Whale Watching Tours

Three kids with binoculars (Photo taken by guest from 2011 flickr competition)

Three girls (Photo taken by guest from 2011 flickr competition)

Breaching Humpback (Photo by Bart Roulon — www.bartrulon.com)

Eagle (Photo by Bart Roulon — www.bartrulon.com)

Gray Whale tail (Photo by Naturalist Michael Colahan — www.picturepangea.com)

The San Juan Islands (Photo by Captain Shane Aggergaard)

Seal face (Photo by passenger Doug Shurman)

Sunset (Photo taken by guest from 2011 flickr competition)

Naturalist Brooke McKinley talking (Photo taken by guest from 2011 flickr competition)

Bow picture (Photo taken by guest from 2011 flickr competition)

Sunset (Photo by Michael Colahan — www.picturepangea.com)

Lighthouse and Mt. Baker (Photo by Michael Colahan — www.picturepangea.com)

Osprey (Photo by Michael Colahan — www.picturepangea.com)

Eagle with Rockfish (Photo by Michael Colahan — www.picturepangea.com)

Juvenile Eagle (Photo by Michael Colahan — www.picturepangea.com)

Island Adventures is so serious about finding whales for our guests, we guarantee sightings on every whale watch tour.

Island Adventures Whale Watching Tours are a great value for such a world class experience. We are easy to get to; our Everett location (March to mid-May) is only 30 minutes from Seattle, our Anacortes location (April to October) is an easy 90 minute drive north of Seattle, with no ferry needed from Downtown Seattle or Vancouver B.C.

Our Port Angeles location (mid-May to October) is strategically located for the best whale watching opportunity on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula just minutes from Olympic National Park, Hurricane Ridge, Edis Hook, and the Washington Coast. Island Adventures Whale Watching Tours has been voted #1 in Western Washington by King5, Evening Magazine (the local NBC affiliate) 5 years in a row!

As defined by the Seattle Aquarium, we are in core-orca whale viewing waters as soon as we leave the marina!

Guaranteed Whale Sightings
See up to 4 whale species on any tour!

• March 5 – May 8
  3 hour tours departing from Everett
  Best time for Gray Whales
• April 2 – November 26
  4.5–5.5 hour tours departing from Anacortes
  Best time for Orcas, Minkes and Humpback Whales
• May 14 – October 31
  4–5 hour tours departing from Port Angeles
  Best time for Orcas, Minkes and Humpback Whales
• November 2016 – March 2017
  4–5 hour tours departing from Seattle
  Best time for Orcas, Humpbacks and Gray Whales
• Private Charter Opportunities

The Island Explorer

…Is the Best Wildlife Viewing Vessel in the Area!

The Island Explorer was designed specifically for whale watching, as opposed to a ferry, dinner cruiser, or converted fishing boat like most of the other tour boats in the area. Our boats have lots of amenities to make your trip more comfortable, including two on-board restrooms, a large heated cabin with over-sized windows, a snack bar with food for purchase, and a custom-designed interior with cushioned booth style seating. There are full walk around upper and lower viewing deck and our guests enjoy 100s of outside rail viewing space. The quality of our boat will enhance your entire whale watching experience.

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, the Salish Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Saratoga Passage and north end of Puget Sound. Because of our vessel speeds and departure locations, 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.

20 years of Creating Magical Memories

There are many companies to choose from while searching for the right whale watching tour. Since 1992, company founders Shane and Jennifer Aggergaard have been committed to offering our passengers much more — striving to exceed our guests’ experience each and every day. Island Adventure’s offers the best boats, best locations, guaranteed whale sightings and lots of extras, but it is our highly qualified staff that really separates us from the rest. Our friendly and knowledgeable team is eager to provide outstanding service from start to finish. On board, we’ll entertain and educate you throughout the tour, in hopes that you take away magical memories — and a renewed respect for nature. Many, many lives have been touched by witnessing whales in the wild. We feel privileged to be able to provide this unique and wonderful opportunity.