A few years back, we went sea kayaking and camping at San Juan Islands. One of the activities on that trip was to spot whales while kayaking. Unfortunately, we did not see any whales on that trip.
Early this year, together with some friends, we bought a Groupon to go whale watching on a boat. Maybe this time, we’ll see some whales!
We just went this weekend and we are happy to report that we were successful in sighting whales!
We strongly believe your chances of sighting whales is always higher if you go out on a boat, especially one that uses a float plane to sight the whales. The float plane directs the boat to the location where the whales are.
We went on Mystic Sea Charters who happens to be part of an international organization called SAFE which gives them the use of the float planes!
On the way out, it was foggy. This is what surrounded us.
Sighted a whale!
The whale was headed towards us! The captain had to turn the engine off because the whale was getting close to us.
We did not have a zoom lens this time, so this shot was not zoomed in. This really is how close the whale was to us!
We saw another whale farther out that was just flipping its tail in the water! Looked like the whale was enjoying the sun and the water!
We saw quite a few more whales on the trip. The last few came close to us again. This one was swimming beside us for a bit.
Boat Ride
It’s about a 1.5 hour drive from Seattle to Anacortes, WA to catch the boat ride.
On the day we went, the sea was a bit choppy due to strong winds. So the ride out was rather bumpy. Several people on the boat got sick, some threw up. Some of our friends went a few weeks back and reported the opposite, where their boat ride was calm and smooth the entire way.
So your experience may vary depending on the day you go and the weather.
If you’re prone to motion sickness, make sure you bring your medication and take it before the ride! We left at about 11am and got back at around 4pm in the afternoon.
We also learnt that this boat was the Warner Bros. official shoot boat for 3 months in the San Juan Islands when they were shooting Free Willy 2!
Our whale watching boat
Food
They had drinks and some lunch available for purchase. Menu was primarily sandwiches, hot dogs, chilli, chips and such. We paid $7 for a simple turkey sandwich. We’d recommend that you bring your own lunch and drinks!
Recommended?
Overall, we had a great time. We paid a fraction of the price because we bought a Groupon. At the advertised retail rate of $89 + tax for adults, we feel it might be a bit too expensive. It is however cheaper than doing a kayak + camp trip to sight whales (which has a lower chance of seeing whales)!
We did find out though that if you go in a group of 10 or more, it is discounted to $49+tax per person!
If you find a discounted deal or go in a group of 10 or more, then this experience is worth it.
Have you been on a whale watching trip? Did you see any whales? Would you recommend it? Do share through our comments section!
[notification type=”star”]REMEMBER:
- You’ll get a better chance of seeing whales if you go with a boat that has the use of a float plane to sight whales.
- Bring your own packed lunch and drinks. It’ll be cheaper!
- If you see a discounted deal, you should buy it. Paying at retail price seems a bit expensive to us.
- Go in a group of 10 or more. This will give you a discounted rate of $49 + tax per person. That’s a more reasonable price!
- Bring a sweater and/or a warm jacket. No matter how sunny it is, the breeze on a boat can get quite chilly!
- If you’re prone to motion sickness, take your medication before hopping on the ride!
- Bring or ask the boat for the use of binoculars to see the whales.
- Bring your zoom lens with you if you’re taking pictures!
- PHOTOGRAPHY GEAR: The pictures above were taken with our Nikon D700 DSLR together with a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 Prime Lens. Some of the photos above were also taken using our Leica D-Lux5 point & shoot. A comparable point & shoot to the Leica D-Lux5 is the Panasonic LX-5 and Canon S95.
32 Comments
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We did a Whale watching tour in the San Juan Islands also. They’re really cool creatures, so powerful individually but they hunt together making them quite a force. Did you see the local whales or the transients? Our guide explained that the locals feed solely on local fish populations (mostly Salmon) while the transients tend to be bigger and more exciting to watch and they migrate feeding on fish and mammals (seals etc…)
Sam recently posted..Swimming with Hectors Dolphins in Akaroa Harbour
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Not sure if the ones we saw were locals or transients. They weren’t that big and were definitely hunting for the salmon though. From the sounds of it, the rangers seemed to know them well. So likely local? It’s definitely exciting to watch these majestic mammals out in the water!
Idelish (Jeremy & Shirlene) recently posted..{USA} Is the Sunrise at Haleakala Worth the Effort of Getting There?
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Whale Watching at San Juan Islands by @idelishtravel http://t.co/vGkRaLCi #photography #wildlife #washingtonstate
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Awesome! I love orcas, and I read a lot of news articles about the J-Pod, the one that you’re most likely to see off of Washington state. You got really close!
Faith recently posted..Flowers in the Desert-
Thanks Faith! We learnt a lot about the L-Pods, K-Pods and J-Pods on this trip. They’re such magnificent and graceful creatures!
Idelish (Jeremy & Shirlene) recently posted..{Thailand} Wat Arun in Bangkok
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