• Booking Policies
• Acknowledgement of Risk Form
• Passenger Form
• Recommended San Diego Hotels
• Recommended Restaurants & Services
• What to do in San Diego
• Recommended Cabo San Lucas Hotels
• What to Bring

Searcher Natural History Tours Booking Policies

Welcome to your natural history adventure to Baja California! We have a wonderful wildlife experience planned for you. Please call or email us with your reservation request, then review these important details about your tour.

We request a 25% deposit to secure space on this tour. You may send the deposit by check or call us for credit card (VISA and MasterCard) transactions. An additional 25% deposit is due 90 days prior to departure. The balance of the trip price is due 30 days prior to departure.

Should you need to cancel, 90% of the deposit is refundable if you cancel more than 120 days prior to departure. A 10% administrative fee is retained. Within 120 days of departure, the deposit is nonrefundable.

We suggest you purchase travel insurance in case of the unexpected need to cancel your tour. Once the tour has started, all money paid to Searcher Natural History Tours is nonrefundable. Searcher Natural History Tours reserves the right to cancel a tour due to inadequate enrollment, which would prevent us from operating a tour. In such a case, full refunds will be issued.

Before booking non-refundable flights, contact us to verify that the tour is a confirmed departure.

A valid passport is required for this tour. Please fill out a Searcher Passenger Form and return it after your flight arrangements have been made. This information is required for us to report departure and arrival to US Homeland Security and to complete your Mexican tourist visa. You will receive this stamped Mexican tourist visa after our immigration clearance stop in Ensenada on Day 2. This visa will suffice for your stay in Mexico and is also required to board your flight home.

Please make your travel arrangements to San Diego to start the tour. We recommend that you arrive to San Diego the day before your tour departs in case of weather delays. The San Diego airport’s (Lindberg Field) airline code is SAN.

Searcher is scheduled to depart from Fisherman’s Landing at about 10 p.m. on departure day. Please be aboard by 8 p.m. for an orientation meeting. You may board Searcher earlier in the day to leave luggage. Please note that on-board accommodations are shared. Unless you’ve made prior arrangements, you will have one or two roommates (except couples) depending on the size of the room.

If you drive to San Diego, you may leave a vehicle at Fisherman’s Landing in an Ace Parking lot which costs $5 per day. Fisherman’s Landing is about 15 minutes by taxi from the airport or train station and is located at the intersection of North Harbor Drive and Scott Street in the Point Loma area. (Some San Diego taxi drivers are not familiar with the Landing’s location, so you may have to educate them.) The Landing’s phone number is (619) 221-8500. www.fishermanslanding.com

Your first included meal is breakfast on Day 2. There are several restaurants within walking distance to Fisherman’s Landing for dinner before the orientation. Please check our “What do to in San Diego” document for ideas about our nearby attractions.

Searcher will arrive at Cabo San Lucas in the early morning on Day 12. You should arrange for a flight out of Cabo San Lucas (also called Los Cabos or San Jose del Cabo, airline code SJD) for noon or later since the airport is about an hour from the dock. A shuttle (arranged by us) from the boat dock to the airport costs $15-20 per person (US). If you choose to stay in Cabo for the day, you can arrange for airport transportation on your own. Airlines for flights home or back to San Diego include US Airways, Alaska, Aeromexico, Continental, American, and Mexicana. If you stay on in Cabo San Lucas, we can offer some tips on lodging and activities.

The tour price does not include: ground/air transportation costs, meals not specified in itinerary, costs for emergency medical situations during the tour, costs associated with travel delays due to weather or other unavoidable events, trip insurance, early arrival or late departure due to airline schedules, or gratuities for crew. We reserve the right to charge a fuel surcharge if the price of marine diesel fuel rises unexpectedly. This will be determined in advance of the tour.

TIPPING: We are often asked for guidelines on gratuity for Searcher crew. An average is 10% of the trip cost and can be left aboard with Captain Art. You may wish to tip the Mexican skiff drivers in Laguna San Ignacio--$10 per person is average.

Please prepare for traveling aboard ship to relatively remote areas, far from US-style medical facilities or pharmacies. You are invited, but not required, to participate in activities such as whalewatching in small skiffs, snorkeling and swimming, hiking in remote areas, and traveling aboard a moving vessel. We try to accommodate all levels of ability in these experiences, however we suggest you discuss this tour and the activities with your physician to make an informed decision about whether this tour matches your fitness level. Please note that getting off Searcher into smaller skiffs for whalewatching and shore excursions is via a ladder with three steps that are about 12 inches apart. Visit our web site for videos on boarding skiffs. Sleeping accommodations are stacked bunk beds. Please inform us of any medical conditions and dietary needs in advance so we can do our best to make you comfortable during your tour.

We are happy to chat with you about your upcoming trip and answer any questions or concerns. Please call or email us before your tour, especially if we need to know anything in advance to make you more comfortable during your tour.

Celia Condit
Office Manager
619-226-2403
searcher@bajawhale.com