It’s Summer time so you know we are all gearing up for some water centric fun! Luckily for us Southern California has some pretty awesome places to go for water fun activities like snorkeling, surfing, boating, jet skiing and so much more.
Because of our fantastic weather many of these aqua adventures are available all year round for us but of course the Summer months are most popular. Now you can hit the beach or raging waters in San Dimas but we thought we would share some more unique water activities.
Check out our list of some of the fun water fun activities you can choose from and go get wet Southern California style!
1 – Whale Watching Tour
Description:
Beautiful Southern California has no shortage of incredible water views but also the opportunity to see Ocean creatures both big and small. One of the most impressive of course are whales and you can take a whale watching tour from any of the many great tours available at Long Beach, San Pedro, Redondo Beach or Newport Beach.
Year round these tours are available for everyone, and they vary on price according to the time of the day you wish to go. While December through April is the migration season almost guaranteeing Whale sightings we still love to go in the Summer time when the weather is perfect to be out on a boat. With experienced guides you should still be able to spot some Whales.
So go ahead and check out which tour you want and have fun in the summer watching blue whales, dolphins and sea lions.
If you choose to go in the winter time you can see magnificent gray whales.
Location: 309 Palm St A, Newport Beach, CA 92661
Pic Credit: @captdaveswhalewatching
2 – Surfing in Encinitas
Description:
Encinitas is the weekend destination spot for you to ride some good waves, and it’s a little less crowded than San Diego surfing spots. The beaches here are like hidden gems and you can expect white sand and rocky bluffs that will look awesome on your Instagram.
Some really good surf spots include Swami’s which is located at the southernmost end of Encinitas, this is a great surf break. Another one is D street which is right below the bluffs of Moonlight beach, head south towards Swami’s point.
If surfing is a new thing in your list of want to try new things, no worries, there are plenty of surfing camps and instructors available all year round.
There are plenty of great surf spots in SoCal but we highly recommend a visit South to Encinitas at least once to experience a quintessential beach town.
Location: 400 B St, Encinitas, CA 92024
PIC Credit: @trevor_humphres
3 – Water Exploration at the Channel Islands
Description:
Get ready to dig out your wetsuit and go explore some amazing sea caves and beautiful kelp forest at the amazing Channel Islands just North of Los Angeles. You can take a boat to Santa Cruz Island just an hour trip from Ventura Harbor, or you can also take a boat from Santa Barbara.
For information about transportation schedules contact Island Packers or check out their website at islandpackers.com
The water adventures don’t stop there in the Channel Islands as you can book a snorkel tour or a snorkel and kayak tour.
For these activities it is recommended that you have some experience kayaking and that you are comfortable swimming with a snorkel. The price of your tour includes mask, fins, wetsuit, snorkel life vest. Have and awesome time!
Location: 1691 Spinnaker Dr #105B, Ventura, California 93001
PIC Credit: @islandpackers
4 – 2 Hour Kayak or Paddleboard with Sea Lions in Marina del Rey
Description:
This awesome experience starts at the popular Mothers Beach in Marina Del Rey where a tour guide will provide information about the marine life and local environment and will also guide you with a lesson on paddle boarding techniques or kayaking.
After that you will board your kayak and paddle out in the marina. After passing all the boats you should be able to easily spot some sea lions and can often get up close enough to hear them. And if you’re lucky you may even spot some dolphins!
There are several places you can rent the needed equipment from including the UCLA Marina Aquatic Center, that is open for faculty staff and the community. As an extra little hack lessons and rentals here are free for registered students!
Location: 14001 Fiji Way, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
PIC Credit: @theberrybookreport
5 – Electric Hydrofoil Lesson
Description:
You may have seen these crazy videos on Youtube or Instagram of people seemingly floating above the water on a futuristic looking hoverboard type device. How cool is that! Well we have that in SoCal and its called an E-foil.
An E-foil is basically a surfboard that is powered by an electric battery. It is rather quiet and it makes it look and feel like you are flying above water.
I can not tell you that there are plenty of places to find these boards for rent, but you can still find some scattered here and there.
In this post, we are listing a spot you can rent them at Socalsurfsup in Malibu, but you can also find a couple more spots in Santa Monica. Have fun!
Location: 28925 Pacific Coast Hwy, Suite 200 – D. Malibu, CA 90265
PIC Credit: @mkdrop.hk
Do you agree with our list or did we miss an obvious one? Let us know by commenting below!