Our 10 Best Grey Whale Watching Trips

1.Full Day Gray Whale Watching Experience

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 53 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $191Our pick

Travel from La Paz to Puerto Chale for a respectful gray whale encounter in a small panga. The day includes hotel pickup, about 2.2 hours on the water, lunch at a local restaurant, and guides such as Pamela, Shiro, Susana, Diana, and Maria on different departures. Expect a long road ride, changing weather, and no guaranteed number of whales.

“The three stars are not for the experience itself which was great but for the tour/tour guide. Description said that a Marine Biologist will be part of the tour. Unless the tour guide who barely spoke was the Biologist this is not correct. Basically this was a round trip transportation. If you have your own rental car, just drive there yourself and save $$.”

Check availability →Read our full review

2.Gray Whale Watching Tour with Marine Biologist and Small Group

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 37 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $376

Leave La Paz for Puerto Chale on an eight-hour gray whale outing led by marine biologist Valentina, Captain Mike, and a crew limited to six people. After a 2-hour-15-minute drive, spend three hours on the water watching whales under respectful guidelines, then enjoy a fresh local seafood lunch before returning to La Paz.

“Absolutely amazing!! Captain Mike and Karla are the best. Such a phenomenal experience. You definitely want to do this. We saw so many whales playing, high hoping and checking us out! We touched them and they spouted on us and got us wet! I will never forget this day.”

Check availability →Read our full review

3.Gray Whales Watching in Magdalena Bay

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 25 reviews · 8 to 9 hours (approx.) · from $232

Travel from La Paz to Magdalena Bay with Hamza, a marine biologist guide fluent in English, Spanish, and French. After a Mexican breakfast and coffee, ride a comfortable panga with a local captain to watch gray whales, including mothers and newborns. The small group is limited to 10 people.

“If I could give this trip more than 5 stars, I would. It’s obvious that Hamza, our tour guide, put in a lot of effort to make this a personalized experience. Captain & Hamza were both very respectful & safe around the gray whales. They provided transportation from La Paz to Magdalena Bay. We stopped for a very authentic breakfast on the way to the boat. We then spent hours with playful gray whales. Afterwards, we stopped for lunch at the Captains house, which was truly special. This was so much more than your average excursion. Can’t recommend enough.”

Check availability →Read our full review

4.Gray Whale Watching Expedition at Magdalena Bay

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 23 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $179

Meet at 9:00 am in Puerto Chale for a small-group panga ride into Bahía Magdalena and Almejas. Your captain chooses the best area based on sea conditions and recent sightings. Gray whales may approach closely, while dolphins and seabirds add to the outing. Juan Carlos has been praised for clear, useful information.

“The whales 🐋 are amazing, great information from our guides and the captain did his best with the choppy conditions. Worth the 4 hours round trip from LA Paz”

Check availability →Read our full review

5.Gray Whale-Watching 2-Day Experience in Magdalena Bay

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 16 reviews · 2 days (approx.) · from $799

Travel north from Cabo San Lucas with a small group and marine-focused guides such as Maria, Andrea, Carlos, or Angelika. Spend one night in Lopez Mateos, enjoy two whale-watching trips, local fish, shrimp, and lobster, and search the bay’s mangroves and sand dunes for gray whales, dolphins, birds, and perhaps a coyote.

“We probably got lucky but the gray whales were friendly and performing. Inside the channel a mother and baby did head spikes rolls and came within 5 feet of the boat. They definitely seem curious. The second day we spent outside the come of the bay, and saw lots of whales, incredible mangroves, birds, coyotes an amazing sky. Perhaps the best part was our guide Maria Pia, who really stepped up and became both guide and driver was very informative and informative and quite mature for her young age. Accommodations spartan but food good and authentic. Family friendly. Great bird watching. No ATMs. Very long trip and cramps for the…”

Check availability →Read our full review

6.Gray Whale Watching Tour at Lopez Mateos

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 13 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $185

Travel from Loreto to Magdalena Bay for an eight-hour gray whale encounter with private transport, an experienced guide, panga boat, lunch, and refreshments. The tour starts at 7:00 am, serves English-speaking visitors, allows up to 20 people, and may offer close encounters with whales, including touch opportunities when conditions allow.

“We went out into the Pacific to find single whales as it was a little too early to see the babies. We ended up in a pod and interacted with them for several hours. We were able to touch them! Just like really big sea puppies!”

Check availability →Read our full review

7.Gray Whale Journey: 10-Hour Tour with 3 Hours of Whale Watching

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 10 reviews · 10 hours (approx.) · from $298

Leave La Paz at 5:30 am for Puerto Chale and Bahía Almejas, where you get three hours on a private boat watching gray whales. Vanessa brings strong gray whale knowledge and explains whale behavior, while breakfast, lunch, drinks, snacks, transport, and a small group of up to eight keep the long day easy to manage.

“Vanessa is very knowledgeable about gray whale and other ocean mammals. She told us a lot about grey whale. One thing I suggest is to contact the customer one day before the tour day to confirm the pickup time especially they have to pick up multiple customers.”

Check availability →Read our full review

8.Full-Day Gray Whale Watching tour from Cabo to Mag Bay

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 9 reviews · 14 hours (approx.) · from $445

Leave Cabo at 6 a.m. with guides Esma and Marie for a private drive to Puerto Chale and three hours of gray whale watching in Magdalena Bay. The day includes snacks, lunch, tour photos, and a stop in La Paz or Todos Santos. Expect a long 14-hour outing for a group of no more than six.

“Esma and Marie were great tour guides, they took exceptional care of us the entire day. They were knowledgeable about the area we visited, the whales we observed and the people of the area.”

Check availability →Read our full review

9.Gray Whale-Watching 2-Day Experience in Magdalena Bay

★★★★★★★★★★3.0 · 5 reviews · 2 days · from $799

Travel from Cabo San Lucas to Lopez Mateos for two 2.5-hour gray whale trips in Magdalena Bay. You’ll stay at a family-run bed and breakfast, eat four included meals, and travel with a guide in a small group. Whale touching can happen, but only if the whales choose to approach.

“I think the price is a bit too high. The promotional image for the tour makes it seem like you can see gray whale calves up close, but that wasn’t really the case. The drive from Cabo San Lucas took over five hours, and the young male driver was going extremely fast, almost causing an accident—it felt very unsafe. (The female guide, however, was great.) However, most of the two-day tour was spent on the road, with a total of more than ten hours in transit. The actual time spent on the boat watching gray whales was quite limited. In my opinion, the price of this tour exceeds its actual…”

Check availability →Read our full review

10.Whale Watching in La Paz – Gray Whale Encounter

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 4 reviews · 8 hours · from $169Best value

Travel from La Paz to Puerto Chale with driver Andres, enjoy regional breakfast and lunch, then spend two hours by boat among gray whales and calves in Magdalena Bay. The tour runs January through March, uses a Spanish and English-speaking team, and keeps groups small, though transport details should be confirmed.

“L'excursion n'a jamais eu lieu et l'organisateur nous a posé un lapin. Nous avons attendu au point de rendez-vous pendant plus d'une heure et personne ne nous a prévenu de l'annulation de l'excursion”

Check availability →Read our full review