Sea Kayaking
San Juan Island
Sea kayaking, ocean kayaking or just plain kayaking. Whatever you call it, even if you say it backwards, kayak means fun.
San Juan Island has scenic coastlines and abundant wildlife in its waters. San Juan Safaris, because of our launching rights in both Friday Harbor and Roche Harbor, is able to offer you the easiest and fastest approach to these seas.
San Juan Island is near Seattle, Anacortes, Bellingham, Victoria BC, Vancouver Island and Port Townsend. The islands are considered the "jewels" of the Pacific Northwest, located in the Puget Sound.
Sea Kayaking Nature Tours - 3 Hours
$69 per person, 12 years
and up
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Sea Kayaking / Friday Harbor
| 12:00 PM |
May 30 - September 1 Daily |
| 4:00 PM |
May 30 - September 1 Daily |
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Sea Kayaking / Roche Harbor
| 10:00 AM |
April 19 - October 5 Daily |
| 2:00 PM |
April 19 - October 5 Daily |
6:00 PM
Sunset Tour |
June 14 - August 17 Daily |
| Family tours - kids 6 yrs & up - Ask us! |
Ask about our overnight kayaking adventures
3 days/2-nights $200 pp
3-days/2-nights Sucia Island $250 pp
Inn to Inn custom tours |
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- Charters &Water Taxi Available Year-round - Ask us!
- Private Kayak Charters including Outer Island Tours
- Orca Safaris Packages: One person taking 2 tours saves $5
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You do not need any experience or any special gear to go kayaking with us. We supply all the necessary equipment. This includes a dry bag for your snack and camera, a spray skirt, paddle, life vest and of course our state of the art fiberglass kayaks. Your guide gives you a lesson in paddling and safety techniques prior to assisting you into your kayak.
We have specially designed kayak finger docks, which allows you to easily slip in and out of your kayak without having to wade into the cold water or carry a kayak. Using these finger docks also means more time on the water, less time hassling with getting the kayaks in the water.
Many of our guests that come out on the 3-hour tour have not been in a kayak before. So if you have never been in a kayak - don't let that stop you from having this great experience. We really do make it safe and easy to learn. You will be wishing you had tried sea kayaking sooner.
On the 3-hour tour, approximate 2.75 hours are spent on the water both paddling and stopping to listen to your guide who will be interpreting the natural history, marine mammals, sea birds, geography and surrounding area. This is not a fast paced trek. We like to think of it as a 'friendly' paddle, leisurely gliding along with everyone being able to see what they are interested in and no one left behind. Our tours are limited to 10 guests (or less) per guide. This ratio of guests to guide allows for maximum safety and personalized attention.
Map Of San Juan Island
Both Friday Harbor (the ferry lands here) and Roche Harbor have beautiful routes, with sea birds, harbor seals, bald eagles, great blue herons, tide pool inhabitants and kelp forests. We are often asked, "Which is a better route or side to the island"? On our 3-hour tours they are really both equal.
The Friday Harbor side is more convenient for most visitors, especially if you are just coming for the day, as Friday Harbor is where the Ferry lands. Depending on the currents, wind, and tide exchange your guide may choose to hug the coastline and go to the north or go out of the harbor directly southeast towards Brown Island hugging the coast to Turn Island State Park. Coastlines have the most abundance of wild life.
Roche Harbor is on the north west side of San Juan Island. Depending on the currents, wind, and tide exchange your guide may choose to pass through the harbor and head north west or pass through the harbor and head due south. The coastline has the most abundance of wild life.
Haro Strait (nick named The Orca Highway) is on our Roche Harbor route. We like to be above board in telling our guests that yes you do stand a better chance of seeing whales in your kayak on the west side of the island- IF the whales are present right where you are paddling. The 3-hour tour is not an orca search, but a wildlife tour by kayak.
Our 5-hour tour is an Orca Search by Kayak. If seeing whales in a kayak is what you are after, please read about that tour by clicking here.
 This could be you on our sunset kayak tour off
San Juan Island
Relaxing on the water with friends around
the San Juan's
Kayaking is a great learning
experience for couples.
Kayaking with friends and family on a typical
San Juan Island summer day
A shoreline scene from another nearby
island off San Juan Island
Kayaking at sunset in the San Juan Islands.
There's just nothing else like it.
The water is so clear in the San Juans
you can see right into it
Friday Harbor, WA, USA
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All dressed up in spray skirts and life jacket with snacks and cameras in the drybag ready for a San Juan Island Kayaking experience
"OK, this is how you enter your kayak and this is how to attach the spray skirt"
"And here is the correct technique of using your paddle"
A final touch on the skirt and gear
Last minute adjustments at our docks in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island
Departing the kayak docks at Roche Harbor,
San Juan Island
Shortly after take off from the kayak docks
Kayaking out of Friday Harbor, east side of San Juan Island
Out on open water in kayaks off the
San Juan Islands
In a bull kelp forest - this stuff is amazing. It holds the kayaks steady even when there is a current.
Yes, we have triple kayaks - great for odd numbers, a child or someone who cannot paddle
 Doug (back passenger) is 6'3", so yes, if you are over 6'2" you may still fit in the cockpit of a kayak
San Juan Island coast
 Kayaking to the Kelp Forest off San Juan Island - there is a lot to be learned here
Who lives in the Kelp Forest?
Can you really eat this?
What did the native peoples use this for?
Find out on YOUR kayak tour with us!
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