Seattle Activities
Whale Watching

San Juan Excursions San Juan Excursions

Orca sightings 90% of the time, Heated cabins, padded outdoor seating, Certified Naturalist Guides. 800-80-WHALE

Whale watching is most popular April through September and usually focuses on the area around the San Juan Islands. A number of charter boat companies run whale watching cruises and you can find such charters operating out of Seattle and from various other ports around Puget Sound. We have listed below several whale watching boats and charter operators operating out of Seattle. In most cases it is a good idea to call ahead and make reservations in advance of the date you might want to join a whale watching cruise.

Seattle Charters


Island Adventures, Inc. 1801 Commercial Avenue, Anacortes, WA 98221. Phone: 360-293-2428; Toll-free: 1-800-465-4604; Fax: 360-299-8708 E-mail

Island Adventures welcomes you to an outstanding whale watching experience! Anacortes is the ideal departure point as there is no need to hassle with the ferry! On our 5-6 hour Island AdventuresGUARANTEED whale watching tours you have to opportunity to see a variety of wildlife. You can expect many including a full time naturalist on every trip, free binocular use, a 64 page wildlife viewing guide, on board food service, two spacious bathrooms, full walk around viewing decks, and a large indoor heated cabin. This tour was voted the #1 whale watching tour in western Washington three years in a row!


Puget Sound Express. 227 Jackson Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368. Phone: 360-385-5288.

We provide half-day and all-day whale watching and wildlife tours and daily passenger ferry service from Port Townsend to Friday Harbor April through October. Since 1985 Puget Sound Express, or P.S. Puget Sound ExpressExpress, has provided thousands of travelers with fun-packed, fascinating whale watching boat tours around the Olympic Peninsula and the San Juan Islands. With twenty-four years and three generations of family experience, it's a sure bet your whale watch trip will be a lasting memory. Our daily passenger only ferry service between Port Townsend and Friday Harbor is a great way to connect the Olympic Peninsula and San Juan Islands.

Outdoor Odysseys. 86 Cedar Street, Friday Harbor, WA 98250. Phone: 360-378-3533; Toll-free: 1-800-647-4621. E-mail

REI Adventures. PO Box 1938, Sumner WA 98390. Phone: 253-437-1100; Toll-free: 1-800-622-2236; Fax: 253-395-8160. E-mail

Other Mainland Charters

If you want to go whale watching as a day trip from elsewhere in the Puget Sound region, then please go to our listings for Mainland whale watch cruises and operators. The ports of departure are listed alphabetically and most are within a two- to three-hour drive from Seattle. Each of the ports offer a variety of accommodations from bed and breakfast lodging to hotels and motels should you wish to make an overnight trip and enjoy your whale watching outing at a more leisurely pace.

San Juan Islands Charters

If you are going to be visiting or staying overnight on one of the several islands that make up the San Juan archipelago, you also may want to check our listings for San Juan Island whale watching cruises and operators.

Also, some operators have departures from both the islands and the mainland.

Related Web Sites

To learn more about whales and whale watching in the Puget Sound region, please see our listings for whale watching links.

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