2026 Private San Diego Photo Tour
Brandt’s Cormorant in breeding display (Jan-June). © Jennifer Leigh Warner
Southern California has some of the richest biodiversity in the country. San Diego County is one of the best places in the country to photograph marine wildlife, including nesting Cormorants, Brown Pelicans, Osprey and so much more. During this tour you will photograph some of San Diego’s premier wildlife photography hotspots led by an award winning wildlife photographer who has spent over a decade photographing in this location. With one of the only mainland Harbor Seal and California Sea Lion rookeries in California you will be able to photograph harbor seals giving birth and teaching their new pups how to swim. You will also get a chance to photograph California Sea Lions surfing the waves.
Private tour dates can be booked year-round
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TOUR LEADER Jennifer Leigh Warner
COST: $2,549 PP
FLIGHT PLANNING The tour begins and ends in San Diego, CA. (Airport code SAN) You will be responsible for making your own flight arrangements.
- Arrive on Day 1 by 2:00 PM
- Depart on Day 4 after 2:00PM (~ 12 noon drop-off at airport)
GENERAL ITINERARY OUTLINE PLEASE NOTE: Each day’s plans may change along the way as weather, bird and wildlife activity, or other conditions insist. However, plan on early days and late evenings... and lots of fun. You can sleep when you get home!
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DAY 1 – ARRIVE IN SAN DIEGO AND CHECK INTO HOTEL After check-in we will head out to La Jolla Cove for an evening photo session before the sun sets. Afterward we will have a welcome dinner (remember, meal costs are not included).
DAY 2 – LA JOLLA “CHILDREN’S POOL” SEAL PUPPING BEACH We will arrive in La Jolla Children’s Pool a beach set aside for pupping Harbor Seals. Though late in the pupping season, we may still have a chance for photographing a seal birth while we are here. This beach is closed in the winter to allow Harbor Seals to give birth and is one of the only areas in the world where you can photograph this in the wild. Of course, migrating shorebirds and seabirds will also be present and we will walk along open beach areas to photograph surfing California Sea Lions, nesting Brandt’s Cormorants as well as the plethora of shorebirds. After lunch we will make our way back along the coast looking for Brown Pelicans, Black Oystercatchers, Hummingbirds, Osprey and even California Ground Squirrels.
DAY 3 — SAN ELIJO LAGOON ECOLOGICAL RESERVE We will start our day at the San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve. Habitats includes southern California coastal sage scrub, riparian and coastal wetland communities and is a critical migrating waterfowl habitat and nesting sites for sensitive bird species including the endangered Ridgeway’s Rail. After lunch we will head back to La Jolla to photograph more of the marine mammals and shorebirds before wrapping up at the Scripps Memorial Pier, a popular place for seascape photography.
DAY 4 – PUPPING BEACH / AFTERNOON DROP-OFF Before dropping you off at the airport, we will have another morning to photograph along the coast. After our morning session we will head back to the San Diego airport for afternoon drop-off.
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Local transportation, airport transfers, guide fees, entrance fees.
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Meals are not included, nor are trip insurance, alcoholic beverages, air travel, luggage fees, gratuities, laundry, other items of a personal nature or not mentioned in itinerary.
Accommodations are not included in the tour fee but can be added onto the tour. Price will depend on market value.
Children’s Pool in La Jolla, California © Jennifer Leigh Warner