With summer in full swing, visitors can now board an Island Packers vessel to experience cruises and specialty trips as part of the company’s full transportation schedule to the Channel Islands National Park, in addition to popular summer whale watching.
Here’s a preview of what’s planned for the warmer months ahead:
- Anacapa Shoreline Cruise: This 3.5-hour tour offers views of the rugged coastline, historic lighthouse, and arch rock. Highlights include sightings of sea lions, seals, island birds, and other potential marine life during the crossing.
- Adults: $45
- Seniors: $41
- Children: $32
- Specialty Trips – Painted Cave and Prisoner’s Harbor, Santa Cruz Island: Enjoy direct service to this popular destination with a coastal tour culminating in an “in the island experience” at Painted Cave. The trip is followed by a landing ashore at Prisoners Harbor for a couple of hours to picnic, hike, snorkel, or lounge, with the option for a naturalist-led hike or self-guided exploration.
- Adults: $86
- Seniors: $79
- Children: $60
- Cueva Valdez or Fry’s Harbor Day Trips: These trips feature shore access on The Nature Conservancy property on Santa Cruz Island via small boats, with possibly wet landings. Island Packers staff share the natural and human history of the area, with approximately two hours to picnic, hike, snorkel, or lounge.
- Adults: $87
- Seniors: $82
- Children: $68
- Summer Whale Watching: The Santa Barbara Channel, newly designated as a Whale Heritage Area and one of only two in the United States, is renowned for its biodiversity and thriving marine ecosystem. Over the summer months, visitors can witness humpback, fin, or blue whales, and view resident groups of seals, sea lions, and dolphins, with occasional sightings of sharks, sunfish, or swordfish. A six-hour day spent on the ocean in the company of these creatures can be awe-inspiring and memorable.
- Adults: $79
- Seniors: $74
- Children: $64
To learn more, visit IslandPackers.com.
