Last updated: May 2026
SoCal Whales is a free resource for anyone planning a whale watching trip in Southern California. To keep the site running, it participates in affiliate programs and displays advertising. This page explains both relationships plainly, as required by the Federal Trade Commission's guidelines on endorsements and testimonials (16 CFR Part 255).
Some booking links on SoCal Whales are affiliate links. This means that if you click a link and complete a reservation, this site may earn a small commission from the booking platform — at no additional cost to you. The price you pay for a tour is the same whether you arrive via an affiliate link or navigate to the operator's site directly.
The intended affiliate platforms for this site are Viator (a Tripadvisor company), used as the primary platform, and GetYourGuide (managed through CJ Affiliate), used as the secondary platform. Both platforms offer a standard commission rate of 8% per completed booking, credited within a 30-day cookie window. Newport Whales, Davey's Locker, Dana Wharf, and Harbor Breeze are listed on Viator; Flagship Cruises & Events is listed exclusively through GetYourGuide and will be linked via that platform only. Affiliate registration with both platforms is pending — the booking links on this site are not currently tracked affiliate links. No commission is earned at this time. This page will be updated once registration is complete and tracked links are activated.
Operators whose tours may appear through affiliate links include Newport Whales, Davey's Locker, Newport Coastal Adventure, Dana Wharf Whale Watching, Harbor Breeze Cruises, and Flagship Cruises & Events, among others. Whether a specific tour appears is determined by availability on the booking platform — not by any direct commercial arrangement between this site and the operators themselves.
Affiliate relationships do not influence the sighting data, species information, or the "Good Day to Go" indicator on this site. Sighting counts are pulled from publicly available trip-report pages published by each operator. Operators are not ranked, promoted, or excluded based on commission rates or any other commercial consideration. If an operator publishes trip reports, they appear in the data. If they do not, they do not.
This disclosure applies to all pages on socalwhales.org. If you have questions about a specific link, you can reach us through the About page.
SoCal Whales displays advertisements served by Google AdSense. AdSense is a program run by Google that lets publishers earn revenue by showing ads alongside their content. Ads on this site are selected and served by Google, not by SoCal Whales. Google labels its ads clearly — you will typically see an "Ads by Google" or similar notice near each ad unit.
This site earns a small amount of revenue from ad impressions (the number of times an ad is displayed) and ad clicks (when a visitor clicks on an ad). The revenue helps cover hosting costs and the time it takes to maintain the scraper and data pipeline.
To serve relevant ads, Google may use cookies and browsing data, including your prior visits to this site and to other websites. The most significant of these is the DART cookie, which Google uses for interest-based advertising across its network. You can manage or opt out of personalised advertising at any time:
Opting out means ads may still appear — they will simply not be personalised to your browsing history. Google's full privacy policy is available at policies.google.com/privacy.
All sighting data on this site is sourced from publicly available trip reports published by whale watching operators on their own websites. The automated scraper collects this data daily without any manual selection or editorial override. Operators are not contacted, paid, or otherwise involved in the data collection process.
The species guide, whale watching tips, and ocean conditions information are written to help visitors make informed decisions about when to book a trip — not to promote any particular operator or booking platform. No advertiser or affiliate partner has reviewed or approved any of this content. No operator has paid to be featured on this site.
The "Good Day to Go" composite score is calculated from three data signals: recent sighting counts (last 48 hours), wave height, and wind speed. The algorithm does not factor in affiliate commission rates, advertising relationships, or any commercial consideration. A day with poor conditions and low sightings will score low regardless of which operators have trips available.
If you believe any content on this site is inaccurate or misleading, please reach out through the About page. We will investigate and correct errors promptly.