Given its location along the Pacific Ocean, one of Washington’s most distinctive natural features is the Salish Sea, the network of waterways somewhat protected from the open ocean by the Olympic Peninsula and Vancouver Island. The Salish Sea, which includes Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, is rich in marine life and provides lots of opportunities to see that marine life, including whales, up close.

While one can spot whales from the shore, one of the best ways to see whales is by taking a whale watching cruise. There are many options for cruises in Puget Sound; we chose to take the Island Adventures Whale Watching cruise out of Anacortes, north of Seattle. Island Adventures offers several different tours, but we elected to take their signature cruise, which runs about 3-3.5 hours.

While the temperature was chilly, we had lots of sun on our cruise, which offered far more than cruising the Salish Sea for whales. On our journey out into the sea, our cruise took us past some of the many islands that dot Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, pointing out lighthouses and scenic points that would be impossible to see from the shore. We stopped at several points to look at seals, sea lions, and various birds.

After some time, our cruise spotted a humpback whale, which we followed for over half an hour. We got some great views of the whale surfacing and breathing, as well as the whale’s tail as it dove. The cruise did a nice job of being respectful but giving us nice views, and even informed us that it was a whale that frequented the area named Split Fluke.

As we returned to Anacortes, we continued to take a scenic route past islands and more marine wildlife. Our whale watching cruise had not only been successful, but had been a true scenic cruise. Even though we were out on the water for several hours, it certainly didn’t feel like, perhaps the best indication of how great of a time we had.

A whale watching cruise through the Salish Sea offers spectacular views of the region’s natural wonders. We recommend a whale watching cruise as a way to get a different perspective of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, as well as to (hopefully!) see some of the unique wildlife that calls the area home. We were also very satisfied with our particular whale watching cruise.