Ocean Institute


This child-friendly educational center encompasses four separate ocean-centric ‘adventures.’ It is mostly reserved for school groups on weekdays, so it's best to come on weekends to enjoy the interactive marine-focused exhibits. On Sundays, admission includes the opportunity to discover what life was like aboard an early 19th-century tall ship, the brig Pilgrim. Guided tours of this full-size replica of the ship sailed by Richard Dana during his journey around Cape Horn to California are offered hourly.

You can also board the R/V Sea Explorer (adult/child from $45/25), a 70ft-long floating lab, for a science-focused bioluminescence cruise or whale-watching safari, or join a ‘pyrate’ adventure or gray-whale-watching cruise on the Spirit of Dana Point (adult/child $60/40), a replica of an American Revolution–era tall ship. Make reservations; no children under age four allowed.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Doheny State Beach

1.17 MILES

Adjacent to the southern border of Dana Point Harbor, this mile-long beach is great for swimmers, surfers, surf fishers and tide poolers. You’ll also find…

2. Salt Creek Beach

1.34 MILES

Just south of the Laguna Beach boundary, this 18-acre county-run park is popular with surfers, sunbathers, bodysurfers and tide poolers. Families make the…

3. Thousand Steps Beach

3.28 MILES

Jealously guarded by locals, Thousand Steps Beach is about 1 mile south of Aliso Beach, hidden off Hwy 1 just south of Mission Hospital. At the south end…

4. Zoomars Petting Zoo

3.66 MILES

This Old West–style park lets little ones get up close and personal with llamas, cows, pigs, chickens, and lots of bunnies and guinea pigs. There's a…

5. O’Neill Museum

3.66 MILES

Operated by the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society, this board-and-batten construction cottage in the Los Rios Historic District shows off 1880s-era…

6. Los Rios Historic District

3.69 MILES

One block southwest of the mission, next to the Capistrano train depot, this peaceful assemblage of a few dozen historic cottages and adobes now mostly…

7. Mission San Juan Capistrano

3.8 MILES

Famous for its swallows that fly back to town every year on March 19 (though sometimes they’re just a bit early), San Juan Capistrano is home to the …

8. West Street Beach

3.88 MILES

South of central Laguna, this beach has long been a hangout for Laguna's (and the OC's) LGBT community (with an emphasis on the G). The eye candy can be…