After a lengthy COVID-19 closure, Island Packers ― the main mode of public transport between Santa Barbara and Ventura and the Channel Islands ― has reopened.
The company is now offering whale watching tours through the Santa Barbara Channel, during which 40-foot Pacific gray whales can often be spotted migrating from feeding locations around Alaska to their breeding grounds off Baja California. More than 20,000 whales make the 6,000-mile two-way trip every year.
Island Packers, family-owned since 1968, has also reported seeing humpback whales, fin whales, and occasionally orcas this time of year. Common dolphins are a regular sight year-round. For their most recent updates, follow Island Packers on Twitter .