Guaranteed Whale Watching Tour
Recommended by 95% of travelers
San Juan Islands, USA
- 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Observe Pacific Northwest whales in their natural environment on a 3.5-hour tour from Seattle. You have the chance to get up close to orcas, humpbacks, and minkes. Learn about the marine life from your on board guide. In the event that you don’t see any whales during your excursion, enjoy a second journey on the boat free of charge.
- See whales or get a second excursion free
- Observe local marine life in its natural environment
- Get the personalized experience of a small group
- Choose from two departure times in the summer
What's Included
- Professional guide
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 1608 Rosario Rd, Eastsound, WA 98245, USA
Located at the Rosario Village Marina, check in at the building on the dock. Our Orcas Island location requires taking the Washington State Ferry to get to.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Orcas Island (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 49 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Kayla_P
I would highly recommend this tour. Jim and Brooke were both fantastic. I got everything I wanted from the experience plus some.
Reviews
4.8
based on 253 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Ian_S, Jun 2026
If you're booking a trip in the PNW you're doing it for the Orcas, and they will find them if they're findable.
The experience is going to vary based on your weather, so dress for that. The vessel is large enough that it is stable in the relatively calm water in the islands. The Captain and Naturalist were great with our kids and answered numerous questions about the animals we saw.
Christina_K, May 2025
Amazing opportunity to see a couple of pods of transient whales. Sheila and Phil were great and had a lot of knowledge of the area and the orcas. Seemed to be very eco-conscious, even turning around to pick up a balloon that was floating in the water.
Danielle_C, Apr 2025
I thought I booked this out of Anacortes as advertised. There is an operation out of Anacortes and the whole boat crew was transferred from Anacortes. We had to take a ferry to orcas island and it made for a very long day that was costly and not expected.
Laura_C, Apr 2025
It is amazing to see the Orca whales and they were so nice and very knowledgeable . They explained and made it very interesting. Do it!!!!
Brittni_J, Mar 2025
Travel nurses- this was so fun to do even solo!! They were so friendly, accommodating, and knowledgeable! My phone actually died before we saw any whales, but it was so nice to really take it all in from my own eyes and not from behind a screen! Captain Brock and Tiffany were wonderful and helped us see so many cool things. We got to see two killer whales take down a seal right off the back of the boat!!
Kayla_P, Oct 2024
I would highly recommend this tour. Jim and Brooke were both fantastic. I got everything I wanted from the experience plus some.
Tina_P, Aug 2024
We got to see an amazing amount of orca whales in the one trip ! Great trip, highly recommend it. Maximum 30 people was a good size boat
bobnicklaw, Jul 2024
My daughter and I had an amazing experience. Got to see seals and other wildlife. Got to follow a group of killer whales and it was incredible learning about them from the boat staff. I would do this several more times if possible and definitely go with them. Their staff was so friendly and knowledgeable. Made for an exceptional time. Thank you.
Paiva_S, Apr 2024
Despite the frigid weather, it was a lovely experience. We saw a humpback breach, and a pod of Orcas. Great day
Mary_R, Aug 2022
We left out of Anacortes. our guide was extremely knowledgeable about the wonderful whale and sea otter and bird sightings and made the information very interesting.
Jeanne_R, Jul 2022
While watching a small pod (4-5) of Orcas teach the youngest to hunt/kill a seal; it spots our boat and ends up hiding out underneath for 1-1.5hrs. The Orca family eventually gives up after the frustration of attempting to finish the kill never happened. Such an amazingly epic experience! The crew (Captain Nate & deckhand Kacey <- probably wrong, sorry!) were terrific and extremely knowledgeable. Highly recommended! Intend to book tours whenever family/friends come to visit us in the PNW.
Kady_H, Jun 2022
It was such a wonderful experience. The crew was amazing and we saw so many whales. Absolutely unforgettable
Rebecca_G, May 2022
So, super responsive but do not care if your fairy is running late. The WA fairy system sucks, total opposite of the Seattle transit system. Luckily our fairy made it.. with about 10 mins to spare. We arrived to the port about 2 hours before our fairy was suppose to leave, it left 45 mins alte. Then, we were supposed to catch the 7om fairy, it got canceled and they moved us to a 10pm fairy.. which was also late. Didn5 make it home til 2am, not the tours fault, but buyer beware, they will not wait for you.
Response from Host, Jun 2022
Glad to hear you enjoyed the Trip! As far as 'Fairys' go,... they are hard to track down. They are very unpredictable. If you find one please capture it so we can study it. People looking to take one of our trips coming out of Seattle should join us from Anacortes. NO FERRY required!!! Makes life super easy. If you join us from Orcas Island please don't take a ferry super close to the time of our departure as if it is late you may miss your trip. We hate to see that happen. For advice or to report 'Fairy' sightings, please call us at 360-376-3711. Have a great day. To make it clear for those coming out of Seattle please join us in Anacortes.
Carlynne_N, May 2022
We saw a huge group of whales, not super far from the boat- one came quite close! They were gorgeous and the guides were so expert and knowledgeable.
Donald_Z, Apr 2022
We had a 1:00 PM reservation for whale watching boat trip and a 7:30 AM ferry reservation to the island. The ferry system had a boat down so the 7:30 ferry was canceled. The next ferry to the island wasn’t until 3:15 later that day. I call the place and spoke to the owner and explained the situation. The exact words were “the ferry being down was not his problem” and refused to refund my money. This place was a complete ripoff and the owner was very arrogant about the whole situation. Stay away from this we whale watching your company.
Response from Host, Jun 2022
We really enjoy taking people out to enjoy whales on our trips. Unfortunately, we cannot be responsible for getting you to our boat. We can only take responsibility for our boats going to and from whales and off the dock...and back! We think this covers our bases pretty well. We always try to meet people half way. If someone misses a trip due to no fault of their own we offer them standby tickets for a future trip. We offered this individual that option and they rudely demanded a refund and threatened a bad review. Unfortunately, I cannot take financial responsibility for the ferry system but we do our best to take care of our customers. As our confirmation email states (and our website) it is not always wise to count on the ferries to be on time. When possible avoid ferries by using our Anacortes location, or join us in the Islands and stay a few days!
Yvonne_F, Jun 2021
Anytime on the water with beautiful pines is a memorable time! Seeing Harbour Porpoises, Fur seals and Harbour seals, Sitka deer. Also mountain sheep, and Eagles. Sadly no whales this time!
From $119.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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