East Meets West Whale Watching — Attraction in Newport Beach

My brother and I wanted to do a small celebration for my parents' retirement. They didn't want a big party, and so after little research, we found this which my parents were super excited to go to.

Communicating with Captain Nick was professional and easy. I was able to set up a great time and on the date I wanted without issue. I immediately received a handy confirmation via e-mail with reminders and helpful notes for where to go on the day of (sounds small, but was very nice to have!)

The boat ride itself was a lot of fun! Once we were out of the harbor we almost immediately found hundreds of dolphins. They were at first having a feeding frenzy (even one sea lion was joining them). We kept going and the dolphins started to swim along with the boat. There were some that started to jump through the air and become playful. It was a lot of fun to watch! During this time we were encouraged to go on the hull of the boat. I was the only one who made it up there. It was admittedly a bit scary, but ok once I finally got there. I got some great photos and video from there, so I'm glad I did!

After watching the dolphins for some time we decided to go look for a blue whale in the area. She was a little bit shy so we only saw her spout and the back peek out a couple times, but it was still amazing to see the sheer size! I think my parents enjoyed seeing the whale the most!

We finally ended the tour by spotting some sea lions on a buoy on the way back to the harbor. They were all sleeping in piles on it, as they tend to do. It was so cute!

I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone who wants to go dolphin and whale watching. The boat is smaller than commercial boats, so you can get closer to the sea life. Captain Nick is very knowledgeable about the animals we were seeing and gave little educational lessons while we were out there, as well. The price is very fair, and the memory...

My boyfriend and I wanted to enjoy a day on the water and go for a boat ride along Newport coast. We prefer smaller groups so having seen East meets West Excursions and read the great reviews for Capt. Nick, we booked easily online on their website.

Capt Nick and East Meets West Excursions, takes dolphin and whale watching tours to the next level. Located on Balboa Island in Newport Beach. He specializes in smaller groups, up to 6 persons, for a more customized and interactive experience on the water. The boat is fast, clean, and very comfortable; perfect boat to go dolphin and whale watching aboard.

We were able to cover a lot of water, departing Newport Beach and headed a few miles offshore in between Newport and Balboa piers. Had two humpback whales put a show on for us. The boat is very quiet allowing stealthy approaches under the reading of the whale's behavior by Captain Nick, to appreciate the whales up close but not bother them.

We ran up to Huntington beach then headed towards the waters off of Laguna Beach where we came across a 'mega-pod' of dolphins. There must have been over a thousand of them, swimming with the boat, riding with the bow and surfing our wake, I swear I could have pet them.

Our trip ended with a spectacular blue whale off south Laguna, almost to Dana Point. Capt Nick gave us some extra time to be able to enjoy the large blue whale. We were back to Newport Beach in no time, stopped to say hello to the sea lions, and called it a trip.

Due yourself a favor, take yourself, family, kids, or significant other and book a trip with Capt Nick and East Meets West Excursions. He also does afternoon/evening harbor or sunset cruises if staying in the harbor and enjoying happy hour on the water is more your style. Thanks for taking such great...

This experience was awesome, and very well worth it. We went with Nick and had originally booked a 3pm slot but Nick got in contact with me the morning of to ask if I wanted to bump up to the 12pm slot in order to have a better experience with the weather and sea conditions, which was super thoughtful. We had so much fun, got to the dolphins and whales much faster than the larger tour boats, and just by looking at the amount of people on the larger boats I promise this is absolutely the way to go. The slightly higher cost per person is well worth it. My stepson (11) got to get up close to the dolphins and had the time of his life.. on top of that, on our way back to shore he went back to where Nick was manning the boat and Nick gave him a few lessons on boating and was very interactive with him. Nick had explained to us beforehand that the whales don't always show up, but he knew what he was doing and took the time to look for them and their patterns - and we ended up seeing a couple and getting to see one breach which was amazing! Nick was extremely friendly and knowledgeable, and made sure to get on a first-name basis with all of us. We will most certainly be back next summer. Some things nice to know - they have life jackets on the boat for anyone needing one, and if you get seasick, you will want to take a Dramamine an hour before and eat a light breakfast/lunch that day. The majority of the ride is easy because they are speedboats and go fast and over the waves, however there are times when the boat will be still and you will feel ALL the wave motions. It helped for me to focus on the shoreline and breath deeply during these moments but luckily I had taken my pill an hour before and wasn't full of food so I was...