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