Matt, Taylor, and Alec did an outstanding job on our whale tour! Definitely a great experience during our visit to Washington. Highly recommended. read more

Captain Mike and Naturalists Jeremy & Shea created an excellent environment and atmosphere for our whale watching tour. The crew was knowledgeable, fun, and made everyone feel at home. Bonus for Shea who had ginger chews in her pocket for those of us with weaker stomachs 10/10 recommend. We had a blast read more

Great experience with Matt and Brooke! They were very friendly, fun, and knowledgeable. Well definitely be booking another tour!

I took my mom out for a special day to say thank you for everything she has done for me. We went out for the evening tour, which I highly recommend over the morning tour, and saw numerous whales. The captain and crew were very knowledgeable and accommodating. Our tour was extended due to the number of marine mammals that we saw. FYI, only 16 people are allowed on the top deck due to stability issues, however, we sat below and our viewing experience was exceptional. One thing to keep in mind, it's much cooler on the tour than you might expect. Bring long sleeves and long pants just incase. read more

People were awesome!! Great crew! We saw harbor seals, bald eagles and hung out with a beautiful humpback whale!!

I was on the Blackfish lll. The crew was great and knowledgeable. We saw 3 different pods of orcas, seals, sea lions, and 2 humpback whales. It was a great trip! read more

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We took a tour today on the Blackfish II. The boat itself was fine. Fast, smooth, enough room for all the passengers. Our captain was great. Can't remember his name. Unfortunately, we didn't see much today. A couple eagles, some seals and sea lions, jellyfish and 1 Minke whale that we only saw come up about 4-5 times. My review isn't about not seeing whales. I know it's nature and there is always that chance. My review is low for a couple of reasons. First, you're paying several hundred dollars to go out with this group, and yes, Groupons are available as well to help save some money, but to charge customers to park in the dirt behind the office is really ridiculous. Why not let paying customers park for free. Are you really that hard up that you need an extra $5 per family? I know on the website they charge for parking, but I still think it's ridiculous. My second criticism is: while our captain was awesome, personable and knowledgeable, you would have no idea unless you were one of 12 people upstairs with him. There was no speaker system to hear any of his cool insight, stories or jokes unless you were right next to him. This is a tour and everyone should have the same experience. If you were downstairs, inside or outside, you heard nothing. Same thing with our "naturist" Haley. I'm sure she's knowledgeable, but I think the only time she opened her mouth was to tell us there was an eagle nest in a tree that everyone had already noticed. We didn't see much of anything so maybe that's why she didn't talk. Again, if she was going to talk, a nice sound system of some kind would be great so everyone can hear. My third criticism is for the tour company overall. Before we set foot on a boat, they knew darn well we probably wouldn't see anything but a Minke. The orcas that had been spotted today were way up by Victoria, and because of weather and the water being too rough, we couldn't go up there without everyone getting sick. Why not set everyone expectations for that, or even let people reschedule if they wanted to, and in the off-chance that a whale did pop up, then it is a nice surprise. Overall, I would say find another company that maybe has better "tour" equipment, even though the boat was smooth and fast. read more

What a fantastic whale-watching tour!! Capt. Matt was awesome. Even more awesome was pro whale-watcher, photographer Brooke. She spent a lot of time chatting with us about the behavior and sightings of specific killer whale pods. She pointed to a rare sighting. It was simply thrilling!! We were lucky to see so many killers and even some harbor seals riding a buoy. We didn't get to see minkes or humpbacks, but the rare and highly active killer pods made up for it. I'd definitely go with this tour company again. read more

Amazing tour, fantastic crew, wonderful deal, I wish I were back on their boat right now! The knowledge shared by the crew was great but they made me and my family feel like friends of theirs and not just guests on their boats. We saw gray, minke and orca whales. A blowhole from a humpback was spotted by a guest but they didn't speak up in time for us to go see it. Their tour went over by an hour just because we were seeing so many whales/wildlife (including bald eagerly, seals and sea lions). Epic day on the water. I can't imagine any tour being better than this one. Oh, and the boat was super fast (but not scary fast for those with boat phobias). read more

Absolutely fraudulent operations. They took my money and refused to get me on another tour when the ferry was late and I asked for an time adjustment. They seemed hell bent on getting another 50% on a full price ticket (when all tickets were selling at half price) just so they could make more money, in order to give me a guaranteed place. I could see that they had availability, but they would put me on standby and have me keep checking in and even showing up, but turning me away. This outfit and their diabolical twin, outer island excursions are both to be avoided like the plague. read more

Let me be clear that we did not take a trip with Blackfish Tours, but on Monday, Sept. 10 we did observe their boat, the Blackfish III, at the reef just north of Sucia Island observing sea lions and harbor seals hauled out on the reef. We were observing this wildlife from a privately owned vessel (at a distance of 650 feet in checking my GPS). The seals and sea lions were peacefully sunning and undisturbed my our presence and we then became very concerned when the Blackfish III passed us at an excessive speed and entered far within the 200 foot range recommended for National Wildlife Refuge viewing of these protected animals. These marine mammals were obviously extremely distressed and quite vocal. We realized what this tour boat was doing was wrong when the harbor seals were all forced into the water and the sea lions bellowed at the intruders and also fled to the water. At that point the boat charged away again. The very close approach to the reef by the Blackfish III was irresponsible and possibly in violation of Federal Law. We realize their customers want to get as close as possible to the wildlife, but would hope they would want the tour operator to do so in a responsible way that did not cause disturbance or harm to the marine mammals. There are serious consequences to this "stalking" behavior for all marine life and that is why the guidelines have been set. We're asking you to respect the needs of these animals! John Caples Marcia Bennett read more

This company is not flexible or understanding. We had to cancel a kayak tour due to wildfires in Oregon which closed I-5 and numerous other roads. Smoke made travel and accommodations untenable for the trip through Oregon. We tried to cancel 4 days prior to our tour and two days prior to leaving Reno. We even purchased the company's insurance which was a ripoff. Fanshield (the insurance offered) denied the claim since the event had not yet happened. Well of course it hadn't happened since we would be leaving Reno 4 days prior and had to cancel the trip due to the wildfires! read more

Great trip! Saw 2 pods of orca. Staff was very nice and knowledgeable! I believe it was Jon, Ashley and Haley. I'm bad with names but staff on #4 on 1pm 8/17 trip. Wear sunscreen even if it is cold, we got sunburn. Really enjoyed it! read more

On Thursday 7/23 we boarded the blackfish llll with captain Jim and Brooke, Angelica . The crew was very educated, nice and provided a warm welcoming. The captain took us around great islands and we did get to see a grey whale along with numerous pods of orcas. I gave this experience a 3star rating because I will not be a returning customer due to the boat ride being 5HOURS!!! 11am-4pm!! Absolutely way to long for our two kids and multiple kids being restless on the boat including a SCREAMING baby. read more

Easily one of the coolest experience i've had. The orcas were so cool! We even got a show from a couple of humpback whales, and wow was that special. Also, the crew were incredibly knowledgeable and do their best to answer any questions you could possibly have - Ellen, Crystal, John, and Alex... you guys rock!! thanks for making it such a memorable experience! If you have the time you should seriously consider taking an excursion for yourself. read more

We had an excellent time! Captain Matt followed a pod of Orcas to the northern islands and we were able to observe them traveling at first, but towards the end of our trip they were jumping almost completely out of the water! The naturalists on our boat (Haley and Amanda ) were very knowledgeable and helpful. Having them along to answer questions made this an incredible experience! read more

Great trip! Matt, Amanda & Michelle were very knowledgeable and of course we saw orcas!! Great afternoon!!!

I had scheduled an excursion and I canceled due to my state becoming a red state with Covid-19 (we didn't have any travel restrictions when I scheduled and everything was reopening, so I thought I would be okay.) I emailed for a confirmation of my cancelation and I had received any communication that they had actually canceled it, so I called. When I called, the gentleman on the phone was extremely rude. He wouldn't send me an email confirmation of the refund because he said he was "orally" confirming it. I told him that it was a reasonable request to ask for it in writing, and he said I am confirming it now on the phone, told me to "have a good day" and hung up. Also, they still only gave the 75% refund (supposedly, still havent seen it or gotten confirmation) after me explaining that I had to cancel due to covid-19 becoming a huge issue in my state and there now being travel restrictions. Do not recommend working with this company. read more

Sunset tour was a great time during the last week of August. The cool thing about the sunset tour is the changing skies and daylight through the tour. We went on Triton, the smallest, but fastest boat with ~12 people and 1 crew. There's an enclosed area with seating in the middle, with the front and back decks open. It was a very different experience than larger whale watching ships, as it was pretty casual and never felt crowded. We saw a pod of 4 orcas, and ended up following them around for a good amount of the tour. We were the last boat on the water as the sun was setting, and got lucky as the pod swam within 5 feet of the hull. read more

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We had a great time on the boat. It left perfectly on time. It had binoculars as well as many different areas to sit and enjoy our surroundings. We saw porpoises, orcas, and enormous sea lions. I would highly suggest it. read more

Loved this company! This was our third whale watching trip and by far the best one. Captain Matt, Alex and Dawn made an amazing team. They were filled with great information about what we were seeing and even spent extra time out on the water so we could take one last look at the whale we had spotted. On top of that, they took a shine to my son who was asking lots of questions and even let him "drive the boat"! (Totally assisted of course!) overall it was a fantastic experience and we will definitely go out with them again! read more

Wow! What an amazing day. We just finished a woderful whale watching tour of the San Juan islands in Anacortes, Washington. With the Captain plus two naturalists to answer questions and find plenty of whales. I strongly recommend this company. read more

I was extremely disappointed by my experience with outer island excursions. I've been on many whale watching trips in many different countries and my experience with them was flat out unacceptable. I was staying at Semiahmoo Resort and on their website Outer Island Excursions is listed as something to do at the resort or nearby. Let me warn you that this is false advertising. There are very few PRIVATE charter excursions that leave from the resort starting at about $800. It is extremely unclear that this is the case based on the website. If you are a sucker like me and book a group tour anyways which is advertised as nearby, be warned that it is actually 70 MILES AWAY, 140 MILES ROUND TRIP. I'm sorry, who in the world considers that "nearby"?! This is like San Diego advertising Disneyland as "nearby" which is utterly ridiculous. When I discovered that this was the case and called outer island for a refund, they informed me that they would try to resell my ticket but that they wouldn't be able to tell me if they were able to sell my ticket until after the boat departs. IF they are able to resell my ticket then I could get a refund and if not then I could get a certificate for another sail. I'm sorry, but leaving my dog in a hotel room for a three hour round trip text ride on top of a 3.5-4 hour whale watch is just not an option. On top of this, when I explained this situation to them and asked for a refund, the entire email response from the company was, "no." That's it, one word. It's obvious that this company is anything BUT professional. I will obviously never do business with them given how unprofessional they have been. I also believe that everything happens for a reason because I would certainly not trust these people with my vacation time let alone my life. Too bad, would have been great if there was a company doing this right. read more

Great time with Capt Drew and Brooke! Saw Killer Whales and humpback whales. Very knowledgeable

Wow! What an amazing experience! Our family did a whale watching tour today...it was by far one of the neatest memories for us! First, the crew was amaze balls! We had the best time with Captain Jim, Captain Drew and Brooke! They made the excursion so much fun were incredibly knowledgeable on all the things! The Orca Express was a fantastic boat with plenty of room and viewing areas...plus a restroom and snacks for purchase which was a plus for my kids! The absolute highlight was being able to see 12 or more beautiful orcas in the wild! They were tail slapping and rolling and diving and celebrating delish feast! We were also able to hear them chatting below...that was so awesome! We also saw a sea lion basking in the sun...and some great views of Deception Pass! We loved it so much we will be returning in August for another tour! This is definitely a "must do"! It was an epic day for us! Thank you so much to the crew!!! You guys are rockstars!!!! If you book a trip, bring some snacks, drinks, layers and sunscreen! Be prepared for a fantastic adventure!!!! read more

Captain Drew, and crew members Aubrey and Taylor were great. Super knowledgeable and friendly. Thank you for an amazing experience and for being so passionate about what you do. I highly recommend this tour! read more

Sunday, June 27th. Temperatures climbed into the 90s and that is hot for Anacortes - even the local pizza places shut down due to excessive heat. That didn't stop Outer Island Excursions from continuing their whale tours. The weather on the Salish Sea was quite different than the land temperatures. Very cool, which I didn't expect. Captain Jim and Alex the naturalist, were an awesome team. We saw quite a few Orcas and both Jim and Alex were able to identify each Orca individually. You'll have to take the tour to find out how! Besides seeing the Orcas, we saw minke whales, dolphins, puffin birds, sea lions, and an eagle flying over us. My husband and I had a wonderful time. This is our 4th tour and we are never disappointed. We have been on the kayaking tours from Skyline area as well and they have been wonderful too. The Salish Sea is so beautiful and we look forward to our tours every year! Thank you Jim and Alex! You are the best! read more

My wife and I went on a tour recently and it was amazing. We started our tour and the fog was so heavy I was afraid we wouldn't find any whales. Captain Matt did an amazing job at making sure we not only found orcas we stayed with them for at least an hour! Chelsea our naturalist did a great job and kept us well informed about not only orcas but other wild life in the area. I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone! read more

I've been whale watching a couple times now and have seen Minkes, Humpbacks, Orcas, puffins, and Stellar sea lions. Never a bad day on the water! read more

Matt, Taylor and Alex were amazing. We stayed with the Orcas quite a while, then moved on to the Harbor Seals and Eagles. Lots of information. Great day read more

Captain John accompanied by Brooke and Alex provided us with an exceptional experience. We stayed with a Grey Whale for at least a half an hour and then we're able to watch a Minke Whale as well. We also watched bald eagles and seals. The commentary and information provided by both Brook and Alex throughout the voyage was both interesting and factual as well as highly entertaining. Brook, specifically, spent a lot of time with my sister's and I talking about the wildlife, living on the island, and the whales she's witnessed. All in all, it was a great experience and one I would highly recommend. Well done!! read more

We had a wonderful whale watching tour. Thank you so much to John, Brooke and Avery. The tour was well worth the money.

Used a Groupon voucher for 3 with 1pm pickup at Orcas Island, but when we got to Anacortes to take the ferry, WSF said 25mins before our scheduled ferry departure that the ferry's been cancelled due to malfunctioning parts and there was no replacement ferry scheduled! There was no way we could have made our tour so when I called Outer Islands to see if I could reschedule the tour for another day, the lovely lady gave us an alternative to get picked up from Bellingham (45mins) away at a tiny additional charge to make up for the difference in the tour price. This worked out very well for us. She gave very clear directions to the pickup point and who we were to meet there. We boarded the Blackfish 2. The crew was friendly and knowledgeable, captain Benson in particular. They also had toddler sized life jackets which were available on request. As for the tour itself, we lucked out! Saw a humpback whale, orcas, sea lions, seals, about 10 bald eagles soaring in the sky. The boat was clean and we felt safe the entire time we were onboard. They were also very helpful getting my toddler up and down the ladder. Highly recommend this company! read more

We've done a few whale watching tours before & really liked this one to due to the personable crew & good sized boat. Our naturalists (Aubrey & Bev) & the captain were exceptional - very informative and accessable. Plus they didn't hesitate to circle to show us wildlife, no matter how small. Early into the excursion, we were lucky enough to spot some great views of orcas. On the way back the captain turned around so we could watch a seal & turned out she was carrying a baby. So cool. Boat is a nice size - comfortable and not overcrowded even on a full voyage. We went out on a grey July weekend and were able to tail a group of transient orcas (so don't let less than ideal weather deter you). Only reason this wasn't a 5 star review was that the office at check-in was a little chaotic (no biggie) and that a fuel surcharge & parking fees were gotchas. Would use them again, just wish I'd known about the extra fees upfront. read more

Trip was awesome! We saw many seals and two humback whales! Also got to see stellar sea lion which were sooo cool. Beautiful day and a fun boat ride. Matt and Michelle (guides) were great and informative. The captain was very professional, my family all felt very safe. Overall awesome day! read more