Whale Watching Tours
Island Adventures Whale Watching is based out of Anacortes, Washington—only 90 minutes north of Seattle and 90 minutes south of Vancouver, BC. We are located on the mainland so guests can drive directly to us. There’s no need to hassle with summertime ferry schedules, delays, inconvenient parking, or added expense. Anacortes is known as the “Home Port” to the San Juan Islands and is the perfect departure point for whale watching and wildlife cruises. Situated in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, the San Juan and Canadian Gulf Islands provide calm waters (sea-sickness is very rare!), sunny skies, and an incredible backdrop for our tours.
Departing from Anacortes allows us to guarantee whale sightings. As defined by the Seattle Aquarium, we are in core-orca whale viewing waters as soon as we leave the marina! Island Adventures runs an extended whale watch season concentrating on:
- Gray Whale Tours: March 8 – May 8, 2008
- Orca Whale Tours: May 10 – October 5, 2008
- Humpback, Orca & Minke Whale Tours: October 6 – November, 2008*
- Orca Whale Tours: November – December, 2008*
- Private Charters: March – December, 2008
- Experience a tour in our photo gallery
*Please call for your departure location between November 1st and 15th!
All guests will receive a complimentary 64 page color wildlife viewing guide with species checklist. It is our goal each and every day to check off as many as possible! Our viewing guide also includes a map of the San Juan Islands area to keep track of that day’s route. Because of our vessel speed and departure location, we are able to experience more wildlife and island scenery on our way to and from the whales than other tours in the area. Other wildlife typically sighted includes harbor seals, California & steller sea lions, Dall’s & harbor porpoises, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, vultures, and a huge variety of seabirds. Birders love our trips as they often get to add a few species to their life list!
When is the best time to go?
Plan your trip according to the wildlife you’d like to see, using our chart below.
| Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orca | D | C | A | A | A | A | A | C | B | B | |||||||||||||||||
| Minke | C | B | B | B | B | A | B | B | D | D | |||||||||||||||||
| Gray | A | A | C | D | D | C | D | D | |||||||||||||||||||
| Humpback | D | D | D | D | D | C | B | A | A | C | |||||||||||||||||
| Porpoise | B | B | B | B | B | B | B | B | C | C | |||||||||||||||||
| Seal | B | B | B | B | A | B | B | B | C | C | |||||||||||||||||
| Sea Lion | B | B | C | D | D | D | C | B | A | A | |||||||||||||||||
| Eagle | B | B | B | B | B | C | C | D | C | C | |||||||||||||||||
| Sea Bird | B | B | B | B | B | C | C | D | A | A | |||||||||||||||||
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Free with each tour…
With each tour you’ll receive:
- a FREE Wildlife Viewing Guide
- FREE use of our binoculars onboard
- a FREE color calendar poster (after your tour)
- a FREE orca antennae topper (with each parking pass)
Take a look to see what food, drinks and amenities we have available on board.
Our route each day is determined by the morning’s whale information from our sighting network, other wildlife in the area, and the weather. It’s not determined by a ferry schedule or pre-determined route. Our goal is to show our guests as much wildlife as possible every day. See our vessel range where we’ve spotted whales.
Experience a Tour
Hear a recording made on our boat or watch a video.
 Whales Video 1 |
 Whales Video 2 |
 Video Tour |
 Experience our Vessel |
| Note: Videos require Quicktime to play. The Video Tour is 4 minutes long and may take a while to load. Please be patient—it’s worth it! | |