Visit Island Adventures website to reserve your Whale Watching Tour. Like right now I am not kidding. You will thank yourself later, I promise. Island Adventures Whale Watching Tours has a 96% success rate of whale sightings. Whether you want to see orcas, humpbacks, minke, or grey whales this is your tour!
Some things to know before you go:
Within 30 minutes of being on the water, our Captain spotted the first whale of the day. It was a humpback about a mile away. The initial thrill and awe of seeing it so clearly while still so far away is something indescribable. The silhouette of its tail as it dove down into the water was breathtaking. We made our way over to get a closer look. The naturalist took a picture and was able to use that picture to determine the whale we were watching was Zeppelin. Isn’t that amazing?
Soon another humpback joined the party. We spent about 45 minutes enjoying their presence. As additional vessels joined the viewing party, the Captain made the decision that it was time to move on to find more whales. Perhaps some orcas? I am a huge Free Willy fan so my fingers were crossed that I would be able to see an orca in the wild. We grabbed some lunch during the downtime, enjoying some Ivan’s clam chowder and classic hot dogs. While eating, the crew announced we were headed to a spot where transient orcas had been spotted by another whale-watching vessel. Jackpot!
The pod of Orcas stayed a bit further away than the humpbacks. We were able to watch them as they moved along the cliffside hunting and feeding, possibly on seals! This was truly a bucket list moment.
The tour is about 4 hours, which before taking to the water I have to admit I was a bit worried about how the kids were going to do. Alas, four hours flew by and I was shocked when I noticed it was almost 2 o’clock. As we headed back to Port Angeles we sailed through Race Rocks where there were perfect photo ops of a lighthouse alongside sea lions, seals, and a resident sea otter.
Other than the obvious stars of the shows, the whales, the crew onboard made this tour even more memorable and amazing. They were happy to answer questions, filled us in with fun facts, and were just genuinely happy to be at work. We thank them sincerely for being part of this experience for our family. The next people that come to visit us in Port Angeles, better be ready to go whale watching. It is addicting and I am already raring to go again.
Looking for more family-friendly activities while visiting the Olympic Peninsula? Check out our favorites here.
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Looks like you and your family had a ton of fun! I went whale watching in Iceland a couple summers ago, and sadly didn't get to see any whales :( We did see a pod of dophins, but no whales. Also very cool that you were able to get free use of binoculars! I remember thinking binoculars were the coolest thing ever when I was a kid! Your kids must have had a great time with this tour! :)
This is some great information! Very thorough post! Thanks. Will be sharing!