bjl

I'll be in Seattle for a long weekend next weekend. Trying to decide between a Clipper Ferry excursion to Victoria for the day or a whale watching excursion with Clipper Ferry. Does anyone know if whales are seen regularly en route to Victoria? Thank you.

sunbum1944

I have never seen a whale from the ferry enroute to or from Victoria.
How about the San Juans- a friend of mine was there about 2 weeks ago and went on kayaking whale excursion - a whale went under their kayak and came up on the other side- sounds very exciting. No kayaking experience needed apparently

spirobulldog

We went with James Maya tours in San Juan Islands. Small boat(I think only 6 people at a time). Saw all 27 members of the J-pod and saw whales almost continuously for 3-4 hours. None underneath the boat though. But did see a couple probably a little closer than we should have. Meaning all boat are supposed to stay a distance from them, but of course you can't control where the whales are going to go. I think the kayak would be more amazing, but would be harder to find them in a kayak and likely only to see them for a few minutes when you did find them(I would think).

bjl

Thank you Sunbum and Spiro. I won't have a car, but if I can figure out a ferry to Friday Harbor from Seattle, the James Maya would be nice because it's small. But is it too small? Was it a rough ride?

spirobulldog

Ride was perfect.

5alive

I would save Victoria for when you can stay overnight. The harbor as it gets dark and the lights come up are really very pretty. The tourists die down and it isn't so crazy. With an overnight, you would have time to tour Butchart Gardens, either by bringing a car over on the ferry or taking one of the tourist buses up.

voyager61

You can take a Victoria Clipper vessel to Friday Harbor from Seattle for a one-day trip. However, if you can swing an overnight, you should do it. The San Juans are really beautiful and relaxing and a nice contrast to being in Seattle.