Seattle Area-Fun!?

[newbie2crzn]

We will have a few days in Seattle and want to do whale watching. Have heard about the Port Townsend-Friday Harbor area, but don't know much on this. Has anyone done this trip? How would we get from SeaTac airport to the ferry area, or should we drive out, if possible? We would actually like to stay out there for the duration (3 days). Thanks for all replies!

[Aquablueye]

We took this trip last time we went to Seattle. I just pulled out our pictures and it was the Whale Watching excurstions from Port Townsend to the San Juan Islands/ Friday Harbor. It was worth every penny we spent and the day of sea sickness. It is a long days trip and if you are prone to motion sickness(as I am) depending on the weather, it can be a rough day for you. There was a storm moving in when we went and the water was incredibly rough. At one point my husband was standing next to me on deck, we hit a big wave and I looked over and my husband was gone. He ended up a good ways down the boat from me. Regardless of the bad aspects of the trip, we saw all three pods of orcas that are in that area and our narriator said that it was the best show of whales he had ever seen so we were very lucky. We were on our way back to Port Townsend and it looked like we would not be able to see the whales because we needed to beat the storm back to shore. All of a sudden the boat started to go a different direction, it stopped and we waited. The whales were swimming strait at us. All three pods swam around and under our boat. If the railing was shorter we probably could have reached out and touched them because they were so close. They were breeching, shooting water out their blow holes and slapping their fins on the water. We got some amazing pictures and we still talk about how amazing it was to this day. As the whales were around us I got misty eyed because it was so beautiful. I highly recommend this excursion. If you take it make sure you bring gloves and ear muffs because once you really get going on the water it gets pretty cold (we went in July) plus if you are on deck you may get a little wet. Also for pictures our camera had a delay between each picture we took which caused us to miss some great photo's. I highly recommend a camera that allows you to take rapid shots.

 

As for Port Townsend it is a pretty good ways from Seattle. I would recommend renting a car and driving there. It is a beautiful drive and there are some really neat towns along the way. You could easily make a two day round trip out there. The towns are really cute and it is fun to settle in like a local. My grandparents live out there so they drove us around so I am not real sure about a ferry or shuttle taking you out there.

[Budget Queen]

You need a car and the ferry. Washington State ferry. It's not a day trip for me, allow an overnight to make the day less rushed. Friday Harbor is a very scenic area. The other whale watching area is Victoria. Again- not a day trip for me, but you can take the passenger ferry over right from downtown Seattle. Victoria Clipper

[Gardyloo]

To get to Port Townsend from Seattle you have your choice of several ferry routes - see http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/index.cfm - or one longish land route via the Tacoma Narrows bridge. In any case it takes upwards of 3 hours to get from one to the other, so not an easy day trip. If you decide to spend time on the Olympic Peninsula, don't overlook the close-by parts of Olympic National Park, especially the scenic and easy drive from Port Angeles up to Hurricane Ridge. You can also easily visit Victoria as a foot passenger on one of the Port Angeles-Victoria ferries (link at the State website above).

 

Getting to and from the San Juans is not very easy from Seattle; several hours in each direction, plus ferry congestion most weekends. Again, use the links in the site above.

 

Please ensure that if you must go whale watching that your company is a member of the NW Whale Watching Assn., which establishes standards for non-harrassing whale watching practices. Don't inadvertently become part of the problem.