Puget Sound Express

Puget Sound Express Your goal is to see whales and our family's goal is to show them to you. Orcas, humpbacks, gray whales and much more! See whales in the wild!
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Experience the magic of the Salish Sea via departures in Seattle, Port Townsend, and Port Angeles. Puget Sound Express has been operating guaranteed whale watching tours for 40 years, and in that time we have always endeavored to make your trip a lasting memory. Ours is a family-run business, with three generations of knowledge and caring at the ready. With thousands of departures over 40 years, our local knowledge is unmatched.

And just like that, May is over! We had a great month: setting sail for the season from Port Angeles, launching our Full...
06/01/2026

And just like that, May is over! We had a great month: setting sail for the season from Port Angeles, launching our Full-Day Tour out of Seattle (Edmonds), and enjoying countless wildlife sightings across all three locations! We’re welcoming June with some of our favorite passenger photos — and even one piece of PSE-inspired art — from last month’s trips.

Want to get in on the action? Tours operate daily from Seattle (Edmonds), Port Townsend, and Port Angeles! For more information or to book, visit our website: https://www.pugetsoundexpress.com/ or give the office a call at 360-385-5288.

P.S. We also offer rates for large groups and private options. For more information, send us a DM!

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This week, passengers and crew aboard Glacier Spirit from Port Angeles set sail in search of wildlife. Moments after dep...
05/31/2026

This week, passengers and crew aboard Glacier Spirit from Port Angeles set sail in search of wildlife. Moments after departing, Captain Lewman received intel of some exciting critters west of Port Angeles — the T46B pod of 9 Bigg’s orcas! As we approached, we saw some breaching happening in the distance as the pod conducted a porpoise hunt. By the time we arrived, the pod was grouped up and travelling westward, perfect conditions to snap some photos!

After departing from the orcas, we crossed the Strait of Juan de Fuca to check out Race Rocks Lighthouse and Ecological Preserve. Here we were treated to a pinniped grand slam: harbor seals, Steller sea lions, California sea lions, and five elephant seals!

We ended our day’s adventure by returning to the Port Angeles harbor, where we spotted one of our favorite duos: a pair of Pacific white-sided dolphins who, in recent months, have been calling the harbor home. Moving at 10 knots, we created a light wake that the dolphins used to jump and play around the boat. It was the perfect ending to a great day on the water!

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s the T65As 🫍On May 26, passengers and crew aboard the Swiftsure from Edmonds were tre...
05/28/2026

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s the T65As 🫍

On May 26, passengers and crew aboard the Swiftsure from Edmonds were treated to an aerial spectacle from members of the T65A pod of Bigg’s orcas. Little sis T65A6 Callisto (born in 2018) started the action for the day, breaching out of the water multiple times in a row before joining up with big brother T65A3 Amir for some synchronized tail-slapping action. At this point, Amir seemed to decide it was time to show Callisto how it was done! He breached over 20 times while we were on scene. We feel so lucky to have witnessed this show of socialization!

05/27/2026

Well, that’s something we don’t see every day 😱 On today’s tour aboard the Glacier Spirit from Port Angeles, guests were treated to up-close views of Pacific White-Sided Dolphins! While not commonly seen in the waters we call home, this pair of dolphins has been hanging out in our area off and on for the past month. We love getting the opportunity to spot this duo, and it was especially exciting to see them playing around the boat — another great day on the water 🐬

📹: Naturalist Reef & Captain Trevor

It's been an awesome first couple of weeks back on the water in Port Angeles, and our May 21st trip was definitely a hig...
05/24/2026

It's been an awesome first couple of weeks back on the water in Port Angeles, and our May 21st trip was definitely a highlight! It began with reports of a breaching humpback just north of Ediz Hook, and luckily, we were there to catch some of the action. Better yet, this turned out to be our good friend BCX2046 Pinnacle, our most-seen HB of 2025! Once Pinnacle went back to resting, we headed up to the Vancouver Island Shoreline to visit Race Rocks, where we hit the pinniped "grand slam", seeing all four species of seals and sea lions found in our waters. A little to the west in Becher Bay, we caught up with a sea otter as it fed on clams and groomed at the surface. Finally, we turned home, but the wildlife just wouldn't stop coming! Once inside Port Angeles harbor, we saw something breaching in the distance... Pacific white-sided dolphins! These amazing critters are not regularly found in the southern Salish Sea, but these two have made a home in the area for the past several months. We can only hope they stick around for the summer! - Naturalist Rachel R.

05/21/2026

T65A2 Ooxjaa! On May 17 our Port Townsend and Edmonds Half-day tours caught up with the T65A and T64B families on patrol just north of the Hood Canal bridge. 22 year-old Ooxjaa has developed into an impressive male orca. On this day, he was somewhat on his own while the collected families were grouped farther across the channel. Plenty of seals and birds on-tap as well!

On 5/10 the Half Day tour out of Port Townsend brought the matriarch energy. With mothers and their families onboard, we...
05/18/2026

On 5/10 the Half Day tour out of Port Townsend brought the matriarch energy. With mothers and their families onboard, we set out into the straits with a heading towards the San Juan Islands. We saw brown pelicans feeding among bait balls and steller sea lions sun bathing on the rocks. We encountered 10 Bigg's orcas total which included the T86A1s, T86A3, T100E and then the T49A matriline. Even got a syphop from matriarch T86A1! -Naturalist Brooke C.

How do you beat an epic morning watching a superpod of Bigg’s killer whales hunting a sea lion on our Edmonds/ Friday Ha...
05/16/2026

How do you beat an epic morning watching a superpod of Bigg’s killer whales hunting a sea lion on our Edmonds/ Friday Harbor - Full Day trip? You have an even better afternoon, after the lunch break in Friday Harbor, watching a different superpod of Bigg’s killer whales having a breachfest on the same day, that’s how!

The epic day was May 11, and it demonstrated just how special our Full Day trips can be. You have two opportunities for whales, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. On this particular day we joined the crew on the MV Swiftsure who found the T123 pod, T46B1 pod, and T46C2 hunting a Steller sea lion at Salmon Bank. With all the amazing action we thought “That will be hard to Beat”.....But we were wrong……After our 2 hour Friday Harbor visit we cruised out to Yellow Island, just 15 minutes away, to watch the T86A pod, T90 pod, T124A4s, and T100E socializing and having a breachfest! T86A1B ‘Denali’ was especially excited during the encounter and he breached so many times that he revealed that he is a boy for the first time! Its Always exciting to document a gender reveal on one of our trips! What an epic day! Photographer/ naturalist Bart Rulon
📷 Bart Rulon Wildlife
Canon R5 Mark 2
Canon 600mm EF IS EF II lens, plus 1.4 TC = 840mm

Adventure awaits! Birds Connect Seattle is thrilled to team up again with for summer 2026 Bird Watching & Puffin Cruis...
05/14/2026

Adventure awaits! Birds Connect Seattle is thrilled to team up again with for summer 2026 Bird Watching & Puffin Cruises out of Edmonds.

These three-hour tours visit an offshore National Wildlife Refuge where Tufted Puffins nest, an unforgettable sight.

📌Learn more and book your ticket here: rebrand.ly/puffin-cruise

🌟BCS Members get $10 off tickets, email [email protected] for your discount code.

05/12/2026

Have you ever wondered what it looks like when a gray whale breaches? Well, wonder no more! PSE Naturalist Adriana snapped this spectacular series of photos on today’s Half-Day Tour from Edmonds 😍 Guests and crew aboard Swiftsure were stoked to see CRC-2362 Thidwick so active, showing off her fluke, side-feeding, spyhopping, and even breaching!

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227 Jackson Street
Port Townsend, WA
98368

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Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

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