Frequently Asked Questions
What trip offers the best chances of a whale sighting?
This is probably the most popular question that we hear on the phone… In recent years our greatest whale encounters have occurred on our 3-Day trips to Cypress Island. This is not surprising because the longer you are out on the water, the better the odds are that the whales will be traveling through the area that you are in. Our Half Day and Full Day trips also take place in an area where the Southern Resident Orca whales are often transiting, and we would recommend taking a trip that is timed during an outgoing (ebb) tide to raise the probabilities even higher. However, we pride ourselves on being very transparent about the realities of kayaking with whales and have chosen a different path than other outfitters who make it seem virtually guaranteed. For more information please visit our Kayaking with Orca whales page.
I have never tried sea kayaking before, how do I know whether I can do this?
These trips are designed specifically for people with little or no previous experience, and our kayak tours are the ultimate in “soft adventure”. The goal is to move quietly and easily through the landscape and try to take as much of the scenery as we can. All of our tours will move as slowly as necessary to ensure that everybody has a great experience because we really want you to try this again, whether it is here or in some other part of the world. Our guides are very competent paddlers, and well-trained trip leaders, they will worry about the details so that you can relax and enjoy yourself. If you have any specific concerns then please call us so that we can make sure that you get placed on the most enjoyable trip possible.
What if it rains?
As the saying goes; “there is no such thing as bad weather, just unfortunate clothing choices.” We are very fortunate that we live in the “rainshadow” of the Olympic Mountains and consequently we receive much less precipitation than Seattle and the rest of Western Washington. Don’t rely on Seattle weather reports to tell you what it will be like up here because it is a different climate. What little rain falls in the summer rarely lasts for too long and it usually creates some of the most beautiful kayak trips of the season as the muted colors of the Pacific Northwest come alive with the moisture. We won’t cheat you out of the experience because of a little rain, bring a rain-jacket or borrow one of ours and come to enjoy the show!
Can I paddle in a single kayak?
Yes! We have a limited number of single kayaks available to reserve. Check out our Single Kayaks for Day Trips option and our Single Kayaks for Multiday Trips option pages for more information. We are currently the only outfitter in the San Juan Islands to be able to offer this option. The superior training and skill levels of our guides allow us to make this type of experience available to our guests.
