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    Outer Island Expeditions

    4.5 (181 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

    Services - Outer Island Expeditions

    Boat charters

    Outer Island Expeditions Photos

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    Babette C.

    We had a daytrip to Anacortes because my SIL and niece wanted to go whale watching. his being whale season, I figured we'd see something. I'd been on whale watching trips before in SoCal and we saw tons of dolphins and seals, so I had a little more hope this time and my hope was not frustrated.Most of the trip we saw almost nothing; a fin here, a seal there, but nothing. Apparently all the boats work together and let each other know where they are seeing them and when they find a pod, they all rush over, shut their engines, and let the whales do their thing. We caught up with a pod of maybe 8 of them and those whales got close to a lot of the other boats, but kept their distance from us. It's luck of the draw, but we did get some cool video of the whales coming out of the water. They weren't breaching or anything, but you could clearly see them, even if it was from afar. It was a good day and I'm glad we did this.

    They know each and every orca we saw!
    Jordan O.

    6/5 My partner has been wanting to go whale watching since I met her. I finally decided to make it happen and looked into outer island expeditions since we would be up near Anacortes at the time. I was surprised to find that Groupon was still a thing and that they offered a Groupon for their whale tours! (Although after "fees" it really only saves you about $10 per ticket) THAT being said, so worth it! We were off to a bad start, arrived and it was foggy and a little rainy. After signing releases we got separated into 2 lines. One of the works told my partner and I to hang back and wait for the second boat because it served alcohol and was better over all (thanks bro!) When we got out the captain told was transparent and said that they hadn't seen any orcas the past few days but he was dedicated to finding them today. We made the trek south, where we finally broke out of the fog and rain to clear skies. The entire time employees are making jokes and providing a ton of information, it was really interactive. We finally got as low as EVERETT when we saw them! 2 pods of orcas! At least 11 of them in total, there was even a little baby! It was truly an experience, my partner was brought to tears. Started off worried but ended perfectly, would absolutely recommend!

    No Boating etiquette at all !  "Your Wake defines you" and these guys are all about the money
    Randy M.

    I would like to add that the captains of their whale watching boats have no boating etiquette whatsoever. They do not slow down or care how close they go to kayaks on the water that happened to be in their path. I've heard other horrible stories about them, but I won't repeat them.

    Line

    Avoid if you're visiting from out of town. We were visiting Washington from out of state and booked a whale watching tour for 10:30 AM. Unfortunately, we had a hectic morning checking out of our hotel and called ahead to let them know we were running about 30 minutes behind. That's when we learned that check-in is actually at 10:00 AM, not 10:30 AM, and we were told the boat might leave without us. We were encouraged to come anyway "just in case." We arrived at 10:50 AM and were told the boat had already left. They would not offer a refund -- instead, their policy is to "resell" your tickets and give you vouchers, which doesn't help when you're traveling and won't be back to use them. Trying to make the best of the day, we went to a nearby beach. Around noon, they called to say they had space for the 3:00 PM tour if we were still in town. We stayed, checked in, and then were told Groupon had contacted them about our refund request -- they wanted a screenshot showing we had closed the claim before moving forward. After waiting, we got a call at 3:30 PM saying there were only 3 seats left for the tour, but we have 4 people in our family. We ended up waiting around all day for nothing, did not receive the service we paid for, and this completely ruined my husband's birthday (this tour was meant to be his gift) as well as disappointing our 7-year-old who had been so excited. I understand things happen, but the lack of flexibility, poor communication, and having us wait hours just to be turned away again was extremely frustrating. We left with no experience, no refund, and a wasted day of our trip.

    Humpback whale

    Great crew, Matt, Trevor, Brook, Bruno, and Ethan. We saw a humpback whale, sea lion, sea otter, and 2 orcas. Very knowledgeable about sea life. Great time!

    Saw 2 pods of whales, a bald  eagle and some seals
    Patrick M.

    Jim Sam Isabelle Hannah Great, great great service The staff were very knowledgeable and gave us the history of the whale watching experience

    Andrew M.

    I'm not just giving this place 5 stars because we got very close to whales, but because this overall experience was amazing. The 3 plus hours of being on the boat ride just flew by the captain and the host were very knowledgeable of the area and the surrounding animals. The best advice I can give is to wear warm clothes when riding outside. It can get quite chilly when the boat is at full speed.

    Orcas

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    8 months ago

    Went whale watching and saw three pods. Amazing! The captain had a great sense of humor. So much fun!!!

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    4 months ago

    Great outfit for whale watching! I will be back and will be recommending Outer Island.

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    11 months ago

    Brock and Kate are great!! Highlight of our visit! Planning to come back next year! Great information. Kids loved it. Thank you!

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    Page 1 of 5

    Ask the Community - Outer Island Expeditions

    Does the boat have a bathroom?

    Yes it does. Very small and only one.

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

    Review Highlights - Outer Island Expeditions

    My boyfriend and I were on the Orca Express with Captain Drew, Brittney, and Delaney for the whale watching excursion.

    Mentioned in 43 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Spirit Of Orca Whale and Wildlife Tours - We started to see the Orcas and many more appeared

    Spirit Of Orca Whale and Wildlife Tours

    (73 reviews)

    Oh.My.Gosh!!! If you are looking for a personalized and informative tour of both whales and local…read morewildlife, THIS is the one to book. We were so fortunate to be with Ken and his fiancee Laurel when we witnessed two whale pods meet up and greet each other. The interaction was so fun to watch but even more amazing, both pods started swimming towards our boat! Ken was quick to get up on the bow of the boat to get some incredible pictures for us. Couldn't have asked for a better experience. On the way in and out, both Ken and Laurel pointed out different local wildlife and educated us on different species of birds, whales, seals, etc in the area. They are both very knowledgeable and amazing hosts. You couldn't ask for more. Be sure to book your own incredible trip with them!

    A wonderful wildlife tour and notably different than experiencing the Sea, wildlife and Orcas from…read morea crowded large boat. We were also impressed with the Captain's professionalism and mariner expertise overall. We always felt safe and also appreciated a willingness to extend our trip time at no cost to ensure we found the Orca pods. The water was choppy on our day out, so we experienced the awesomeness of the Salish Sea as well as her beauty! Our two grandsons, age 12 and 14, really had fun. For all of us, the highlight of the trip was definitely seeing and hanging out with the two incredible Orca pods. It was memorable without compare. I was especially pleased that I was able to take some great video of the Orcas and wonderful photos of my grandchildren.

    Outer Island Expeditions - fishing - Updated May 2026

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