Whisper Charters, Inc.

LOVED IT!!! Take this tour.
We learned a lot about the area including animals and plants.
Capt. Brian was fantastic. He pointed out many things to us that we would of never of seen without him. It was a relaxed atmosphere.
Something that makes this tour the best is we were totally sheltered from the wind on the way back. We had the window flaps up on the way out and put the flaps down on the way in. We saw the other tour boat on the way out and they looked frozen.
I would take this tour again.

Whisper Charters is the ONLY way to tour the Elkhorn Slough. The owner Brian was our personal tour guide. He is very informative and cares about the eco system. The electric boat was quite and allowed us to get up close to the otters and birds. This made for great photo shoots. His boat is spotless and offers everything we needed; hot coffee, tea, water and soda. (Wine or beer at a minimal charge) binoculars and blankets. The tour is intimate which allowed us to ask lots of questions. Brian is very personable and interesting. I am so glad we chose Whisper Charters, Inc. Thank you Brian.

Fabulous boat trip on the Elkhorn Slough. Capt. Brian is so knowledgeable of local wildlife and history of the area — Saw lots of otters, seals, and a huge variety of birds. We also took along our two dogs which was such a treat for us — since there are so few day activities which allow dogs. By the way — there were 6 people with reservations for our trip, but last minute 4 of the folks cancelled — Capt. Brian very graciously still did the tour with just my husband and I and our two dogs. Please people if you make a reservation, don’t cancel at the last minute — Capt. Brian is a small business and survives based on 6 person tours — so unfair to him when folks cancel at the last minute so he cannot re-​fill their reservations. We also saw another boat tour on the slough — open air with 50 plus people on board — Whisper Charter is the way to go — only 7 people on board and if cold weather the boat has drop down enclosure to allow great viewing still and yet allows passengers to stay warm — The ONLY way to go!

Perfect in every way. Captain Brian was so informative, calm, helpful, and funny. The whisper boat made the Slough a peaceful nature tour because the boat was so silent. The boat itself is very comfortable seating with tea and coffee and alcohol if wanted. You can either charter yourself or go with six people max so it is very calm and not crowded. We saw otters galore and so many different birds and sea lions. It was a once in a lifetime. But the best part is they let us bring our three little dogs and they had a great time, too.

Captain Brian gave a really informative and relaxing tour. He is a wealth of information and has great stories. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and look forward to perhaps doing a whale charter in the future!

Captain Brian is overqualified in the most delightful way. There is no better way to spend 2 hours, relaxing, educational, hospitable. If you forget something Captain Brian has 30 years of experience and has appointed his boat with everything you might forget. I enjoyed learning about the animals and birds that we saw and drinking wine while doing it. Don’t forget to tip and refer so Captain Brian will be there for many more years.

The experience was so nice. An electric motor with a canopy that blocks the sun in small intimate vessel. Capt. Brian really knows a lot about the slough. We saw a lot wild life and received so much education. This is a must do trip.

A must if you are in the Santa Cruz to Monterey area, is to take this tour. The boat is a clean and efficient electrically driven boat, that easily cruises in the Elkhorn slough… and in this slough we saw over 80 sea otters, feeding, playing and grooming… sea lions, harbor seals, also many varieties do shore birds, loons, cormorants, muirs… and more. The tour is quiet and filled with specific scientific information on the marine animals, fish, bird life and geology…
Put this on your must do list.

Gliding across the water in Captain Brian’s Selkie for two hours is an amazing experience. The electric motor is almost silent; it does not frighten the wildlife. The boat is low so it seems like you are at eye level with otters, birds, and seals.
Besides the quite electric motor what sets this tour apart from others is the boat only holds the Captain and six people, there is room to move and see the wildlife. The information that was provided as we glided around the slough was helpful and made the trip more than just a photo trip. When we got off the boat he told us where we could go to see even more wildlife. There is also a Unilocal check-​in. Advanced reservations are required and are made online.
When I booked the trip I mentioned that my friends and I wanted do to some photography. When we got there we were asked what we wanted to photograph, my first thought was otters. I enjoyed the tour so much I am going to go again and see, and photograph, more otters, birds, and seals.

Captain Brian was very knowledgeable and accomodating. But the star of the show is his electric boat. You feel like you are kayaking because the motor is nearly silent as you cruise around the slough.
Per the captain, this is the only electric boat in Monterey Bay. I can’t understand why there aren’t more. It really made the whole experience unforgettable. I would definitely go again and take others there.

We had a wonderful time on the Elkhorn Slough with Captain Brian.
Top-​notch boat, truly whisper quiet, max 6 passengers, excellent, knowledgable captain and amazing wildlife. We saw otters, seals, sea lions and many species of birds.
We highly recommend this trip!

My three kids and I had a fun and educational boat ride with Captain Wim. Captain Wim is five stars and the boat was clean and comfortable. Loved learning about all the wildlife. Would be a great date trip.

Highly recommend this service as a way to see Elkhorn Slough. Went with other birders and Captain Brian was very pleasant and knowledgeable. The boat is gorgeous and electric which means it’s silent. A great way to view birds and sea mammals without obnoxious noise. For those folks that can’t kayak this is the way to go. Reservations by phone were easy. Thanks for a fun couple of hours!

Fantastic trip! Otters abound. Plus seals, seal lions and hundreds of birds.
Captain Brian is knowledgeable and doesn’t chatter on too much. He was gracious helping my elderly mother in and out of the boat.
If you want to visit the slough and can’t kayak. This is the way to go!!!

If you don’t want to paddle you own kayak, this is the best way to see the Elkorn slough!
Quiet (electric) and comfortable. The captain is very nice and knowledgeable. We ordered a cheese and fruit plate and brought our own wine. Nice!

What a great experience. We were on the 11:00 o’clock cruise today. It was just my husband and I with another family of 4. Captain Brian is so low key & nice but very knowledgeable. We saw so many brown penguins, seals, otters, sea lions etc. it was unbelievable. There was a school of anchovies and the brown penguins were dive –bombing the water. We also saw white penguins but they use a different method of feeding which the Captain explained to us. I was using the binoculars they provided all the time. Very quiet & smooth ride. I would definitely go again. Terrific!

A great trip. OK, so I’m not usually a fan of guided tours but this was fabulous. Went with some friends on Mother’s Day. Took the two o’clock cruise and we all had a great time. Our guide (the owner) was a knowledgable naturalist with a (thankfully) low key style. No constant talking and the information was really interesting. The boat is comfortable and quiet (it’s electric). Hot tea, or wine make the cruise comfortable. Highly recommend!

My husband and I took the 2 PM cruise on Valentine’s Day. To our surprise we were the only couple on board but that only made for a personal, quiet thoroughly, enjoyable cruise into Elkhorn Slough.
Captain Brian was gracious and informative describing the birds and wildlife we were seeing. We had so many wonderful opportunities to see sea otters with pups, and a special rare siting of a sea otter «hauling out», climbing on shore among the harbor seals to sun himself and groom. What a treat.
The boat itself is clean, comfortable and can be completely enclosed for protection from the weather. Complimentary water and tea are offered but other items are available for purchase if you wish, mostly light snack foods and wine.
Our tour was slightly over two hours and we didn’t want it to end. The Selphie II is so quiet that you glide through the wildlife without disturbing anything allowing for maximum viewing. We did see the other pontoon style boat zipping about with someone using a loud speaker. We were so happy that we took this cruise and could enjoy the sublime quiet that is our Elkhorn Slough.
I highly recommend Whisper Charters and Captain Brian. I don’t think you will be sorry.

What a great experience this trip was! This is a 2 hour trip into the Elkhorn Slough. The whole area is filled with sea otters, harbor seals, sea lions, ducks, shore birds, terns, etc, etc.
The boat is clean and comfortable and can completely enclose to keep you warm! There is complementary water, coffee, and tea. As well as a few other items available for purchase. He also has binoculars people can use to get a close look at the animals.
Captain Brian is incredibly knowledgeable and friendly. Answering all questions and pointing out wildlife and the history of the area.
Recommend bringing a camera to take some pictures of the amazing wildlife.
I would definitely recommend this experience to anyone interested in nature.

On Saturday, we took the Eco Friendly Tour of the Elkhorn Slough on Whisper Charters.
Captain Brian Ackerman was our guide. He was professional and friendly. He would point out rare birds and various wild life. The Captain was full of knowledge and answered every question I had. Captain Brian offered us coffee, I was thankful as I had not had any yet. It was delicious.
The boat was immaculate, comfortable and was truly whisper quiet as it is an electric powered boat.
I loved visiting the sea otters in their home. They were adorable! We learned that a group of sea otters is called a raft! The slough is host to a tremendous number of birds! It is a bird watchers paradise! We saw endanger species such as the Brown Pelican. The Harbor seals sun bathed along the shore. One seal decided to check us out, swimming near the boat, he would stop and look at us and we «floated» by.
I saw the «other» tour in an open aired Pontoon style boat. The captain was zipping around the harbor talking over a loud speaker. I was so happy I did not choose that tour.
You will not be sorry if you pick Whisper Charters. I plan on going back in the fall, winter and spring.
This tour is graceful, educational, green and most of all fun!