Whale watching and getting to experience these majestic animals in the wild is such an incredible opportunity! Here in the USA, we’re so unbelievably fortunate to have multiple places where whale-watching tours are available, including the NE coast, along the west coast, Alaska, and Hawaii. And if you’re looking for one city in particular where you can fly in and do some tours without needing a rental car, then you’ll appreciate the convenience of Seattle whale watching tours!

With the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, a solid public transit system, and multiple tour options, Seattle is a prime location to visit and check whale watching off your bucket list. Here are some tips to help make this dream a reality.

This male was hunting by himself, slapping the water’s surface to stun his prey.

Why Choose Seattle For Whale Watching Tours?

If you’ve never visited the Pacific Northwest, the area is beautiful! This means you’ll have picturesque mountains and towns for your Seattle whale watching tour backdrop.

Seattle also has a lot going on, so you can make a fun weekend trip (or longer) hanging out in the city. Within the city, there’s Pike Place Market, underground and historic tours, as well as a National Historic Park through the National Park Service about the gold rush in Kodiak. There are tours and day trips using Seattle as a home base. And let’s not forget that Seattle is quite the foodie town!

But Seattle also has a well-established public transit system. This is fantastic for those of us who don’t want to deal with a rental car, or those (like myself) who don’t like driving in big cities. From SeaTac Airport, you can use the Link Lightrail to get downtown (approximately $3.50), where you can either walk to your hotel or continue on via Amtrak or bus.

When To Book Your Seattle Whale Watching Tour

Tours are common and pretty much guaranteed with every company from April through October. Some companies, like Puget Sound Express, offer tours from February through December. When you choose to book primarily depends on what animal you most hope to see.

Gray whales that are migrating between Alaska and Baja California have been found to make a pit stop in the Puget Sound (also called the Salish Sea). The best time to see these beauties is from February through May, though you may get lucky enough to see one still hanging out in June.

Many people, however, primarily choose Seattle whale watching tours for the orcas. With three pods of resident orcas as well as a few hundred transient (or Biggs) orcas, this is a great location that offers a good chance of seeing the whales. Food sources are often abundant for the orcas in the summer, making April through October a good time to see them.

Summer tours also offer the chance to see humpback or minke whales! While these two may not be as commonly seen as the grays or orcas, it certainly doesn’t hurt to book a summer tour to increase your odds of a sighting.

Meet Patches, a gray whale that is very well known in Puget Sound.

Where to Start Your Seattle Whale Watching Tour

You have a lot of choices in the Puget Sound area! If you have a car or are comfortable navigating public transit options, Anacortes or Friday Harbor in the San Juans offer beautiful towns in prime whale territory. As a bonus of making the effort to get to Friday Harbor, there’s a whale museum in the heart of town!

If you have a car or are willing to navigate more complicated transit options, Port Townsend and Port Angeles also offer whale tour departures.

If you’re up for a little adventure but don’t have a car, Edmonds is another great choice for departure. Amtrak has stations both in downtown Seattle and Edmonds. You can take the Link Lightrail from the airport to the International District / Chinatown station, then walk about one block to reach the Amtrak station. From the train station in Edmonds, there’s a nearby Best Western Hotel that’s just a six-minute walk away. The departure point for the tours with Puget Sound Express is a 10-minute walk from the Best Western Hotel.

If, however, you’d prefer to stay in downtown, there’s still a Seattle whale watching tour for you! The FRS Clipper tour departs from Pier 69. There’s a nearby parking tower if you have a car, or you can walk from downtown as it’s less than a mile from Pike Place Market. This is the only tour that leaves from downtown Seattle, making it a great choice for those who want minimal hassle with public transit or changing locations.

Note: We went with FRS Clipper for our tours so that we could depart from Seattle. I can’t speak for the other tour operators, but I can say that those with young children and mobility concerns were given early boarding to get down the ramp and settled onboard. If you have accessibility concerns, reach out to the tour company for further details.

A harbor seal popping his head up to curiously watch as we passed by.

What Else Might You See on a Seattle Whale Watching Tour?

Of course you’re going on this tour to see whales in the wild, and, as mentioned, there are five potential whale species you could see. But wait, there’s more!

There’s also a pretty good chance you’ll see Steller sea lions in the area. Look for these fellas hanging out on the large green or red buoys near land. They like to plop up on top as a resting spot that’s safe from predators…like the orcas you’re hoping to see.

Harbor porpoise is another species you have good odds of spotting. Though common, they can be stealthy. Keep an eye out for tiny, dark dorsal fins gliding across the surface of the water. These porpoises are small and fast, so you may have to keep a sharp eye out to see one.

Perhaps less common, but quite possible to see are the harbor seals. These little guys will hang out closer to land, so your odds of seeing them are better if your captain goes into any inlets searching for orcas. Usually you’ll just see a dark head popping up from the water, likely watching your boat as you pass by.

Not a marine mammal at all, but also fun to see is the bald eagle. This was another species we spotted when we were in an inlet looking for orcas. We saw a couple of eagles hanging out near the treetops. They were both adults, so they were easy to find with their large, dark bodies and white heads. Juveniles, however, are brown all over, so keep an eye out for those as well.

The Likelihood of Seeing Whales

Your odds of seeing whales in the Puget Sound are high! High enough, in fact, that most Seattle whale watching tour operators offer a guarantee that you’ll see whales. And if not, you’ll receive a voucher to come back for another tour on a different day.

That said, you’re pretty safe just booking one tour and getting to see whales. If your schedule allows some flexibility, then you’ll be able to use your voucher in the event you don’t see whales.

However, if your entire trip to the Seattle area centers around seeing whales, you may want to book two days of tours. (Most tours operate once a day for 3-5 hours.) That was exactly what my friends and I did since the purpose of the trip was to see orcas. And honestly, I’m glad we did! We went in early June and saw the same gray whale, Patches, hanging out in the same area on both days. Otherwise, the two trips were very different.

The first day started off really foggy. But we got to see several harbor porpoises, Patches, about a dozen orcas, including a couple juveniles, and from a distance we saw Steller sea lions on a buoy. The second day was really sunny and not a bit foggy. We didn’t see any harbor porpoises, but we did closely approach Steller sea lions on a buoy, then visited Patches. Afteward, we moved to an inlet in search of orcas. Along the way, we saw two harbor seals and two bald eagles. Though there was only one male orca this time, we did get to witness him hunting, with lots of breaching and tail-slapping.

The experiences, sightings, and animal behaviors of each day were totally different, as is common when doing wildlife tours. So if wildlife and whales are your focus, or if you have the time and interest, I’d highly recommend two (or more!) days of whale watching tours and increasing your chances of seeing different species and behaviors.

One of the Steller sea lions seen on our whale watching tour. These buoys are favored hang out spots, so keep an eye on the buoys when you’re out there.

What to Bring On Your Tour

Your Seattle whale watching tour will last about 3-5 hours, depending on how long it takes to find the whales. I definitely recommend bringing a water bottle along, which will save you a few dollars from buying a drink on board. I’d also suggest wearing sunscreen, especially if you plan on being outside during a summer tour. Our tour had food for sale on board, and I imagine all of them would. However, if you don’t want to spend the extra money or don’t want to leave your seat, you can bring your own snacks with you. I highly recommend this if you have young kids or dietary restrictions.

The closest you’ll be able to approach the whales by law is 200 meters. So regarding photography, if you’re bringing a DSLR or mirrorless camera, consider bringing your longer lens. I had a cropped sensor DSLR with a 200-500mm lens, and I spent most of the time with the lens extended to 500mm. Granted, it can also be difficult ot tell where the whales would pop up, so shooting with less zoom and cropping in later could be a good option. Of course, most guests were shooting with their phones, so there’s certainly that option as well.

Final Thoughts on Seattle Whale Watching Tours

As a biologist, I’m a huge fan of wildlife tours! Seattle whale watching tours offer accessible and economical options for checking whale watching off your bucket list. AND your odds of spotting whales are high! I certainly recommend scheduling two tour days so that you can witness a wider variety of animals and behaviors. However, even with just one tour day booked, you’re practically guaranteed to see whales, and will likely see other marine mammals and species of interest as well. With most tours in the area costing about $120 to $150, it’s certainly a good price to pay for this incredible experience!

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