the water, the BlueMoon has most often seen Common and Bottlenose, particularly in the late summer and early fall. Here are 5 facts for each species:

Common Dolphins:

1. There are two types of Common Dolphins but there really hard to tell apart! They both can grow up to 9ft and have a distinctive V pattern of dark grey and white. Long Beak are near the shore in shallow waters and Short beak venture out a bit deeper.

2. Common Dolphins don’t migrate. They move around if necessary but can go north or south at any point in the year. They can move in pods can be up to 10,000 dolphins.

3. They have a very complex hierarchy of subgroups within the pod. They are one of the more orderly societies of dolphins. They are also very active, often jumping and breaching to play.

4. This species can whine, whistle and click in a constant dialogue. Most afternoons you can find them, working together with the birds to coordinate the capture of large schools of small fish.

5. Babies are born at around 2-3lbs. They will drink milk from the mother for several months before venturing out on their own. Their average lifespan is 35 years in the wild.

Bottlenose Dolphins:

1. Bottlenose Dolphins can live up to 40 - 50 years. The can grow to up to 12 ft long.

2. They must swim to the surface to breathe, which means that they never fully sleep. One side of a dolphin’s brain must remain active for them at all times.

3. Bottlenose have a 360 degree field of vision. They can move each eye independently of the other.

4. They can dive up to 3000ft and spend 7 minutes underwater.

5. Each dolphin has a signature whistle used to identify themselves. When lost or isolated they use their signature whistle to call out to the group.