Washington Ferry early June 2008
 

Does anyone have an Ancortes-Orcas Island 2007 Washington ferry schedule for 2007? It might be the same for 2008 and I'm trying to plan a trip for next June. The current schedule on their web site doesn't cover June 2008.
Thanks
Sue

When in June? The spring schedule usually goes through late June then the summer schedule starts about the last week in June. The spring schedule will be pretty close to the fall schedule that's currently in effect. The summer schedule will have slightly more frequent sailings.

What exactly are you trying to plan this far in advance? Just count on there being sailings every few hours. More important than the schedule IMO is planning which days you go--you don't want to be traveling TO the islands on a Friday or coming back to Anacortes on a Sunday if you can avoid it.

Ditto that advice. Try to travel there during the week, or at least not travel on Friday or Sunday...I would plan for the fact that getting to Orcas and back will take most of the day each way, depending on where you're coming from, and then a month a head of time look at the ferry schedules on-line. That time of year, also, you will need to be in line 1 two 2 hours ahead of time if you do end up traveling near the weekends. There is a little snack place at the ferry landing (nothing special), but you can also pick up food in Anacortes and picnic at the landing...they do have a few tables.

I want to know the schedule this far in advance because we need to fly into Seattle and drive to Anacortes. We're trying to decide whether to come in a day early and spend the night in Anacortes, or go from the airport to the ferry, and on to Orcas Island. We've got a house rented for Sunday, June 1 - Saturday, June 7, leaving on Sunday, June 8. They only rent Sunday-Saturday.
Sue

Well, you'll get a pretty good idea of the spring schedule by looking at the current fall schedule--unless your flight arrives in the evening, you should be able to make one of the late sailings. But there's always the chance that your flight will be delayed so I'd arrive a day early, personally, to be on the safe side--or just accept the risk that you might miss the first night of your house reservation if something like that happens.

And if you have to come back on a Sunday, so be it--you'll just need to be prepared to be in line for hours and not be able to count on getting on a particular ferry, so I definitely would NOT plan on flying home that day.

I live up here, and if you plan an early flight from San diego and arrive by noon into Seattle, there should be a ferry for you that evening, most likely a 5:00 pm or so. There are later ferries during the summer also, but plan on 2 hours driving from Sea-tAc depending on traffic, minimum 1 1/2 - 2 hours wait time, and perhaps a little extra if your flight is delayed. You can always sightsee Anacortes or have lunch or dinner if you're early. Leaving, you'll want to allow yourself plenty of time if you leave on Saturday, or fly out of Seattle on Sunday and spend the night somewhere between Anacortes and Sea-Tac. Lots to do in Seattle !

Because air travel rarely goes smoothly these days, you might want to come in the day before, spend the night in Seattle and then drive up to Anacortes the next morning. It would certainly be more relaxing to do it that way. Also try to avoid arriving on Orcas after dark, especially if you haven't been there before. I think it would be hard to find a rental in the dark if you don't know the island. You can make a flight on the same day you leave the islands, as long as you leave on an early ferry and have an evening flight. In general, allow for plenty 'o time when getting to and from the San Juan Islands and Sea-Tac. We travel to Orcas from the Seattle area regularly, and it's always around 4 hours door to door when things go smoothly and we avoid peak traffic. We're 35-40 minutes north of Sea-Tac in light traffic.