SF Bay Whale Watching provides whale watching tours and expeditons in Northern California from Sausalito and San Francisco Bay. We call the tours expeditions out of respect for the waters outside the Golden Gate Bridge and beyond. Most of the trips go to the Farallon Islands in the Gulf of the Farallones which is a marine sanctuary. The Islands themselves have had very few humans on them even to this day because the waters are rough, the islands are barren, and there is not a natural cove or protection to disembark on the islands. The tours circumnavigate the islands. The islands are a safe haven to 37 types of endangered species, 400 types of sea birds, and are a popular migrating stop for many types of whales and sharks. Other trips go up the California Coast and Point Reyes.

The captain is very experienced and will provide part of the tour. An expert naturalist will also be on board to describe what you see. Every trip is different. We depart out the Golden Gate Bridge, go past the Point Bonita Light house and head out 27 miles to the Farallon Islands. On the trip back the view of the California Coast scenery is stunning and viewing the Golden Gate Bridge from the Pacific Ocean is memorable. Currently all trips leave at 8:00 am and return between 3 and 4 pm.


Most of our scheduled tours are listed on this site. We also do private tours for families, churches, schools and corporate offsites. Private charters can be for groups of up to 23,or up to 49 passengers or up to 120 passenger. Price for chartering a private tour depends on if it is a weekday or weekend and size of the group.

Please navigate through our site for information on what to bring, directions, what you might see, photos from previous trips, and resources for your visit to Sausalito. Please print out the contact us page for directions and information on the trips.