Dana Wharf

Beautiful Marina in Dana point

Awesome boat ride out onto the Pacific ocean

I booked a Lot' A Fun Catamaran for Burial at Sea on 11/08. Simple booking process via phone call. Price is on their website, with no strings attached. Captain Emily and Team are nice and friendly. The boat was super clean with new flooring, no fishy smell at all. They offered us a basket, but we chose to scatter ashes by ourselves. We brought gloves and trash bag. You could order rose petals when booking, or prepare flowers at home and bring them on board. It took 15 mins from their dock to the location, 30 mins of scattering time and 15. mins to go back. It was nice trip to fulfill my mom's final wish. Thank you for your services, Dana Wharf Team :)

So fun. Saw many dolphin pods and one whale pod. It was a spontaneous decision to go and turned out to be the highlight of our weekend. Staff super friendly.

My girlfriend wanted to go fishing on free fishing day and take her son with us. We booked tickets on the morning half day trip out of Dana warf. Arrived early, checked in, got our boarding passes and headed down to the gangway to wait for our boat to board. We were on the Reel Fun. Captain Chad, deck boss Wyatt, and galley Eric were the crew. Once we boarded we headed down the coast to cottons point, aka trestles for our first stop. Lots of rent rods so we were trying for bass. Set up on a man-made reef and started chumming. Before long several passengers had bites and a few calico bass came over the rail. Unfortunately most were too short to keep. So we moved up the coast and fished off the san Clemente pier. The water was dirty green and again while we had some bites it was far from wide open. One short white seabass and a short barracuda were caught along with some more bass. For our last stop we moved back up towards Dana Point and fished in some deeper water that was a little cleaner. This spot we caught quite a few more fish. Mostly calico bass with some sand bass mixed in. Along with a couple of Vermillion (red rock cod) and California scorpion fish commonly known as sculpin, for good measure. By the time we headed back to the harbor there were some keeper bass and the bottom fish in some of the gunny sacks. I think that everyone had a chance to land a fish or two, a few people caught half a dozen or so. While not everyone brought home fillets, I think everyone had some good times. I'll be back.

I fish out of here a couple times. Always had great crew and great service and caught fish. The bonuses they have a lady from Montana working for so I always get to see someone to talk about back home.

Captain Emily and Captain Murphy were awesome. Super helpful and super considerate. We were scattering my dad's ashes, and they made the experience much easier. Give them a raise!

Gorgeous Saturday. 75, sunny and a nice breeze. Family coming to the OC. Have not done this before with the entire group that happens to be together. This great company generously offers a 30 percent discount with a Yelp Check in. ( except Tuesdays which are already half off). 5 different amazing cruise options for all ages including a live music fun ride, a wine tasting one, champagne affair, an 8 hour whale watching marathon and this beautiful and chill choice with five scheduled boats daily at 10 a, 11 a, 12 noon, 1 p, 2:30 and 5 pm. We got to go and enjoy the gorgeous pre sunset last one of the day. Brandon in the shop was outstanding. Our Captain and the crew were so much fun, informative and knew their stuff. They connected with all ages including a 99 year old lovely lady and our 7 year old.The cruise was safe, the boat spotless and the team knew exactly where to stop to maximize our viewing pleasure. We saw a magnificent humpback whale( goose bumps) and the piece de resistance was the large pod of the awesome dolphin family with little ones swimming alongside their mothers. Not enough words. I absolutely and fully recommend this stellar company for this must do for all locals who have not experienced this love and magnitude of love and every visitor as well. There is stress free 4 hour parking in the newly constructed garage 4 minutes away. Loved this! Thank you dear Dana Wharf Whale Watching Co.

Great day on the water today with Dana Wharf tour. Although we did not see any whales, we saw several different groups of Dolphins. The captain worked hard to make sure we had lots of viewing options of those amazing animals. Crew was great! Highly recommend!!

Super fun experience deep sea fishing! Deckhand Joey and Josh were awesome and got us all set up. There was live bait and also thawed frozen squid. Caught at least 6 fish on a 3/4 day trip. Got the discount off Groupon for $64 instead of $81 and rented rods for $30, which comes with weights. We went to several spots and even saw some dolphins

Joe, chad and the gentleman that was cooking I forgot his name but he had mustache were all really great! I took my husband for his birthday and they made the experience unforgettable.

We went whale watching several time and were never disappointed. During our last one, we didn't get a chance to awe whales but we saw a lot of dolphins. Never saw that many! It was amazing and our captain followed them for us to have the best experience. It was amazing!

Captain of Reel Fun fulfilled all of our expectation PLUS! Everyone caught fish and had fun! The deckhand who filleted our fish was expert. And Deckhand SHANE, what can we say-he worked to keep us in bait, land our fish, kept the boat clean and even gave a hand untangling lines for some. Perfect day! Thanks guys.

Man, if you have never been Whale watching before, I recommend you come out here to Dana Point Wharf for some Whale Watching if you have a chance. I was here a few months ago , and this was my first experience whale watching. It was fun and adventurous. I learned a lot from the ocean and nature. We also saw some Dolphins which were interesting as well. I had a lot of fun at Dana Wharf Sprtfishing and Whale Watching. Next time I want to try fishing here.

Had a great time on a 3/4 day trip back in June. Got lucky and got tons of rockfish. Staff was super helpful helping tie lines and stuff was my first deep sea trip! There's also food and drinks on board that you can purchase such as a huge plus.

We had a wonderful time on a whale watching tour with Dana Wharf. The result was a few in a lifetime experience watching playful dolphins surround the ship and the grand finale which was seeing a Blue Whale a couple of hundred feet away. We made the reservations only a day ahead. We even got to the place a bit late, as they require a 45-minute early arrival. Once on the ship, an oversized catamaran, the captain gave a safety briefing and then the naturalist provided us with information on bird and ocean specimens we would see. There were numerous children from an elementary school. I was impressed with The naturalist's ability to impart information to them including how to behave on a boat. Seeing a blue whale in its natural habitat is an amazing sight.

I attended a Tuesday whale watch back in May 2024. Even though it was a colder day than I expected, it was a great experience. Started with a short cetacean talk, then great narration by the skipper. Highlights were blue whale sightings. I've recommended this to several OC friends.

We took the Sum Fun out on 3/23 for a 3/4 day fishing trip for my husband's birthday. Smooth check in process and before we knew it we were on board and headed over to get some fresh bait and then out to find the fish! We knew we'd be catching rain and wind so we weren't concerned and were just ready for some fun. Crew members included Travis, Daniel and Josh. All were very friendly and extremely helpful. Travis did his best to put us on the fish, Daniel was on deck helping all the anglers with their tackle and measuring fish, Josh was in the kitchen making delicious breakfast sandwiches (we skipped lunch) and then out with Daniel helping everyone. I would imagine it's not always easy dealing with customers who don't have a clue when it comes to fishing or have very high expectations but I will say that Daniel had a VERY positive attitude and was extremely friendly and helpful. We had fun catching sculpin with the provided lures. We thought we'd be using the live bait and going for sheepshead or other fish in the afternoon but the wind and rain made fishing difficult so we stayed on the sculpin all day. No problem - we had a blast! This is nothing Dana Wharf or the employees can control but it would be really nice if the people who choose to sit inside at the tables were a little more accommodating to others. A couple people took up several seats as they stretched their legs out on the bench and "slept" making it difficult to ask them to move their legs so someone else could sit down. Also, when you've got some people who are DRENCHED from the rain, wind and rouge waves, maybe offer your warm seat and stand for a bit. It's just common courtesy. We didn't win the jackpot for the largest fish but we came home with a good amount of fish and totally enjoyed ourselves. We saw multiple dolphins and even a giant sunfish - soo cool! Thank you for helping my husband have a great birthday!

We had the best time. It was a field trip with our charter school Taylion. I didn't know what to expect but it's something I'll likely continue doing with the family.

We had minimal expectations for this trip only because we really didn't know what to expect. Going out into the open water we were optimistic about enjoying the day out on the ocean more than actually seeing any animals, but oh my goodness we were not disappointed! We saw well over 50 dolphins many of them with calves. And we saw two different types of whales, one of which hung around in the space for a long time And came out of the water several times! The day was absolutely so beautiful and everyone on the ship was tremendously kind, and super informative. We learned so much! And we had a beautiful day.

So much fun. Booked with a Groupon code and saved some $. Went with about 8 friends and it was so much fun. We rented poles and they were very nice and easy to use. Upon arrival we checked in at the desk and were quickly given fishing rods for $30 rental for the morning. As well as weights and hooks. Then we were guided to our boat where we gave our ticket and showed our fishing licenses. The one checking wasn't very friendly or nice to my friend when she didn't have hers ready. She quickly found hers and We boarded the boat. We went to the bait barge and stocked up which took up some time I wish it didn't count towards our fishing time. The crew was very helpful in setting up my rig. I didn't know how to set it up for open water fishing as I've only fished off the jetty so they were super helpful when it came to that. Once on the boat we went fishing for bonito. We were not old before that we needed to buy a sack until after they told us to start fishing which if you've fished for bonito could get very stressful as fish were biting as bait hit the water. So for about 15-20 mins my group did not fish because we needed a crew member to help buying a sack/everyone was occupied. Which is our fault for not knowing. There was no point in fishing for bonito if we couldn't put it in a sack and it's a lot of back and forth grabbing bait. After a majority of the boat maxed out (5) on bonito we moved over to killerdana to fish for bass, sheepshead and other fish which was much more peaceful however I had the same small bass biting my hook so no keeper bass haha. But we ended up getting a scorpion fish and sheepshead which tasted so good later. The crew at the end was very helpful in filleting the fish for $1 per fish and we went back to the harbor a little early. Would definitely go again now knowing what I need to know

Two stars because the captain on Reel fun ,Chad, was super nice. Wyatt and Eric on the other hand were as rude as could be both seemed as if they hated their jobs. Took this trip for my husband's birthday because we are both in love with the sport. My husband spent years working on sport fishing boats and never have I been on one where the only fish being caught were on the trolling rods. We spent well over half the trip moving getting told to drop our line in for less than 5 minutes at a time. I'd say the boat was understaffed. Wouldn't recommend this company at all. We watched the fish count for about a month before booking and kept watching until the night before. Now looking at the fish count it's most definitely a padded number. I had a party of 3 cost $320 and of my party I was the only one to catch anything. 4 calico bass only one was to size. The guys with me didn't catch anything. About an hour before time was up a group of about 15 men were just sitting there complaining about their experience as well. On the website it says they go anywhere from a mile to 12 miles out. We went out far enough to have a nice swim back to shore ( pictured). Here's the deal, when we go out on trips we TIP (anywhere between $100-$200), I didn't even tip this crew, they are in the business of customer service. If the business was making people feel like a burden I would have tipped double what I normally do. Was really hoping to get our buddy hooked on fishing with this trip and the guys didn't catch a thing. Over half The boat got skunked !

Our family use this company all the time for whale watching with out of town family or just to get out and see the wild life. We live locally and it's just easy to do often. We highly recommend the company. This past sunday while trying to enjoy our naturalist had her mic on the entire time and was having a private conversation which made the experience less than perfect. The captain was a great female that was telling us information but we couldn't always hear her because of the other woman talking so much.

Absolutely amazing experience. The weather was beautiful, the waters were calm and we even spotted about 4 of 5 whales. Boat crew were great too. Will be back for sure.

We enjoyed our July tour with my wife's colleagues! The boat was the Lot'a Fun, a catamaran that gives a smoother ride than a single-hull boat. The boat went out to an area with many dolphins. Dolphins like to get close to boats in general. On this ride, they got close to the front of our boat. No whales on this trip but we did see a sunfish. Suggestion: put speakers in the covered area so that those sitting inside can hear the narration.

Beautiful boat ride. We didn't see whales at this time of year, but still encountered bottlenose and common dolphins. It was a great trip! Discounts on Groupon.

My first time deep sea fishing was with Dana Wharf, and for some reason, I had high expectations that I would catch at least one fish since my husband is an experienced fisherman. We arrived at the Dana Point harbor parking area more than an hour before our scheduled time, and while the parking was almost full, we managed to find a spot near the Dana Wharf Sport fishing building. Thankfully, we received a parking decal to put on our dashboard after checking in. About 15 min before we were supposed to board the boat, we lined up and watched the passengers from the previous shift get off and the crew spray down the boat. We did not see many people with bags of fish, which I internally hoped would not be the case for us. After our group loaded, it took about 40 minutes before we anchored at our first fishing area. The Reel Fun boat has a small galley for grilling burgers, gender-segregated toilets, and a small area that can be used for storing personal belongings and seating. There was not much area for shade, but it was an overcast day so nobody had to worry about the suns rays as much. There were quite a few beginners in our group, so the crew was pretty helpful and stepped in many times to help with setting up weights and whatnot. There was an area in the middle of the boat with sardines to grab as live bait, which was tricky as they often squirmed out of people's hands. For 5 hours, there were a few people that caught fish; I don't think we caught more than 20 legal-sized fish overall, which according to my husband, is quite surprising. There were a few experienced people in your group and I don't think any of them caught their limit. I would attribute this to the mischievous sea lions that kept eating everyone's live bait, and we witness these sea lions following us from place to place as they were jumping out of the water next to our boat as we moved. There were times I felt tugs on my line, got excited and frantically tried to reel my line, only to see a half-eaten sardine dangling from my line. It happened to everyone on the boat as I saw quite a few folks with half-eaten sardines. The fish trip ended up being a feeding session for the sea lions, which did kill my spirit a bit. Nonetheless, it was a fun experience and I think we just had low luck during the time we went.

This review is for the private charter only. Dana Wharf is our most favorite place to go in and out of for fishing here in socal. Therefore when booking a charter for my sons Birthday, it was a no brainer going back to Dana Wharf. Ever since my son was 3 years old he's had the fishing bug. Now that he's older, for his big birthday, we got his friends together, some dads, and decided to fish! We booked the half day charter, the office called in advance and we went over everything we needed, so I thought everything was all set and ready to go! Unfortunately, when we got on board it definitely was not what we had planned, which got us off to a bit of a rocky start. The crew certainly didn't exactly roll out the red carpet for us, and did not seem to be thrilled to be there. We immediately got the feeling it was a bit of bait and switch situation. All in all, we were able to salvage the day with some decent fishing, the crew turned it around, and provided some awesome support. The kids and all aboard were happy. I just wish there wasn't such a disconnect with the office, and the crew was allowed to be a bit more flexible or willing to accomodate. Stuff happens, gear breaks, but this all could have been prevented with the right communication. We'll certainly be back to fish at Dana Wharf, but probably not doing any charter services.

We booked a twilight fishing for 5. Upon arrival the reception while paying and acquiring fishing license was not warm and made us not feel welcome. The boat we chartered was Sum Fun. When requested the crew set up our rental rods. Throughout the remainder of the evening the crew as a whole was not helpful unless requested. When catching a fish you would have to find a crew member to request their assistance with landing and bagging your fish. They did not assist with netting bait out of the live well which left everyone wasting their charter time chasing bait before they could fish. Overall the front office experience could have easily been overlooked with a good night of fishing. I would liken the boat experience to sitting down for dinner and having to chase a waiter all night to ask them for the service of having dinner. Oh and you have to walk to the kitchen to get your own salad and bread..

Excellent adventure! The catamaran was comfortable and had great views from all sides. The galley had plenty of drinks, snacks and hot food too! The captain, and the resident whale expert, gave great information about the ocean depths, particularly where we were in Dana Point. We saw at least 100 dolphins and a few sunfish; no whales seen on this trip.

This was a nice little charter fishing trip spot in the Huntington Beach area. They also have other services like whale watching that I heard was plenty of fun! The prices are pretty good compared to others in SoCal. The staff was super cool and helped out with anything we needed, food onboard the boat was great and decent priced. Unfortunately, we didn't catch much on our trip out this time, but that's fishing! Still was very fun and definitely will come back. (Hopefully when the fish are out.)

We had a great 1/2 day outing on the Helena with Capt Calvin Cooper and Dan the Man! I highly recommend these guys. The 14 of us caught about 175 fish. We enjoyed breakfast burritos and Coors lights a plenty. These guys are the best. If you get to a group of 10 or more. Skip the big boat and let Calvin and Dan give you some great memories and great fishing!!! Helenafishing.com

I absolutely recommend Dana Point Sportfishing Dana Point! It's an amazing experience out on the harbor! My very favorite place! It's like a mini vacation on the water.

We went deep sea fishing here and it was a great experience. We caught many rockfish and flounder even though the water was cold. Guides were super helpful and helped when our lines got tangled. Guides also helped clean the fish at the end. Only feedback would be that the boat was kind of crowded and lines would get tangled occasionally. We also some dolphins and seals.

They may at be out of business. They don't answer phones or reply to emails. If they're in business, imagine the service. Called this place called Daveys Locker, & they were on top of it! I know where I'll be going.

So much fun, we had a great time. Highly recommend this. We saw whales and dolphins. They were so close and the captain made sure that all sides of the boat were able to see the wildlife.

My friend and I took a 10am whale and dolphin watching tour and enjoyed the experience, despite not seeing any whales. We saw lots of dolphins and also sea lions and the weather, although cold, was beautiful. Our disappointment was in the staff on the boat. We felt they didn't really engage with the passengers and we were left to ourselves. We were hoping it would have been a little more interactive and informative. We had been excited when we first got on the boat that one of the Naturalists was on board with us and started off by giving us an explanation of the types of whales and then pointed out an Osprey. After seeing the dolphins and realizing we weren't in luck to see whales, we didn't have much interaction from the lady on board (Laura I think) or the captain, it was almost a somber boat ride back to the harbor. It would have been nice to have been given some information on the various whales or marine life, the surrounding area and landmarks or even some tales of past whale spotting. The guests pretty much just talked amongst themselves instead. I've since read other reviews that mention similar comments but it doesn't seem that these comments are getting addressed with how the boat trips are actually ran, which is a shame as I think we would have returned again in the future otherwise.

Not to recommend - they are understaffed on the boat and yell at their customers. We did not felt welcome on board which has unfortunately destroyed the nice time on the sea that we had

Had a wonderful time on the boat and ended up catching the biggest fish of the day and what many called a once in a lifetime catch (Halibut: 44in, 33lbs). It was quite the monster to reel in. I considered myself very lucky since this was only my second time fishing. All this excitement happened within the first hour of a 5 hour fishing expedition. Needless to say, I was exhausted after reeling in the halibut and from the beating sun! The crew were all very helpful with the fishing pole rental and helping with untangling the lines. There were also plenty of live bait (sardines) for everyone to use. I ended up only catching 2 more small rockfish for the entire trip while others caught sand bass, mackerel and sculpins. But it didn't matter, I left with a once in a lifetime memory shared amongst friends for that epic catch!

My father in law only had fished on piers his whole life. I grew up fishing in the middle of the ocean. This was a nice charter, I appreciated that they accommodate handicapped seniors. My father in law had the time of his life and wants to re visit soon. Thank you to the crew and staff for everything.

We decided to try whale watching for my father in-law's birthday and mostly it was a great time. We brought a small cooler with waters/sodas and sat up towards the front of the boat. They have a bar on the boat, but it's cash only. As we got going some us stood on the top level, but you have to hold on very tight to the rails because the waves can get quite rough, and you will get wet! But all of that was part of the fun. Almost felt like being on a rollercoaster. Trying to get to the restrooms on the back of the boat was very difficult though due to the waves. Buddy system helped, definitely don't attempt to walk the deck alone without support. It's very easy to lose footing and fall... Mostly, it's safest to pick a spot and not deviate from it too much during the ride. They take you out pretty far, and it's beautiful to see the coastline as you go out. We were able to spot a few spouts of water presumably emitted by a whale out in the distance at one point. Very neat to see, unfortunately couldn't get too close. Seeing whales isn't guaranteed of course on these trips. Staff were very friendly and knowledgable and happy to educate us towards the end up the trip. I would definitely repeat the experience again someday; it was much more thrilling than i anticipated, and now I know a little better what to expect!

We did a burial at sea this afternoon . Everything was beautiful ! The two man crew of A Lot of Fun was amazing ! They made everything flow smoothly . I would highly recommend them

It was a good last minute afternoon activity. We were in Dana Point for business and had the afternoon free so booked a ride to see whales and dolphins. The captain tried to get close to a blue whale and we saw one and a lot of pods of dolphins. A good way to spend an afternoon that was in the high 70's! The only thing is to know that the Dana Pride is a larger boat so you'll be sharing w lots of other tourists. It has singles, older folks, families, the range!

They stand behind their guarantees! If you don't see any whales or dolphins, they will invite you back for a second trip.

Had g to get most epic whale watching experience!! We saw so much marine life, hundreds of dolphins, pelicans, gulls, some sea lions, and multiple hunchback whales. Can't wait to bring my friends and family back. Emily and Nona were amazing, thank you both for a wonderful morning.

Went on a whale watching today with Dana Wharf and had an excellent time! Saw a humpback and a huge number of dolphins. Nice to have a naturalist on board, as well as a knowledgeable captain!

Went on a great 9hr fishing trip with this company. Crew was great, Captain set the boat up for multiple successful drifts, almost everyone got limits. There was only 1 spot out of many we went to that the fish weren't biting that day. Not only was the rockfishing great but the average size of the fish coming up were above expectations. From top of day to finish everyone was kept in high spirits. I had a moment of tangle with another angler and was worried my expensive braid might be cut; Daniel was a total pro about getting the tangles out without cutting line. I have been on other boats out of other cities that I would never jump on again, but would absolutely jump at another chance to fish with this place. I got off the boat happy I spent my day on board.

We had a great time as a family, and saw sooo many dolphins and sea lions!!! The email confirmation says to arrive 45 min early, but you should be fine coming 20-30 min before departure. There is plenty of parking in the lot. Once you park, go to the storefront to get your tickets, then stand in line (you can't miss the crowd). They start boarding about 15 min before departure. There is plenty of seating on the boat both indoors and out, but if you want to be out and about make sure to dress in layers!! It gets chilly out on the water and so many people came under dressed. They serve food and drinks on the boat too, so that's an option if you get hungry. There were SO many dolphins right next to our boat and we were mesmerized by their grace and class. We didn't see whales on our trip, but whales are usually rarer to spot. The excursion is exactly 2 hrs and they are punctual! We got back right on time!

I've been to several whale watching trips in the past and if you've never gone, I highly recommend it. However, every single time I went, not a whale in sight. Typically, I'll see tons of dolphins swimming in pods alongside the boats as escorts to the ocean. Those are amazing but the point of the whale watching is to see whales. This particular time, and my first with the Dana Wharf group, I finally saw not 1 but two gray whales right off the coast! Super amazing and took enough pics and videos. This team was great and so much fun. Also very knowledgeable on the wildlife. I plan on going again w my family.

No whales but got to see dolphins. They can work on their customer service. The lady offered chocolates to everyone on the upper deck but completely ignored us. Very bad optics considering we were one of the few people of color on the boat. I hope it's not what it looked like. Would have gave 1 star but the dolphin sighting was the only nice part of the experience that made up for it.

Solid two hour boat tour leaving Dana Point, cruising down the south coast and ending back where we started. I've seen these charters for whale watching go out and have wanted to try for a few years now. Yesterday was the perfect day to go for it as it was the end of a holiday weekend. I am satisfied with the time we spent and tried as much as possible not to compare this trip to the whale watching trip we went on in the San Juan Islands in Washington a few years ago. Whale sightings are rare so I did not set my expectations to see a whale and that did not affect my star ratings however we did not see any whales. We did see a large pod of common dolphins though. We spent the majority of the boat trip traveling to the pod and back. I would say 10-15 minutes were spent watching the dolphins dive, swim and come up for air. Pros: -Plenty of seating with great views -Amount of time on the boat -Saw many dolphins Cons: -There was very little information given on the tour. The only time the loudspeaker gave info was when we first came up on the pod of dolphins and it was minimal. -The majority of the trip was spent as a boat cruise with very little time viewing marine life. -It was not very interactive/lively. -I did not feel that the over $100 price tag for two adults was worth it. There are other companies in the area that provide tours as well.