Redondo Beach Whale Watch — Local services in Redondo Beach

We had an unfortunate experience with Redondo Beach Whale Watch, and I would not recommend them to anyone (go to Long Beach or Newport instead!)

My sister with a terminal illness (ALS) flew from Ohio to LA to go whale watching with me. I coordinated with the manager beforehand and made sure the boat was accessible for her wheelchair and physical disabilities and made him aware of the situation. Everything was confirmed, and then we received a call that they were going to cancel the trip because they needed 2 more paying passengers to make the trip worthwhile for them. I told him we would pay for the 2 extra seats so my sister could have this experience with whales. We also told him that we’d make it worth their while bc we would tip well as this is a bucket list experience for my sister, and he said no, they weren’t willing to do that. So, the trip was cancelled and my sister never got to see the whales 💔.

This situation was handled extremely unprofessionally and they were so rude - the manager hung up on me when I asked for his name! As a Redondo beach local, I urge you to please go elsewhere on your whale watching trips as this company has...

Website prices seemed different from what I recalled in person, so I picked a day and time the site would let me book, but went over an hour early to try to book tickets in person. Hand-written sign was outside their office (register?) had MORE hours than on the website, but no one was there. When I called, I was told they were closed for the day (again, they had a HAND WRITTEN sign). I would have understood the situation years ago, but my friend and I both felt this was pretty bizarre.

Edit: To note, my friend and I walked to the "red booth," saw no one, walked to the other side of the pier where they have billboards, made the call, was told they weren't open today, called a DIFFERENT whale tour company in Long Beach (who didn't even answer the phone), grabbed something to eat, did a few laps around the pier to kill time, and NEVER saw anyone in that booth. This is past bizarre...

Wanted to go on a little boat excursion and see some wildlife while on vacation. This place was closeby and tickets weren't outrageous. Don't forget to bring a hoodie!

Pros: Super easy to book online. Captain and guides were very nice and fun. I really enjoyed the boat ride. There was a bar down below and they had snacks too. Everything on the boat was cash only.

Cons: Hard to figure out where to go since there's two addresses associated with this place. One is where you need to park and the other is where you need to walk to once you've parked. We didn't see any wildlife other than sea lions. I understand that you win some and you lose some, but this was a costly loss.

Overall, I had fun. I would have felt so much more satisfied if I had seen one fin. Maybe your ride will be...