Seattle

Whale Watching & Wildlife Tour: Seattle Peir 69

Seattle, USA
Seattle Whale Watching Tour Half Day

From $148.29

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

  • 5 hours
  • Offered in: English

Overview

You don’t have to venture into the San Juan Islands to see whales in their natural habitat—with this tour, you can board a whale-watching cruise right in downtown Seattle. You'll spend anywhere from 4 to 6 hours onboard, looking for whales and learning about the area’s ecosystem. Choose from budget-friendly standard seating or pay extra for premium window seats.
  • Take a whale-watching cruise straight from downtown's Pier 69
  • Choose from standard (non-window) or premium seating options
  • Learn about whales from an onboard naturalist
  • A food and drink galley is available onboard

What's Included

  • Exhilarating 3.5 hour whale watching tour with an expert onboard naturalist
  • Includes all applicable taxes and surcharges
  • Air-conditioned vehicle

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

  • 2701 Alaskan Wy, Seattle, WA 98121, USA

    Please arrive at the FRS Clipper Terminal, located on Seattle's waterfront at Pier 69, 45 minutes prior to scheduled departure time.

Start time

10:30 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Ticket Redemption Point

2701 Alaskan Wy, Seattle, WA 98121, USA

What To Expect

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Stroller accessible
  • Service animals allowed
  • Near public transportation
  • Infants must sit on laps
  • Transportation is wheelchair accessible
  • Most travelers can participate
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

See more
Featured review
Diane_S
Tour was great. Seas were calm and the sun was out. While we did see whales, they were most times hard to see because we were so far away. Adults would've be able to tell what they were looking at, but I don't think kids would because they were so far away. I would definitely go again! All crew members were friendly and knowledgeable.

Reviews

3.5
40 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
0
0
0
0
0
Reviews by Viator travelers.
Showing 1-10 of 40 reviews
If you like boat rides, this is a good one.
kevinmotroni, Sep 2023
Nice, comfortable boat ride. No whales but we did see some sea lions and great views of Mount Baker.
Ok
Leslie_K, Aug 2023
Best part: when orcas did different behaviors than just swimming, like spy hopping (saw this once), tail slapping (sa this about 30 times), breaching (saw this 5 times), rolling, showing their pectoral fins (saw one time). I’ve seen orcas many times in the wild, but never seen so much tail slapping. I enjoyed this trip. What made me rate it so low is the price. $130 for this trip was way too high. We were out for less than 4 hours. I feel that $30/hour is too high.
More than expected.
Larry_L, Aug 2023
Lifelong dream to see whales swimming freely. They got so close to the ship. We have video memories.
Being able to see Killer...
Clyde_R, Aug 2023
Being able to see Killer whale Pod that was just close enough to take pics and videos. The excursion was long enough to be able to see them. Everyone knew it was not a guarantee, but we did see them.
You’ve got to go!
Reema_U, Aug 2023
We were told that we may not see any whales as there is no active attempt to lure the animals in . Despite this, there were three known sightings on the day we went and we got to see four sea lions, dolphins and seven orcas!!! A truly amazing experience and an opportunity to appreciate these amazing creatures. Ashley did an amazing job explaining the science behind their behaviours also
The tour was non existent
Setareh_K, Aug 2023
Upon arriving at the departure location, we were told by the company representative that their boats have not been operating for over a month. However, Viator had still sold tickets for this excursions. I have submitted a claim for full refund but haven’t heard back from Viator yet.
Great Experience!
Yvonne_L, Aug 2023
We had a great experience. It was a cloudy and cold day. That might have been why the whales were up on the surface. We saw plenty of Orcas and a Humpback gave us a beautiful show. It was showing off for us.
VIATOR FAIL
Julie_W, Aug 2023
Viator completely failed! We traveled all the way from Denver for this activity because it's on my daughter's bucket list. Viator never confirmed the tickets with the tour company so when we arrived they were totally apologetic, but completely sold out. When we called Viator they wanted to argue about who owes us a refund and didn't care that we had spent all the money to get there for an event that we couldn't even participate in. Another family of nine had traveled all the way from Florida for the same extrusion and also didn't have verified tickets. We were all screwed out of the whole reason for our trips. Lesson learned. Always verify with the tour company. Don't trust Viator to do it or you'll be sorry. We also get to wait 3 to 7 days for the refund on the tour tickets. An additional slap in the face.
Lots of whales
Mason_R, Jul 2023
Wonderful opportunity to see whales. Everyone was very helpful. Naturist was well informed and educational.
Great tour!
Diane_S, Jun 2023
Tour was great. Seas were calm and the sun was out. While we did see whales, they were most times hard to see because we were so far away. Adults would've be able to tell what they were looking at, but I don't think kids would because they were so far away. I would definitely go again! All crew members were friendly and knowledgeable.
My son has ASD and just...
Carmen_N, Jun 2023
My son has ASD and just graduated from high school. He has waited his whole life to see an orca pod in the wild, including a baby orca. The pure joy on his face was priceless when he saw them. Then the vessel followed the pod safely for such a long time and my son stated, “I am in heaven!” Thank you so very much for this memory!
Lots of whales!
Kim_O, Jun 2023
I know it is a bit up to luck with this but I really feel the crew does everything in their power to make it work out! We left right on time with some reports that whales were spotted a little further out than planned which meant they would need to extend the planned trip a bit. They made sure everyone knew this before we left in case it changed your plans. Going the extra distance paid off. We were able to see two different pods of killer whales interact! A total of 10 whales. We watched them for 30 plus minutes. Then on our return we ran across another pod. So we stopped to watch that pod which had 5 whales for another 15 minutes. Those whales were really rambunctious and breached several times. Ashley our naturalist was great. We had a lot of questions while watching and she had great answers for everything. Definitely the highlight of our trip. I think we were very fortunate but I also feel the crew went the extra mile.
Great Time! Saw Orca's and watched them for about an hour
Cheryl_F, Jun 2023
The trip was great and we saw orca's. BUT, we booked with Viator and they failed to book our trip with the whale watching company. The woman at the counter said that happens frequently with Viator. It took a while, but we got our premium seats and had a great time. But if it had been a busier day it may not have worked out as well. But we highly recommend this trip!
Whale Watching
Misty_R, Jun 2023
The staff was very helpful, kind, and Courteous would recommend this place to everyone. We didn't get our window seats but one of the staff members made it right.
Disappointed
Erin_Y, Jun 2023
Wish the website/crew would explain more that this is simply a 2 hour+ out and then back boat ride with a "search" for sealife/whales that you'll maybe see from a few miles away. There's no guarantee to see anything at all and if the military is out in the water your trip will get cut short. I went searching out the best whale watching trip in Seattle and paying $300+. When what we got was a site seeing trip that honestly waisted half of one of our days on vacation. I can say we were highly disappointed.
Whale watching tour
Wendy_D, Jun 2023
We saw some orcas, which was an amazing experience. Staff appeared knowledgeable; however, it was a little hard to hear on the top deck.
A day spent with Whales
Jennifer_T, Jun 2023
It was so much fun!! We saw so many whales! The vessel was so clean and nice and being to go outside on the deck was amazing as well!
Don't t use this company
Harvey_B, Jun 2023
When we got there, they did not have our reservations along with several other couples. Viator did not send them in. In the future, I will only book though the actual event, no third parties.
3rd party ticket problems
Christy_J, May 2023
I bought the whale tour for my Mother’s Day gift to my mother. I received a confirmation number from VIATOR days before and had confirmation that our premier seats were confirmed. We arrived 50 mins prior to departure at the clipper. The 2 couples in front of us were being told that VIATOR had not sent the clipper with confirmed seats and the sailing was oversold and they wouldn’t be able to go on the tour. Then our turn at the desk and my mother and I were told the same thing. We were told to wait in case some of their reservations didn’t show up for the tour. I was absolutely upset. We sat in the waiting area until 5 mins before sailing and then were updated by Clipper tours that they had 20 reservations not show up and would be able to get VIATOR passengers on. Clipper tours did an amazing job of trying to calm all of us down in the midst of the stress of waiting. I am so disappointed in the 3rd party seller and will most likely never book 3rd party to avoid this type of mistake. In the end we were able to go on the lovely tour - thanks to the Clipper but I am greatly disappointed with the amount of stress and disappointment my mom and I felt for almost an hour while waiting to know if we could be added on to the boat.
Go at the beginning of the season
Leopoldo_R, Oct 2022
Views were nice, but only saw a glimpse of whale. Too crowded to get go look, good luck to the short people.
Response from Host, Oct 2022
Hi, sorry to hear the whales were not more active on your tour. We do offer unreserved seating open to all on the top deck of our vessel for all guests as well. Thanks!

Explore Similar Things to Do

Help CenterCustomer CarePrivacy and Cookies StatementAbout ViatorNewsViator blog
© 1997-2024 Viator, Inc.
Terms & Conditions