Santa Cruz Whale Watching

I had an amazing experience yesterday when I took my daughter, her friend, & her friend's son on a whale watching adventure. We decided to celebrate National Daughter's Day a day early because my daughter had to work today, & it turned out to be the perfect choice,
I specifically chose Stagnaro Charters for this trip because I knew my daughter would love being on a boat & witnessing the breathtaking wildlife the ocean had to offer & because they had great reviews!!!
And WOW, were we in for some treats (plural!!!)
The day exceeded all our expectations in the most spectacular ways possible!!!
What made the entire experience even more special was the fantastic staff at Stagnaro Charters. They were incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and always there to assist and teach us new things!!!
Their fun-loving and entertaining personalities added a whole new level of excitement to the trip!!!

We were fortunate enough to see numerous whales and other sea creatures, which showcased the sheer beauty and thrill of our planet. It was awe-inspiring!!!

I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the staff members who made this unforgettable adventure possible yesterday Sunday, Sept 24th, 2023. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to witness such natural glory and all the new knowledge we learned from that amazing trip!!!
And since today is officially National Daughter's Day, Happy Daughter's Day to my wonderful, beautiful angel daughter Jenn, I love you so very much my dear!!!
And Happy daughters Day to all the daughters on this glorious planet too!!!

Sincerely me: a loving father and grateful customer of Stagnaro Charters!!!

First time and a great experience! The crew was very kind, and we saw a friendly whale close to the boat.
Tip: Wear a windbreaker jacket and apply sunscreen on your hands/face if you are going for a 12:00 pm

Fantastic experience. Great staff, very educated. Very informative. Speaker on the boat was a little crackly, but they fixed it, plenty of room, coffee was hot, whales were awesome. We followed 3 or 4 had great views. We went late April.

Sam, Sydney and the Captain were all awesome, very attentive and informative.
They found the whales and we saw the whales several times as they came up for air before their next dive. Lots of flukes!
I would definitely go again!!!

Great experience 👍 ..we saw many whales. Captain and crew knew what they were doing. We got a reservation the next day, during the week. If you want to feel like an old sailor, I recommend this!!! My wife got a ton of great pictures, she's a pro....

This past Sunday, we contacted them at the last minute and they were able to get us on the Whale Watching trip for an amazing day of Whale Watching. We saw Dolphins, Orcas, and Humpback whales. I highly recommend the group at the office and team on deck. A memorable day thanks to them!

Great experience for a reasonable price! For ~$60 per person you’ll get whale, shark and otters watching during 3.5 hours of ocean cruising 💙 we saw lots of whales, even a family of 3 swimming together, ~3 sharks, one of which showed us a fin, and an otter who calmly laid on his back and eat something 🦦 at the end of the trip there was vortex of birds flying around boats in a specific place. Amazing!

The only drawback for me was the sound. You can or cannot hear what the crew members are explaining about the sea life depending on where you stand on the boat and where are the crew member. I’ve missed some info because of that. Fortunately, It is not my first whale watching tour, so I know some info from previous tours.

They can't promise you will see whales of course because, well, whales are wild creatures and go where they please, but these guys sure did a great job of finding them and giving us some great views. I've been out on the waters before, but this trip was unlike anything I'd experienced. Seeing the whales out playing, feeding, diving simply took my breath away. Both the captain and the naturist who was aboard to help educate us, as well as the rest of the crew, did a fantastic job!

Highlight of our trip!! We had a wonderful time. Meagan Sydney and abbey were awesome. We saw lots of whales and learned so much about them!!!! Best day ever!!! They were watchful of my 92 year old dad and loved that that he was enjoying himself so much!!

If you visit near by, this is a must have! We saw 200+ dolphins , a huge hump back whale, sea lions and many different birds and they were all very close! It’s so cool to experience these animals that you have never seen before. The crew was very informative, fun and helpful. I’d definitely do it again!

Worth every penny! We saw an Arco whale, a humpback whale, a Gray whale and a great white shark! They had food, snacks and drinks on board that were very reasonably priced. Today knocked 3 things off my bucket list!

Super nice whale watching tour in Santa Cruz. Our guide Sidney and Captain Megan were amazing. We saw whales, sea lions, sea otter 🦦 and puffins and plenty other birds. I can highly recommend this company. We will do it again on our next visit.

Friendly crew and great at finding the whales. Turns out that Monterey Bay is a great place to find Whales because not only do several species stop by on migration north and south, but it is actually the final feeding destination for humpback whales.

Amazing tour! We saw humpback whales, great white sharks, otters, seals, and dolphins. The guides were very knowledgeable and friendly.

We stopped by in Santa Cruz and planned ahead to do the whale watching tour with stagnaro charters. It was very professionally operated and the 3 ladies were so passionate about what they are doing. We saw dolphins, sea lions and humpback whales.... an amazing experience for lifetime. The ship is not too big, so expect some heavy rocking out on the pacific and dress in layers. It can varies lot in temperature. Definitely recommend it, worth every dollar. 👌

Perfect! We did the tour with our 3 kids (5y, 3y and 8 months) we saw the most spectacular whale jump!

We were afraid about the baby but the crew were so helpful, that everything was just perfect.

We had a 100% women crew, what a was a plus (considering that we can’t find any women on the toys and my daughter had the idea- that’s a boy thing).

First time ever... I AM WAS EXCITED as much as i was freezing lol.
The crew was very informative and gracious to answer any questions they could answer.

Omg! First ever Whale Breach I've seen in my life. My girlfriend caught an awesome shot of it.

Where to start? From the moment we checked in we were greeted with friendly service. As soon as the tour started our crew spotted a humpback whale close to shore. What we didn’t expect was a mother and calf humpback breaching multiple times towards the end of the tour. Absolutely breathtaking and spectacular! The crew even went out of their way to check out a herd of 100 dolphins on our way back to the harbor.

Special shout out to the crew who were extremely professional, educated, and enthusiastic the whole time. They really made it special for everyone.

10/10 would recommend to anyone coming to Santa Cruz!

This was such an awesome experience. The crew was awesome. I highly recommend going its a once in a lifetime experience. My husband and our children had an awesome time. We tried being a little extra nice because there was some rude drunk guy on the boat not being very kind to the crew.

Went out on there boat today was amazing... this place is highly recommended from me great job all..... best in the world...