Grey Whale Trip Report 2026

Magdalena Bay, Baja MX.
February 7 - 12, 2026

 February 8, 2026. Sunday
Day One

We made it to the mouth of the bay where the grey whales spend their time.

There were whales, plenty of them, just not as many as in previous years. Gabino says it’s likely due to the warmer water temperatures this season.

The whales are still here just very spread out. It just makes finding players a little more challenging.

We arrived super early, but now, more boats have begun arriving, we decided to leave the area and try our luck elsewhere. 

At the next spot, we saw several whales, but none of them showed any interest in us. 

No curiosity. No lingering. Just whales moving through their world. It turned into a slow morning.

It’s easy to get spoiled here.

When the whales want to interact, there is nothing more exciting or special. When they don’t, it can feel strangely empty, even though simply seeing a whale is always a gift. 

The interaction is just that… a gift. And when it’s missing, you feel it.

We motored back toward our original area, taking the long way along the coastline to look for coyotes.

We spotted a couple, but not nearly as many as we would during a low-low tide. The water was already rising.

Along the way, we passed a pod of bottlenose dolphins hunting tight to the shoreline. Always a welcome sight.

Back at the mouth of the bay, the place where the best interactions usually happen, the water was glassy and calm. Beautiful. But there were so few whales there.

Perfect conditions. Just no players.

Last season, reports showed that several whales died. Experts believe changing weather patterns affected their food supply, leaving some whales unable to feed properly. Starvation. A hard reality, and one that may explain why we’re seeing fewer whales this year.

It’s terrible to think about.

1:00 PM
A whale finally approached our sister boat. Close enough to touch, but it didn’t stay. It surfaced, gave everyone a brief moment up close, then slipped away.

That’s the thing about encounters like these. You can’t force a whale to want to interact. 

They decide. Always.

Not long after, we finally had our first real interaction.

A pair of whales came in and played beneath our boat for a brief moment. Just enough time to get the camera in the water and capture a few frames. Short. Sweet. Perfect.

I was excited for our guests, grateful they got to experience it.

We had a couple more quick encounters before calling it a day. Nothing prolonged, nothing dramatic.

But it was enough.

A quiet day. A patient day.

And a good ending.