Cancel

Open app

Search

NW Explorations - Bellingham WA

4.7 (3 reviews)
Closed 8:00 am - 4:30 pm

Services - NW Explorations - Bellingham WA

Boat charters

Event planning

NW Explorations - Bellingham WA Photos

You might also consider

More like NW Explorations - Bellingham WA

Recommended Reviews - NW Explorations - Bellingham WA

Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
Yelp app icon
Browse more easily on the app
Review Feed Illustration
Photo of Bob M.
166
1081
978

8 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

5 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 1
Photo of Brad W.
196
12
0

8 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

Ask the Community - NW Explorations - Bellingham WA

You might also consider

Verify this business for free

People searched for Boating 193 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

Verify this business

San Juan Cruises

San Juan Cruises

4.5
(70 reviews)

My boyfriend and I booked the afternoon whale watching cruise at San Juan Cruises not knowing what…read moreto expect and it ended up being the highlight of the weekend. The crew was very friendly and I loved that it was guided by the Captain and Naturalist onboard. I learned a lot about islands in the Salish Sea and we saw several species of animals. There are several great viewing boats on the boat and it's easy to see from inside if it gets too windy. I learned so much about the Biggs orcas, sea lions, and harbor seals. It's not promised, but we saw two different groups of the orcas right at the beginning of the trip and surprisingly at the end in Bellingham bay. It was so nice to learn about them and get an up close view as possible within regulation. They served a lunch onboard which was included in the cost, however we packed our own snacks. They also have beverages and snacks for sale throughout the ride. I didn't bring binoculars on board but I did see people with them. My iPhone was enough to get close up videos and pictures of the animals! I would definitely recommend this to family and friends!

Very friendly service and great naturalist- Emily. We took the five hour whale watching cruise…read morewhere they guarantee whale sightings or 50% off your next booking with them. We approached Emily to find out some details about the educational items she had available for viewing. The lunch was buffet style- two types of lasagna, biscuits, honey butter, Caesar salad, red grapes and cookies. It was very tasty. The scenery was gorgeous and it was a nice sunny day. Unfortunately the whales and orcas were playing any and we didn't see any during the entire cruise- we did see a harbour seal when leaving port, a quick glimpse of a harbor porpoise for a split second, harbor seals on rocks from a far distance and two sea lions on a red buoy... so we got cards to book at 50% discount for a future booking with the company. We also got 10% off coupons for the fish and chips place and gift shop inside the Bellingham cruise terminal. There were two bathrooms on board. I have to say if you're looking for an intimate experience with a handful of people this is not the cruise for you. We had a Thursday cruise that had about 60 people on board and felt like there were a lot of people... I was told the boat could have up to 120 passengers in which case it would have been absolutely jammed with people. I was glad we only had the number on board that we had. All in all it was a lovely day on board- you cannot dictate nature and they held up their promise if we didn't see whales. They also had some binoculars available if you gave them collateral- I had a set for the entire cruise.

San Juan Sailing & Yachting

San Juan Sailing & Yachting

4.8
(22 reviews)

This is a fantastic charter company. Their attention to safe sailing is epic! I was totally…read morecomfortable sailing in new waters with their detailed no sail areas marked on the local charts. We had problems with our first boat and Lothar brought us a replacement early the next morning. A charter company can not fix problems unless those problems are reported by charter guests! I will sail with them again and you should too.

San Juan Sailing is THE top shelf boating experience in the Pac Northwest. The San Juan's on their…read moreown are fabulous with more than a dozen great marinas/destinations to choose from plus even more pristine natural anchorages. San Juan Sailing and Yachting makes the experience accessible and delightful. Get your cert to bareboat a power or sailboat (they offer combo classes/vacations) or hire an instructor skipper- you won't regret it. The folks at San Juan think of everything, and unlike the global charter conglomerates it's a decades old stand alone Bellingham WA professional boat chartering operation with the principals involved in the day to day guest experience operation-managing a super friendly and over the top customer service oriented staff. They all appear to really like their jobs! They also run these "flotillas" where a pro skipper takes a lead boat with some stateroom guests, plans a whole week or longer itinerary for 10 or so boats to cruise around to anchorages and marinas- in San Juan's plus many go further to Canada overnights. Great way to get introduced to sailing the local waters. You can focus on the navigating and sailing/boating and someone's already got the stops, attractions perfectly planned, plus you meet some great people with you on other boats when you dock up or moor/anchor together. You are likely to see orcas, porpoises, sea lions, harbor seals and otters. Of course bald eagles, herons and all manner of waterfowl. Get your WA shellfish license if you want to drop a pot (on the boats standard) and get some Dungeness crabs to steam up and feast on. I went on one flotilla with furthest stop Princess Luisa Sound two days north of Vancouver (May 2023) whole trip from and back to Bellingham was 10 days. We lucked out with fabulous weather so I'm almost hesitant to tell people about it because it was so incredibly stunning and enjoyable. Secret I probably should keep. All the boats are professionally maintained and the fleet is mostly new or near new and perfectly outfitted for the experience- highly recommend. Full disclosure I own one of the boats (but still a "customer" of the San Juan Sailing experience) basically just a "perfect for me" way to immerse into new sailing grounds (I'm formerly an east coast and Caribbean boater) My wife (who is the consummate fair weather sailor plus food/cocktail steward) and I love the luxe experience of taking our own boat out as "charter guests." No "boat clutter" like used to develop on my old boat. All the cleaning and linens, galley outfitting taken care of. Just show up with food and bev! Fair winds‍

West Coast Marine Services

West Coast Marine Services

4.1
(14 reviews)

West Coast has been servicing and repairing all my trailerable boats for over 20-years, I…read morewouldn't go any place else. They go the extra mile and give me expert advice; treat my repairs like it was their boat. Between West Coast for my trailerables and BMR for my cabin cruiser, I couldn't be happier. We are lucky to have these companies in Bellingham!

I just got hung up on ***twice*** by a guy named Brandon in the service dept while trying to…read moreschedule for the second week of Aug to bring my boat in. I had emailed them 2 times just to get some info about an older Volvo motor and possibilities regarding it's issue. They never responded so I called them yesterday, and after they found the 2nd email, they answered the questions. So I said please respond to the email. Then today I got a call from a Brandon, while he told me of the possibilities on the phone, he would not put anything in writing, i.e. email response, not even that there are a lack of parts for this motor. I've had good luck dealing with these guys in the past, but I don't know about this Brandon guy and his boss. Finally, upset I did call a 3rd time after being hung up by him twice, and he told me after talking to his boss that they would pass on looking at it, even though they work on Volvo boat motors. Very surprised and disappointed with these guys. Honestly, I hate posting negative reviews and prefer to post 5 stars as I often do for people, but I don't know how anybody can say West Coast Marine Services didn't earn this 1 star! Update: I just got off the phone with Volvo Penta

Sail the San Juans

Sail the San Juans

5.0
(18 reviews)

How do we keep adding stars! From the time we met Jette and Jon, we felt right at home and spoiled…read more Sailing the San Juans was a dream come true, but little did we know how wonderful every single day would be. Attention to every detail from warm coffee mugs to fill our fresh coffee at 7am to gourmet lunches and dinners, and of course desserts. We had a wonderful time. Jon and Jette are the most gracious hosts, who now we consider friends. Jon keeping us safe and informed of the wildlife and sealife, but also taking us on hikes on islands only accessible by boat. Jette with her great sense of humor surprising us at every turn with a new talent from gourmet cooking, writing songs, playing her guitar and sharing her doodles are a few of the many talents she revealed to us. And then there is Geni, sweet Geni, their portugese water "boat" dog. We instantly fell in love and could not get enough of her. I don't now the last time I felt so relaxed and pampered. Thank you Jette and Jon for the wonderul memories! We are looking forward to returning next year! To anyone considering Sailing the San Juans - this is your charter! You will have the time of your life!

From the moment you step onto the Northwind, take in every single second you can!! Every…read moresecond--every peaceful moment, every sweet and savory bite Captain Jette serves, every bit of island trivia Captain Jon offers--as you sail calmly past thick green forests dotted with specks of white the resident bald eagles offer in the form of head and tail. This is truly an adventure awaiting! If you have ever wanted to sail but don't know how, just leave the sailing, cooking, and swabbing of the decks to Jette and Jon. They love to help make wonderful memories for all of us, and do so graciously and kindly. So stop wondering and take the leap (sail). You will have a blast

Community Boating Center

Community Boating Center

4.9
(26 reviews)

What a wonderful community resource. As stated by S A, there are lots of options for hourly…read morerentals. We had rented paddle boards for a few hours. They asked if we had any questions or needed help. Since we did not, they just let us do our thing. I liked that. It gets intimidating having people always watching you or floating around if you do not want it. We did see them answering questions and helping people who requested it, so if you are nervous or in need of assistance they will happily help you out. There were also life jackets, wet suits, and even dry bags available for rental in addition to the equipment (canoes, paddle boards, sail boats). You reserve a slot and off you go to launch from their nice ramp, which is also open to the public. I definitely recommend wearing flip flops or water shoes. I am not from the area, so did not know what to expect. It was a bit rocky in some areas so I was glad to not be launching barefoot. The staff we had that day were fantastic. They were very nice and many of them very experienced and helpful. My friend told me they were also all volunteers. They do have a tip jar for their assistance though, so be sure to bring some cash to support them! All around great experience and I highly recommend if you are in the area looking for something fun to do!

We took the bioluminescence tour with Carley and Takoda. It was amazing! We had a perfect night…read more Watching the fish and jellies dart around us was so cool! I didn't even know this existed in Bellingham.

Outer Island Expeditions

Outer Island Expeditions

4.5
(183 reviews)

I've been whale watching off the California coast before, so I'm going to compare this experience…read moreto that. This ended up more of a pleasant boat ride than whale watching as we didn't get to see any orcas (such a bummer!) and only got to see one single, elusive Humpback whale name Victory. I can't fault the tour for that, but it definitely impacts the experience. It was still a nice boat ride, with friendly staff onboard and the fortunate luck of sitting at the back of the boat next to a conservationist-led tour group with a lot of knowledge shared. On the brighter side, the weather was beautiful and we got to see two kinds of puffin and some sea lions as well. Just wish we got to see whales, instead of just one.

We went on the Orcas Only tour in the 3 oclock time slot. The process to check in was smooth and…read moreeasy. A thing to note: parking right by their building is about $13. I believe there was street parking farther away, but we didn't look. TJ and Sophia were great hosts to us. Sophia was very knowledgeable and so willing to answer any questions we had. On the tour, we saw a grey whale from a ways a way. Orcas were being scarce today but we traveled near Seattle and pungent sound. They really went the extra mile to make sure we were able to see orcas as this was not close by. The pod had a NEW BABY! Such an exciting experience. Not only that, they were also having fun socializing and slapping their tails. Then we saw some glorious breaching. It was honestly such a great experience. We were in awe!

NW Explorations - Bellingham WA - boating - Updated June 2026

Loading...
Loading...
Loading...