BEST Place to See Orcas in North America | San Juan Island, Washington
Today we will be exploring San Juan Island and we have a lot of fun things planned! We have booked a whale watching tour for the afternoon which we are so excited about! This area is known for whale watching so we have our fingers crossed...
We have an early morning as we catch the 5AM ferry from Anacortes to San Juan island. We arrive on the island just after 6AM, before the sun is even up so we head to the southern part of the island to start the day.
We go to Cattle Point Lighthouse on the very southernmost tip of the island which is a great place to catch the sunrise. We find the perfect spot overlooking the sea with the lighthouse in the foreground and the sky really puts on a show!
The sunrise alone is incredible but as we are sitting and watching, we hear an entire pod of orcas swimming right along the coast next to us. We are so surprised and delighted and we follow them along the coast for 10 minutes or so, barely able to contain our excitement.
They swim out of view so we head back to our sunrise post and watch as the sun makes its way up over the islands in the distance! After the sun comes up, we take a walk around the lighthouse and down by the coast.
We then head to the nearby American Camp. The island actually has both an American Camp in the south and an English Camp in the north which we will be visiting later in the day. Back when the ownership of the San Juan Islands were disputed between England and the United States, tensions rose between he two countries and military camps were built. After 12 peaceful years of joint occupation, the US was given title to the islands but both camps still remain on the Island.
We make one more quick stop for a walk along South Beach before heading back to Friday Harbor for our 11AM whale watching tour. We booked a 3 hour tour with Spirit of Orca Whale Watching & Wildlife Tours. It is a smaller boat which only holds 6 passengers plus our captain so we are really excited. We have NEVER been whale watching so we don’t know what to expect but after the morning we have pretty high hopes!
We still have about 30 minutes before our meeting time so we grab some coffee and walk around Friday Harbor. Friday Harbor is a charming town full of galleries, shops, restaurants. As we are sitting in the harbor watching the boats, we actually get a call from our boat captain asking if we can meet a little early because he has already located the pod of orcas and he wants to get back out to them as quickly as possible.
Just when we thought the day couldn’t get any better, we now have very high hopes we will see yet another pod of orcas! We head over to the dock and wait for the boat to arrive. All 6 of us hop on the boat and our captain Ken does a quick intro before immediately heading back out to where he left the whales.
After following the pod for around an hour and a half, they cross over into Canadian waters and unfortunately we cannot follow. The tour is not over yet! We drive around the beautiful islands for another hour or so spotting all kinds of wildlife including harbor seals, several types of birds, porpoises, and even an entire island covered in exotic deer and sheep.
We make it back to Friday Harbor and after our tour, we head to Lime Kiln Point State Park. There is beautiful coastline and a lighthouse here making for stunning scenery, but the park is considered one of the best places in the world to whale watch from land. Considering we have now seen orcas twice today, we are not getting any hopes up but we go to have a picnic and enjoy the views.
Next we head a bit further norther to English Camp which to be honest was a bit more elaborate than the American Camp. Waterfront property, large trees and even a formal garden.
And finally, we make a quick stop at Roche Harbor to grab some provisions for sunset. We talk to a friendly local who recommends we go to San Juan County Park. We head to the park and post up for an amazing sunset which is the perfect way to end the day!
——————————————————
Some of our FAVORITE Camera Gear:
Fuji XT3:
DJI Mavik Air:
GoPro Hero 7:
Rode VideoMic Go:
Joby GorillaPod 5K:
Save $65 on your first Airbnb!
We get all of our songs ROYALTY FREE from Epidemic Sound:
Follow us on Instagram:
——————————————————
We will be sharing 1-2 travel vlogs a week, so please SUBSCRIBE to follow along on our worldwide journey! :)
Note: We’ve linked a handful of our favorite products so you can see what we actually use while we are on the road. If you click on these links and make a purchase, we get a small commission at no extra cost to you. We will only recommend products we truly love and think you might enjoy as well!
1 view
45
11
1 day ago 00:00:30 1
Watch planes take off and land 泰航350星空聯盟涂裝昆明長水機場21號跑道起飛
1 day ago 00:00:00 4
Starbase Live: 24/7 Starship & Super Heavy Development From SpaceX’s Boca Chica Facility
1 day ago 00:11:04 1
Get Abs in 2 WEEKS | Abs Workout Challenge
1 day ago 00:03:36 1
Forest Blakk - If You Love Her (feat. Meghan Trainor) [Official Lyric Video]
1 day ago 00:00:57 1
1959 Lincoln Mark IV Continental Convertible #lincoln
1 day ago 00:36:31 1
ARABIC REMIX - Desert Music (Sunset Desert Melodies)
2 days ago 00:03:27 1
The Dead South - Black Lung | OurVinyl Sessions
2 days ago 01:51:05 1
Monte Carlo, MONACO 4K Walking Tour - Captions & Immersive Sound [4K Ultra HD/60fps]
2 days ago 00:08:56 1
Play to Earn | Crypto Games | Top Play to Earn Crypto Games
2 days ago 00:59:22 1
♫ Лео Рохас Лучшее ♫ The Best Of Leo Rojas ♫
2 days ago 00:02:18 1
The Bikeriders Movie Clip - Shootin the Breeze (2024)
2 days ago 00:15:33 1
Saint Petersburg, Russia 🇷🇺 in 8K HDR ULTRA HD 60 FPS Dolby Vision™ Drone Video
2 days ago 00:05:12 1
Peppa Pig | Weather Station | Peppa Pig Official | Family Kids Cartoon
2 days ago 00:00:00 1
Dark Minimal Techno Trip Live Radio 24/7 Dark Monkey Music
2 days ago 00:00:39 1
Watch planes take off and land 機務小哥指揮飛機進停機位動作到位很流暢嘛
2 days ago 00:16:25 1
5 Hip Mobility Drills You Need to Take Your Kicks to the Next Level w/ Carl Van Roon
2 days ago 01:29:49 1
The best hits of classical piano music, Relaxing melodies forever. - Bach, Chopin, Mozart 🎼 #12
2 days ago 00:17:51 1
Try Not To Laugh 🤣 New Funny Cats And Dog Video 😹 - Just Cats Part 31
2 days ago 11:54:59 1
🔥 Cozy Fireplace 4K (12 HOURS). Fireplace with Crackling Fire Sounds. Crackling Fireplace 4K
2 days ago 00:03:53 1
Max Oazo ft. Moonessa - Airplane (Lyrics) | tell me do you feel the same?
2 days ago 00:00:31 1
When A German Plays Japan
2 days ago 00:03:32 1
Dua Lipa - Dance The Night (From Barbie The Album) [Official Music Video]