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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
Mon 28 Oct
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You can choose the date already on the booking website
Starting at $135.00
Mon 28 Oct
Starting at $135.00
Make a reservation
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
1
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)
Katelyn_Bil
Jun 2017
Whale watching with San Juan Safaris was an AMAZING experience. I definitely recommend it! We got to see a group of orca whales that came up very close to us! It was so fun to watch them interact, and the naturalists on the boat did a wonderful job educating us and were able to answer every question asked. They were very kind and really went above and beyond to make the trip enjoyable. The captain did a great job of getting us right to the location of the whales, and the staff at check in were super friendly and efficient. The views were amazing; the islands are beautiful! I was impressed from start to finish and I am so glad we were able to go! Thank you San Juan Safaris for the incredible experience!
Response from Host
Jul 2017
Hi Katelyn! Thank you for your wonderful review! It sounds like we exceeded your expectations in all respects from the customer service, to knowledgeable & friendly, crew, to great sightings of killer whales and other wildlife. Many thanks for taking the time to share your thoughtful review. We are sincerely grateful! Brian Goodremont Owner & Operator San Juan Safaris
janine192017
Jun 2017
I had arrived to Friday Harbor early morning to find a morning tour. It was my fault I waited until last minute but it was last minute decision to go to San Juan and I wanted to try to see orcas! It was on my bucket list. I know mother nature is unpredictable and I understand there was a chance I would not see them, but a few things happened before that just made the day start off on the wrong foot. It shows on google maps that they are open 6 am everyday and actually they did not open until 7:50 am. If the time is not correct they need to contact google to correct it. I went into the store at that time and asked the girl at the counter if there was a morning sailing. She gave me a dirty look and said that no that all their tours started at 1 pm. I asked her if there was anyone else in town that I could contact since really wanted to try in the morning, she said no that most everyone leaves at 1 pm so I left and was going to call a few other places that opened at 8 am and 9 am. I had not realized at the time that I had called the night before and left a message, so not 5 minutes after I left I get a call from them telling me they have space for 10 am. When I walk in and see the same girl that said there was no space she said she did not know there was space when she had spoken to me 10 minutes before. I asked about orcas and they said that yes there was a very good chance and they had put on a show the day before. So I decided to put the earlier interaction behind me. I was excited again but midway through I started to get discouraged. It seemed that were very focused on humpback whales since we would stay in a spot when we spotted a humpback and lingered a bit too long for my taste. I had seen humpbacks in the past, and this one was nothing special since the two that we spotted just would go in and out a few times. I was a bit suspicious when we would spotted the whale, it would surface briefly and then go back down, they can go down for about 10 minutes at a time, we did this 3-4 times, you can do the math, we lingered too long! It felt like they were buying time since they knew there were no orcas. Even the other folks on the ship started to ask about seeing orcas after we saw another humpback come up and we were waiting and getting impatient. Like I said I know it is unpredictable but I think the whole morning interaction left a sour taste and not seeing an orca made it worse. Not sure if that vessel is the best for long distances and maybe a bit more guidance for those not from the area can help. Try Maya Legacy - later I spoke to a local person and she was excited about going on a tour with them for the 3rd time. She said they were knowledgeable of the area and the photography was great! Wish I had known that before I booked with them.
Response from Host
Jun 2017
Hi Janine, Thanks for your review and letting us know we did not meet your expectations. As the owner of San Juan Safaris, we do not guarantee whale sightings but we do guarantee you will have a great experience and it sounds like we failed in your case. In the future I would ask you to please contact the owners or manager on site to express your disappointment and we are always happy to meet your expectations whether that is a refund, or free pass for a future trip. As you can see from our ratings, we have only 2 ā€œterribleā€ and 322 ā€œexcellentā€ reviews, so I hope that demonstrates to you that your experience was an anomaly and that we want to make it right. To your specific trip. We do not guarantee sightings of specific species. Iā€™m sorry you were disappointed to see Humpback Whales. Sometimes there is only one species around, and not seeing Orcas has nothing to do with the amount of research and effort that goes into every trip. There simply were no Orcas within range of our boat, arguably the fastest and therefore vessel with the most range from the San Juan Islands. You mentioned in your review to ā€œTry Mayas Legacyā€. Since you did not see Orcas I recognize you are disappointed, but that does not mean another company does a better job. As a matter of fact I had the same conversation with Mayas Legacy guests 3 days ago who did not see Orcas on Mayas Legacy on Sunday but saw them on our boat Monday night. Itā€™s all up to chance, and we cannot control wildlife sightings. My colleagues at Mayas do a great job, as do we at San Juan Safaris. Sometimes our boats donā€™t see Orcas. How we communicate with our guests those chances and doing the best job we can is what we do. We can only do the best job that we can, be honest with our customers, and make the best effort to educate about ecosystem and species conservation. I hope after youā€™ve heard this explanation youā€™ll contact me and give us another opportunity to show you Orcas in the wild. Thanks for your consideration, and I look forward to speaking with you. Sincerely, Brian Goodremont San Juan Safaris Owner | Captain
snaffle821
Jun 2017
We went out on a rainy windy day - the seas were definitely pretty rough but we were glad we went with San Juan Safaris because most other companies did not go out at all with the weather that day. We were rewarded by seeing a pod of maybe 10 or so orcas and we got to watch them for maybe 30 minutes and some got quite close to the boats. Our guide Lauren was great - she was super friendly and just as excited to see the whales as we where and she gave us a good education about them as well. The company also had great customer service - they called promptly after I sent in a booking request online and called again the day before to make sure I didn't have any questions about taking the ferry to get to San Juan island. The only bad part was that there were not enough seats for everyone inside the cabin, which would be no problem on a nice day but meant I had to stand most of the hour ride back or get cold and wet outside. They do provide rain slickers and blankets but that was not enough on our particular trip. Be sure to plan for the ferry - it is about an hour trip. Just walk on, no need for a car unless you are staying more than a day. You don't have to arrive super early to walk on. While waiting for the tour, I recommend seeing the whale museum and eating at San Juan cheese.

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