Whale watching
Jul 10th, 2004, 06:36 PM
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Whale watching
I will be visiting Seattle the last of August and wanted to go on a whale watch. Does anyone have a recommendation? I will be going to Victoria, BC for two nights and wondered if it would be better to whale watch from there or Seattle?
Jul 12th, 2004, 08:17 PM
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Victoria will be much better than Seattle. Seattle whale watch boats go way up north toward the San Juan Islands, which are close to Vancouver Island.
Here is a list of Victoria guides who are members of the Whale Watch Operators Association NW:
http://www.nwwhalewatchers.org/victoria.html
We went with Springtide Tours, and enjoyed ourselves - and saw several orcas!
Here is a list of Victoria guides who are members of the Whale Watch Operators Association NW:
http://www.nwwhalewatchers.org/victoria.html
We went with Springtide Tours, and enjoyed ourselves - and saw several orcas!
Jul 14th, 2004, 03:59 PM
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If you get up to the Port Townsend area, I can recommend Captain Jack's Whale Watch. We had a 4 1/2 hour tour and saw dozens of whales, an elephant seal on the beach and lots of sea birds. http://www.cpt-jack.com/
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Jul 17th, 2004, 05:52 PM
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We also recently took the Captain Jack's Whale Watching Cruise out of Port Angeles. We went 3 hours to find the Orcas.. stayed 15 minutes tops with the whales and were very far from them.
They seemed more interested in getting back for their next tour then getting us close to the whales... IMO.. wouldn't go with them again.
They seemed more interested in getting back for their next tour then getting us close to the whales... IMO.. wouldn't go with them again.
Jul 17th, 2004, 10:12 PM
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Use firms that subscribe to the industry's best practices regarding whale/human interactions. At a minimum, make sure they're members of organizations like Whale Watch Operators NW - see http://www.nwwhalewatchers.org/
Jul 18th, 2004, 04:16 AM
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Hi Gardyloo! Great site and map, thanks for the link! We were very pleased with Capt. Jack out of Pt. Townsend and i was happy to see him on the list, especially because i've been recommending him here on fodors for years now! (Noticed he was the only one out of pt. townsend!)
We saw many whales and other sealife, but they have some sort of 'insurance guarantee' you can purchase in the event whales are NOT spotted. We didn't since we'd been told by many (here, too) that its almost a given they will be seen. When on board we also saw crew calling around to find the exact location of the pods. We did notice some boats seemingly way too close...which was noted by the crew, also. Oh yes, and lunch on board was good, too! I highly recommend them. It was also nice just walking across the street to pick up the cruise, staying at the Harbourside Inn.
One look at the map makes it clear that all tours basically DO see the same pods. Making it even MORE important that the outfitter is complying with responsible guidelines to protect those beautiful creatures!!
We saw many whales and other sealife, but they have some sort of 'insurance guarantee' you can purchase in the event whales are NOT spotted. We didn't since we'd been told by many (here, too) that its almost a given they will be seen. When on board we also saw crew calling around to find the exact location of the pods. We did notice some boats seemingly way too close...which was noted by the crew, also. Oh yes, and lunch on board was good, too! I highly recommend them. It was also nice just walking across the street to pick up the cruise, staying at the Harbourside Inn.
One look at the map makes it clear that all tours basically DO see the same pods. Making it even MORE important that the outfitter is complying with responsible guidelines to protect those beautiful creatures!!
