Cabo Expeditions — Local services in El Medano Ejidal

What an awesome experience! We booked the whale watching tour since we would be there at the right time of year during our Mexican Riviera cruise. Let me start with how customer-service oriented Cabo Expeditions is. When I originally tried to book this tour, the web page off of a travel website stated that they were not accepting bookings from passengers arriving on a cruise ship. I called Cabo Expeditions directly, and they quickly clarified that the travel website was out of date and that the cruise ship exclusion was a COVD policy that was no longer valid. They accepted my booking, and even changed the date for me when I found out that I had confused the date that my cruise would be in port. The day in Cabo San Lucas was the best weather day of our entire 5 day cruise, so it was a great day to be out on the water. Captain Julio and our guide Sam were totally on their 'A' game this day. After some odd churn where we had to meet the tour van near the pier, to be taken to their office (also at the pier, but at the opposite end) to then be taken back to the same area of the pier to load into the boat we got underway. Captain Julio quickly zoned in on a group of boats that were apparently following some whales. We jumped into the group and started following along at a distance. Sam was very informative about what we were watching (males following a female) and why the whales behaved the way they do. That is when the real show started. Captain Julio spotted a couple of other whales spouting off in the distance so we motored towards them. What followed was a tremendous show of whales breaching, fin-slapping, blowing, diving, etc. Sam kept not only explaining what was going on, but working with Captain Julio to position the boat for great views. The absolute highlight was when the pod of 3 whales surfaced less than 10 feet from the 20' Zodiac we were on, and proceeded to swim right under the boat! We stayed out for about 3 hours, and spent the majority of that time watching whales do what whales do. On our way back to the dock Captain Julo took us by The Arch for pictures, then back to the dock on time which gave us additional time before we had to board our cruise ship for departure. By Captain Julio's own account, we had a very lucky day watching the whales. His morning tour only saw one, which would only surface occasionally. To see four whales breaching and fin slapping was an exceptional day, and our group was lucky enough to experience it. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone who has just one day in...

tl;dr: In spite of excellent whale activity the tour is not value for money, choose Cabo Whale Watching instead for the same price, better info, and excellent photographs included.

Have to say I was supremely disappointed with my zodiac tour. I feel like it wasn't value for money, and an $85 expedition was the same experience as a $30 local boat.

I know that experiences can vary from the day to day, and don't get me wrong the whale activity on the tour was very good. It is only the quality of the tour that I was disappointed with. I had hoped that by paying a premium for a Zodiac I would get a much more personalised and intimate experience however we left later than the specified time (9am) - which given most boast head out around 8-8:30, was already late. It felt like the zodiac left at a later time so they could see where all the other boats were gathering, next thing you know we were among 9 boats all following a small pod of 3 whales at a close distance to the coast for a better part of an hour and a half.

It seemed unethical to swarm the Whales, and on a tour I had been on the week previous with Cabo Whale Watching, as soon as more than 3 boats were around a Whale they left and found a different one, as not to cause any distress, so i hated that the welfare of the whale wasn't given as much consideration with Cabo Expeditions, and it even seemed lazy to stay swarming the whale instead of driving the boat out further to sea to find a different whale.

The trip was also cut short, we started heading back to the marina at around 10.40, and by 10.50 we'd docked and they were preparing for their 11am tour.

For me the selling point of the zodiac was a smaller group that could quickly locate and watch whales at a safe distance away from all the other boats, but what i got with Cabo Expeditions was exactly what i could have gotten for $50 less on a local boat.

There were also 'professional' photos for purchase at the end of the tour, which really weren't up to scratch, and for an additional $50 were absolutely not worth it.

For the same price you can get a tour with Cabo Whale Watching, which gives a much more personal experience away from the other boats, a guided tour by a marine biologist who educates your on all things Whale, and included some exceptional photos...

The ocean was full of whales that we were tracking. Then suddenly we were no longer tracking the whales. We were just sitting there looking at one another as the minutes ticked by. All the other boats we were with continued on and we sat there. No one said anything. The captain and the assistant (not a biologist as claimed) started to serve drinks and the “photographer” started to sell us photos. Let me be clear here. We had been on the water for less than 25 minutes of a 2 1/2 to 3 hour excursion. All three pretended nothing was wrong. Meanwhile, as the photographer distracted us trying to sell us individual photographs for outrageous amounts of money, attempting to hide behind the opened cooler, the captain and other guy worked on the boat’s engine. No one told us anything. The increasingly strong gasoline smell, and their strange behavior, however, gave them away. Finally, as one of the guys hailed down another boat and asked in Spanish for help, I inquired if they were by chance having engine problems. He laughed and said yes. We were then getting towed in by another boat. He didn’t even tell us that we were going back to the docks. After, we directly asked him if we were returning. He said yes with another laugh. He then informed us that we could either go out another day with them for free or we could get a full refund. Needless to say, everyone on the boat, wanted a full refund. When we got back to the counter, the woman tried to say we could not get a refund because we had seen whales. Fortunately, all the passengers knew we had been told we were getting a full refund and no one was going to accept not getting a full refund. After everyone refusing to backdown, she did process the refunds. We all waiting for the refunds to show up in our accounts. The deceit, the more expensive price for the trip, charging outrageous amounts of money for photographs, especially when others include photographs for free, their deceitful and avoidant behavior, and their run down boats, lack of a biologist …. Steer clear! There are many great options that are professional, and...