About San Juan Excursions
San Juan Excursions is a well-established whale watching and nature cruise operator based at Spring Street Landing in Friday Harbor. They are known for operating a unique vessel — a converted 1941 Navy search and rescue boat — that provides a spacious, stable platform for wildlife viewing with both covered cabin seating and open-air deck space.
Their primary offering is a three-to-four hour whale watching and wildlife tour that departs daily during the season, targeting the resident and transient orca pods that frequent the waters around the San Juan Islands. They also run nature cruises focused on birdwatching, harbour seals, sea lions, and island geology. Every trip includes narration from onboard naturalists, and they back their whale watch with a guarantee — if you do not see whales, you receive a voucher for a second trip.
San Juan Excursions differentiates itself through the character of their historic vessel, the whale-sighting guarantee, and a particularly strong naturalist programme. Their onboard educators provide detailed commentary that goes well beyond whale identification, covering marine ecology, local history, and conservation efforts in the Salish Sea.
