Spirit of Orca Whale Watching & Wildlife Tours - Anacortes, Washington

Camille L.

Our tour with Ken was so amazing! My 3 girls (16, 15, 11) are all obsessed with the ocean and all have their favorites. We saw everything everyone hoped for and more! Seals, sea lions, a humpback whale, bald eagles, a puffin, a sea otter, and of course... orcas! We thought it was super cool that he drives clear up into Canadian waters to search for orcas. The boat is very fun to ride on and goes quite fast, which my kids thought was so exciting. Ken goes ABOVE and BEYOND to make sure you have an incredible time on your tour. The chance to see these animals in the wild is something that I hope everyone can experience at some point. Skip the huge boats full of crowds and hire Ken, you'll be in for such a jaw dropping experience and have the tour all to yourself. It was an absolutely epic day!

Dena M.

Ken is amazing! I surprised my husband with a trip to Orcas Island (we live in Indiana) with a goal for him to see orcas in the wild. We have been on whale watching tours in Alaska and Monterey, California and saw other types of whales, but no orca. Finally! Ken helped make my husband's bucket list item a reality! Thank you, Ken!

Lisa R.

My friend and I joined Ken and his wife, Laurel, in July 2024 on an AMAZING tour to see the local wildlife, sights, and TWO pods of orcas meeting up. It was incredible as we sat in the boat and began to realize that one of the pods was actually swimming right to us! They passed right by the boat, with one stopping at the front of the boat to peep up and check us out. If course, that just made our day, but all of the other wildlife we saw along the way, the seals, the puffin and other waterbirds, the eagles - everything - was pointed out by our knowledgeable guides. Ken coordinated with other boat captains in the area to get the coordinates in the latest whale sughtings. And, can I tell you something? Laurel did all of this with a broken ankle!!! Ken and Laurel both know so much about the Salish Sea and its inhabitants. Book a trip with them and you WILL NOT be disappointed. Highly recommended.

Faith L.

The tour was amazing! We were able to see 3 different families of Orca whales. One of the pods was never seen in this WA sound before. Everyone was so excited to see this pod called 007. The staff was amazing, they were taking photos and documenting all that they saw. We even were able to stay out on the water an extra hour viewing these amazing creatures. I can't say enough good things about our staff, informative and attentive to ALL our needs. THANK YOU MATT, ALEX AND SAM!!! Would absolutely 💯 % recommend this company. You will not be disappointed!

Dinesh I.

We went on this trip. Amazing time. We saw Orca and Humpback Whales. Bald Eagles, seals and more. Staff are amazing and the boat is nice and clean. Captain Tyson was wonderful! Highly recommend this trip

Kwan L.

Cap Ken is an experienced and easy going storyteller that will keep you amused and riveted for 3 hours, unless you’re like me and you didn’t plan your liquid intake well and needed to use a bathroom in the last hour haha.

I took photos with my iPhone which did not do the wildlife justice. Thankfully Ken took shots with a high quality camera which I attached.

Being on a smaller boat also had its advantages. I feel like we got the scoop on the orcas while all other boats lagged in the distance, its several passengers elbowing their way to a view.

I wouldn’t change anything about it for the world. What an experience!

Rachel W.

Captain Jim and Naturalist Dana were fantastic!!! We saw porpoise, sea lions, orcas AND a bald eagle who caught a fish!! Dana was a wealth of knowledge and made sure everyone had a great personalized experience! Jim showed us some amazing spots and stopped for each photo op! They heard it was my daughter's birthday and they made sure make that she felt special. Thank you!!!

Dustin M.

TL;DR- Fantastic experience that the entire family enjoyed!! *Highly* recommend Spirit of Orca!!

Helmed by CAPT Ken, his passion for orca-spotting was evident even before arriving in Anacortes. We had driven up early to make sure we were situated, and 90 minutes before our scheduled 2PM time, he called us asking if we could go early because he had just spotted a pod of orca and wanted to ensure we could see them. He made best speed, expertly navigating through some choppy water and within an hour, we had our first visual sighting of two orcas. He safely trolled near these two, which eventually led us to the rest of the pod that was at least 5 strong! For the next two hours, we stayed with them, getting incredible pictures and sightings.

CAPT Ken ensured we had the best experience possible, and his in-depth local knowledge of individual pods, their history, offspring, and the distinction between the Southern Resident "salmon eaters" and the other species of "mammal eater" orcas helped make the whole tour that much better. He focused on giving us the best experience possible. I will caveat this by saying even if we had not seen a single orca, his dedication and passion in finding these beautiful creatures would not have detracted from our experience. We came across a larger whale watching boat, and I can attest that the smaller group setting is the way to go. Had we been at the mercy of a multi-party charter, we would have certainly missed the front row seat/private viewing we had for 2+ hours.

These are wild animals, and despite best efforts, cannot always be predicted. The Whale Watching Fleet and CAPT Ken do their best, and for us, it paid off in the best way possible! If you've read this far, I can assure you this is the orca charter for you!

Note: photos by CAPT Ken himself!