Orcas Island Whale Watching
Overview
Inclusions
- Professional guide
- High Speed Vessels
- 3-4 hour tour
- 8.1% Washington State sales tax and applicable fees. The taxes and fees are required by the governing authority and not within local supplier's control
What to expect
Our smaller, faster vessels take you out for whales and wildlife. We head out into the San Juans and Canadian Gulf islands to search for Orca, Humpbacks, Grays, and Minkes. We see whales on 98% of our tours! We also see many other varieties of wildlife including porpoises, seals, sea lions, sea birds, and otters. We also customize Private Charters and can add fishing, kayaking, island hopping and more!
Additional information
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour departs from Orcas Island. The island can only be reached by the Washington State Ferry System. If your party is not already on island we recommend our Anacortes departure location.
- Check in begins 30 minutes prior to departure.
- We have limited the passenger loading to 50% of seat capacity and increased our sanitation measures.
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Ticket delivery
Cancellation
They were very determined to find whales for us. They received reports of whales way South of us and took us to them. Our tour guide was Davina Liberty and she was exceptional. She shared with us a lot of history of the island as we were traveling to find whales. She is very knowledgeable about m...
They were very determined to find whales for us. They received reports of whales way South of us and took us to them. Our tour guide was Davina Liberty and she was exceptional. She shared with us a lot of history of the island as we were traveling to find whales. She is very knowledgeable about marine life and we found her very engaging. Thanks for a good trip.Absolutely amazing time the Captain sorry can not remember his name and the deckhand/biologist Liberty were both awsome!!! I can't wait to come back and do this again with them! The captain found us some hump back whales then some orcas to see. What a great experience!
Absolutely amazing time the Captain sorry can not remember his name and the deckhand/biologist Liberty were both awsome!!! I can't wait to come back and do this again with them! The captain found us some hump back whales then some orcas to see. What a great experience!A fantastic voyage! Captain Roland (the new guy) and tour commentator Liberty are an excellent team. Informative, educational and darned fun. The Captain treated us to a great ride and located three Orcas hunting a Stellar Sea Lion. As we watched the amazing experience, Liberty who is very know...
A fantastic voyage! Captain Roland (the new guy) and tour commentator Liberty are an excellent team. Informative, educational and darned fun. The Captain treated us to a great ride and located three Orcas hunting a Stellar Sea Lion. As we watched the amazing experience, Liberty who is very knowledgeable of both Orca and other marine life educated us on what we were seeing. This trip was absolutely fantastic! Highly recommend this organization.We saw the whales up close and personal. It was very exciting! The guides and Captain were great. Make sure to dress in layers, The trip back was quite chilly.
We saw the whales up close and personal. It was very exciting! The guides and Captain were great. Make sure to dress in layers, The trip back was quite chilly.My best friend and I took the whale watching tour with Orcas Island Expeditions last weekend led by Captain Roland and Naturalist Liberty and it was an absolutely perfect experience. Liberty was absolutely born to do this job and her enthusiasm, respect, and love for whales is infectious. We also...
My best friend and I took the whale watching tour with Orcas Island Expeditions last weekend led by Captain Roland and Naturalist Liberty and it was an absolutely perfect experience. Liberty was absolutely born to do this job and her enthusiasm, respect, and love for whales is infectious. We also took the sea Kayaking tour with Chaz the day before and it was a full five stars as well! It was a choppy day but his leadership ensured we had a great and safe time!!! Would recommend 100%!!!!!Welcomed aboard Blackfish III by Capt Roland and first mate/naturalist Liberty for our tour out in search of whales. Getting out of the harbor was interesting as the tide was out so the entire entourage shifted to the front of the boat so the props would clear the bottom of the channel. From the...
Welcomed aboard Blackfish III by Capt Roland and first mate/naturalist Liberty for our tour out in search of whales. Getting out of the harbor was interesting as the tide was out so the entire entourage shifted to the front of the boat so the props would clear the bottom of the channel. From there it was full throttle out into the Salish Sea with the Capt and first mate in constant communication with other tour boats in the area about possible whale sightings. The trip out was sunny, the seas relatively calm and Liberty was an absolute treasure trove of information on the general area, various species of fish and mammals that occupy the area and what the general plan was for the day. Eventually we received word of a spotting in the channel between Vancouver Island and Salt Spring Island. When we arrived, there were 4 other boats in the area and we shadowed the family pod of about 6 orcas for 30 minutes or so. Absolutely amazing seeing the way the pod interacted with each other and Liberty was on hand to describe how the family supports each other. The pictures don’t really capture how special the experience is. The boats are required to keep at least 200 yards from the whales and the Capt wants to err on the side of caution as boat/whale interactions are bad for the boat and worse for the whales. Because we’d come so far to find the pod we had to head back after half an hour and I know everyone would’ve loved to stay longer. All in all a great experience. This is our second trip with Outer Island Excursions and we’ve received our money’s worth and more on both trips. Can’t say enough about Capt Roland and Liberty. They really went above and beyond to make the trip memorable and to ensure we not only saw whales, but learned something as well.