Avila Beach Boat Charters

Captain Lee was amazing! We had a great time on the boat learning about the history of the area. The boat was comfortable for our family of four. My 6 year olds loved being out on the ocean seeing the sea life. Though we did not see any whales or dolphins we will definitely come back in the spring for another ride.

My son and I went on this adventure yesterday and had a such a great time we were sad when it ended. Captain Lee is awesome, his enthusiasm and love for the sea life is contagious. It is very apparent from the get go that this is not just a business, it is his passion and calling. He is very informative and has great stories of his adventures and the characteristics of the wildlife. He knows and recognizes some of the whales by the markings of their tales which makes the you feel a special connection with the each whales.
On our adventure we also saw an unbelievable amount of dolphins. A couple of times the dolphins were swimming along on each side and the front of the Zodiac it is an experience you just have to have for yourself.
I highly recommend taking this tour. This adventure is truly something everyone should try.

We saw four whales and learned so much from Captain Lee! The whales are so close you can smell their breath! They are amazing animals, such an incredible experience! We felt spoiled!

This was a really fun family trip. Captain Lee was funny, informative and really loves what he does. Having the small boat to ourselves was amazing. He has no «set plan». He makes it your own personal excursion. If there are no whales in the area, the case for us, he does some wave jumping (really cool), some cliff cave scenery (amazing) and really keeps you entertained. Very glad we found him!

This must be the same operation as Seaweed Express?! Confusing, but we left a review there as well.
I guess you get what you pay for for $ 25. Although my husband and I were surprised when the little boat pulled up to board us. It seemed like an older boat, not sure if there are others with the same company, but parts of it were literally kept together with some duck tape. It was a small boat and fairly tight for all 6 of us. It didn’t seem very professional, as the tour was very laid back, however the guide was knowledgeable about sea life. We may try the sail boat tour next time we are in town.

Captain Hijacked our Zodiac Tour
My wife and I signed up for the 1 hour coastline exploration to view the advertised Otter Town, Fossil Cave, and Pirates Bay. When we boarded the Zodiac, the captain mentioned that we were going out to see whales. I replied that this was supposed to be a coastal tour. The captain replied «whales» with a longing look in his eyes that stared out to sea. Another passenger said that she wanted to see the advertised cave. The captain answered: «whales».
This trip was like a plane load of airline passengers being told by the pilot that he was sure they all really would enjoy another destination that was 180 degrees from where they had paid to be delivered.
The captain would probably look at this review as a «No good deed goes unpunished» situation for him, but if we had wanted to see whales that day, we would have signed up for the Whale Watching trip.
Observation: The Zodiac holds 6 adult passengers. The best seats are located in front of the captain. The worst seat is directly behind the captain where you do not see a lot and can not make out much of the captain’s commentary, which is directed forward.

We could not have had a better experience. Captain Lee was so informative and fun. we were surrounded by whales feeding. the weather was crystal clear and warm. NO wind, it was the 8am charter with 3 other people and captain Lee and myself. I would do it again in a heart beat. highly recommend him he and the whales made my day, along with good friends sharing the experience. I loved it

Well worth it! Great day seeing Humpbacks up very close. Lee was great! Make sure your cameras are fully charged to record the action.

There was heavy fog on our way to Avila Beach, but it went away just in time for our boat ride :) Captain Lee was great. He’ll tell you a lot of interesting information about the things you see during the ride. We were a party of 3 adults and 1 child. There are life vests if you need one. We got to see sea lions, seals, birds, sea otters and also dolphins! The dolphins were amazing to see so upclose. Too bad no whales this time. I wasn’t expecting the boat ride to go fast during part of the tour so that was awesome! The kid loved it and we didn’t feel it was unsafe at all bouncing around so fast. Haha! That’s why he asked if anyone was pregnant or had back/​neck issues ;P This was an absolutely fun and adventurous experience. A lot of beautiful things to see and it won’t cost you an arm and leg. Definitely recommend it!
FYI: You should probably arrive early because parking can suck, especially on the weekend!

Captain Lee went above & beyond for us; though we didn’t see whales, we did enjoy seeing huge rafts of otters, lots of Harbor Seals & California Sea Lions & even a beautiful starfish crawling up a cave wall

Wow. What a great boat tour. Went out tonight for a sunset tour and saw a lot of great sights (otters, seals, birds, waves, sunsets, etc). Captain Lee was great guide and lots of great facts and good conversation. Be sure to get a tour with him. Been here for over year and seen new things never seen before.

captain Lee gave us an exciting, insightful, fun trip to see beautiful coves and caves. Sealions, harbor seals, otters, dolphins. He gave us some history and we jumped the waves! Such a blast! A beautiful day and such a memorable way to see the unreachable coastline. He talked story and had a generous hour and a half. Thank you, Captain Lee! We will be back. Loved it!

This was the best ride ever if you like a fun ride you will love this I we last minute called on Saturday and was able to get on the water Sunday we had a great time he really teaches you a lot about the area for sure will go on another trip

Captain Lee was amazing and a great tour guide. He took our family out and told us history of the area, which was very informative. At the end of our tour we came across a pod of dolphins. It was so awesome and our kids went crazy at how close we were to the Dolphins swimming along side the boat. I highly recommend this hour long tour.

This was one of the best little adventures! I surprised my husband with a tour of the harbor and Captain Lee did not disappoint. He was very informative, interesting and fun. We really enjoyed going out. We’re hoping to go again in July. I recommend scheduling a tour if your in the area or passing through. The drive there was beautiful and the harbor had a lot to offer. I’m also going to set up a trip for my son and daughter.
Thank you, Lee, for making this a really great trip.

Captain Lee was a great tour guide. We had six on the boat and all of us enjoyed the ride. We will do it again next time we are in Avila.

We took our children out with CAPT Lee to celebrate our oldest son’s graduation from Civil Air Patrol encampment. We took our three thrill-​seeking children (8 – 13) out with very high hopes and Lee exceeded our expectations on every level. From whale watching, sea lions, otters, porpoises and thrilling high speed adventures, it was incredidle. We would highly recommend this adventure!

Captain Lee is very knowledgeable about the area! It’s not just a boat ride to see the wildlife and water — he knows so much about the history of the area. He also engages each person and tries to get to know a little about them! A genuinely nice guy!
We were scheduled to take a 11am ride but he called us the day before to tell us that he had been out at 9:30am and saw a lot of wildlife so we switched to 9:30. Just as we were leaving he wanted to switch it to 11 since there was a lot of fog in the area but then called back to retract since the other party couldn’t do 11. I was a bit disappointed since I knew it would be foggy but he said he didn’t really want to do a boat ride with less than 4 people and we had 3 in our group. While I understand this, I wish we did stick with the 11am tine because by then the fog lifted and the sun was shinning! Oh well — even more reason to come back and see everything in sun shine!
Although we didn’t see any whales, he tried hard to find them but they weren’t around! We did see a ton of birds, otters, seals and sea lions!
$ 25 per person. Takes credit cards.

We had such an amazing time with Capt. Lee on the Seaweed Express! We booked a trip on a recommendation from a friend and he didn’t steer us wrong! Capt. Lee was so accommodating and the most friendly guy ever! It turned out to be a gorgeous morning in Avilla Harbor and we got to see lots and lots of Sea life; tons of darling otters, harbor seals, ornery sea lions, diving birds, and the most beautiful coast line on the West Coast!!! Thank you so much Capt. Lee we loved it!!!

I read the reviews and felt they were genuine. I spoke to Captain Lee on the phone and reserved our time spot. He greeted us with a friendly sea lion next to him. That broke the ice right away. It was a wonderful experience. We had 8 – 9 year old boys with us and 6 total in our group. Some were nervous about it being a small boat, but there is nothing to worry about. This was a great educational experience. Captain Lee made us feel comfortable, played some music, and even let us drive the boat. He was a lot of fun. We saw lots of sea lions, ate some seaweed, viewed the lighthouse and pirates cove. We even caught some speed with a lot of woo hoos. He didn’t rush the trip at all. Truly a remarkable experience. Would recommend him to any of my friends.