I found a BOGO on Newport Chamber of Commerce website for Whale watching. Drove there from our hotel near Disneyland. good directions, right into the parking garage all day for $12 or $8 if you get it validated. We went to the office early as recommended and we not able to check in yet so we watched the auto ferry to Balboa and the guys get our boat ready.

Once aboard we scoped out a bench. Going out of the harbor were great views of the nice homes and people fishing on the jetty. We saw a couple dolphins and then our sister boat saw a huge pod of dolphins feeding on a school of fish followed by some sea gulls and a lone pelican. This was a great site there were 100's of them! No whales today, but saw sea lions on the way back hanging out on the buoy / bell thingy. There is a small galley with snacks and a restroom onboard.

The captain and hands allowed my 4 yr old daughter to hang out in the cabin on the way back. When we docked we received a BOGO for next time because we didn't see any whales. We checked out a touch pool inside the "museum" and bought a t-shirt & starfish and a local souvenir shop.

We went back to the car & got our beach gear and walked 2 blocks to the beach and hung out on the very well groomed beach for about an hour while watching a guy sail-surf? and the seagulls and pelicans fly by. There is a Rubys diner on the pier but it was too chilly & windy to make the long walk and we enjoyed just playing in the sand anyways.

This whole area is pretty much CASH ONLY the shops, dining, etc. There are several ATMs close including Wells Fargo.