Whale Watching from Friday Harbor

Overview

The best orca whale watching is from Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, just an easy day trip adventure from downtown Seattle. The San Juan Islands are considered the "jewel" of the Pacific Northwest, located in the Puget Sound.

City: San Juan Islands

Tue 29 Oct

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $135.00

Make a reservation

Tue 29 Oct

Starting at $135.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Whale Watching Cruise

Local taxes

Additional Info

Service animals allowed
Specialized infant seats are available
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
For maximum safety children under 2 should be in a harness carrier strapped to a parent and remain in the cabin
"Special Limited" tour not recommended for child aged 13 and under
Restrooms are available on board the boat
Face masks required for travellers in public areas
Face masks required for guides in public areas
Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
Social distancing enforced throughout experience
Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
Gear/equipment sanitised between use
Guides required to regularly wash hands
Paid stay-at-home policy for staff with symptoms
50% capacity on vessels

What To Expect

San Juan Island

San Juan Island is considered the best place to view orca whales because the salmon, which are their prime source of food (about 95% of what they eat), travel up and down the west coast of San Juan Island and outlying areas. Take this Whale watching tour and see orca whales which has been viewed on over 90% of the tours with the possibility of spotting minke, humpback and gray whales to be higher. What is the best time to see orca whales? Anytime. They are out and about all day. You will be guaranteed see marine mammals and come back with memories to last a lifetime! Enjoy the beauty of San Juan Island on an exclusive Whale Watch Cruise from Friday Harbor. Sail aboard the fast, new 55 foot MV Sea Lion (with windowed, heated cabin, which seats up to 24 guests). 40 or fewer guest aboard this comfortable boat with walk around deck.

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (660)

colugo

Jul 2017

The San Juan Safaris Adventure Whale Watching Tour was incredible. We came to the Pacific Northwest to see orcas, and we were not disappointed! In about three hours on the water we saw harbor seals, three bald eagles, harbor porpoises, a humpback whale, and of course orcas! If you have never seen orcas in the wild, or even if you have, this is definitely something you should do at least once. More than once would likely be quite thrilling too. Our naturalist, Sarah, was very knowledgeable and did an excellent job explaining when needed and just letting the passengers enjoy the trip when that was more appropriate.

rachilde

Jul 2017

I wanted to charter an excursion for my sister and some friends of ours who were just married. The San Juan Safaris website featured an array of options, including a private charter on their smallest vessel. They returned my phone call quickly and took care of everything, even booking seaplane tickets from Seattle for me and my sister, and arranging sack lunches for us. We had a great naturalist accompanying us. Before boarding, she gave us an orientation about what we might see. I have been on whale watching trips in Southern California, so I have very realistic notions regarding them; sometimes one doesn't see any whales. So for me, seeing anything is a plus! Well, we saw quite a bit. There were porpoises, harbor seals, and bald eagles. Our naturalist told us about many of the islands we went past as well. As we went northwards, we suddenly saw a tall black dorsal fin break across the surface of the water! For the next 45 minutes, we followed a small group of transient orcas. There was a large males, an adolescent male, and a female. There may have been a fourth as well. Our naturalist was invaluable in identifying them, and the captain of our boat was very skilled at maintaining a proper distance while still affording us the best views, all while other whale watching boats were around. There was, in fact, almost a small convoy of whale watching vessels of various sizes, but not so many as to be crowded. That all the boats kept their distance was a plus for everyone. While all the engines were off, one could feel the collective thrill as we watched the orcas on the move. At one point, the large male was fairly close to us. On the way back to Friday Harbor, we saw more bald eagles, and a different type of seal. All that within our allotted three hour time. I was very impressed with the professionalism of everyone at San Juan Safaris and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

Response from Host

Jul 2017

Thank you very much for your kind review! We work had for our guests, and we're so happy to hear that it shows. It appears that we succeeded. We enjoyed having your group on the water for a private charter, and glad that you have a great San Juan Safaris whale watching experience. Please be sure to visit us again in the future! Brian Goodremont Owner & Captain San Juan Safaris

Optimysticynic

Jul 2017

While I cannot blame the company or captain for our failure to see orcas, I do think there are better, less pricey ways to do so which would also be far more sustainable and conservation-oriented. The viewing from Lime Kiln Park is very likely to include orcas (we could not get there, unfortunately) and the whales are undisturbed. The boat ride was very long (an hour out to whale areas, an hour looking for them, an hour back) and the rides out and back were very cold and windy (jackets and blankets provided, however.) This is not a good choice for children! The children on our trip were unhappy at not seeing whales immediately or often (we saw 2-3 minkes for a few seconds) and bored most of the time, crying, running about or sleeping. Most passengers also slept. We started late as two passengers did not show up for their reservation (48 waited for 2.) The naturalist tried, but she was very young and inexperienced. Several times she'd say, "There they are!" which did not tell anyone where to look (people were on all sides of the boat.) Note that you should definitely bring your own binoculars. There were only a few pairs on board and they were quickly taken by the children, who never used them but wore them the entire time. Had I another opportunity, I would certainly choose a much smaller boat or skip the boat entirely and just view from shore. The brief sightings were not worth $200/two people, although the bald eagles were a nice add-on.

Response from Host

Jul 2017

Hi Optimysticynic, It's always disappointing to read a review from a guest who did not have a great experience. My hope is that we meet everyone's expectations when they join one of our whale watch experiences. Because of the nature of wildlife we understand that may not always happen no matter how hard we try. I wanted to briefly address the misconception that Orcas are frequently seen at Lime Kiln State Park. Had whales been present at that location we would have been very fortunate, since that's well within range of our vessel. Unfortunately there were no Orcas found the day you traveled, which is why we visited an area where we frequently see baleen whales such as Minkes, Humpbacks, and occasionally Fin whales. I thought is was fortunate you were able to view lunge feeding Minke whales, while at the same time understanding your goal was to see Orcas. In the future as a reviewer, please know that small family owned and operated businesses like mine are very responsive to customer requests. Our goal is to meet the expectations of every guest. In your case we did not meet your expectations and I'm sorry. I hope you will consider contacting owners or managers in the future to talk about your disappointment instead of posting a negative review which may lead consumers to believe we do not provide a high quality product, we do not stand behind our product, or you can simply drive to Lime Kiln State Park to see Killer Whales, all which are not true. If you are in the area I would be happy to take you out on the water again at no charge and honor our policy of making sure that we meet every customer's expectations. Ask for me personally Captain Brian, and I will make every effort to show you Orcas in the wild. Brian Goodremont