Guaranteed whales on every single tour.
Island Adventures was one of the first companies to guarantee whales in the San Juan Islands. We are the leaders in guaranteeing whales – in 2019, we saw whales on 532 of 540 tours. The guarantee isn't a stand-by pass and there are no blackout dates, it's a free ticket for life until you see whales in the wild.

Whale Guarantee – Every Tour
If you do not see a whale (orca, minke, gray, or humpback) with us you can come again for FREE, for life, on any tour until you do. This is not a gimmick — it is a passion to show our guests whales. Notice there is no fine print and this is not a stand-by pass. Just give us a call, and your next tour is on us. It’s that simple.
- Species Covered: Killer whales, humpback whales, minke whales, and/or gray whales
- Date Range: Year-Round
- Sighting Success Rate: Over 97% since 1996. Our Whale Report shows a detailed account from every tour. We rarely miss!
- What happens if I don't see a whale? You get to come back for free, for life, from any of our departure locations until you see a whale.
- Will I get my money back? Our guarantee is to show you a whale. If you're interested in a money-back guarantee, check out our Five Day Money-Back Orca Guarantee.

We also offer two different orca whale guarantees.
Island Adventures is the only company in Washington (even the entire west coast) to offer an orca whale guarantee. In fact, we're confident that you'll see an orca in our three or five day orca guarantees. If not, you can ride for free (for life) until you see orca whales! Click below to see our orca guarantees:
3 Day Orca Guarantee
May - September
If you book three days in a month from our Anacortes departure location and do not see orcas, you can come again for free (for life) until you see an orca. Island Adventures is the only company to guarantee orcas if you book three tour days! If you see orcas on your first trip out and want to cancel your remaining reservations, we will do that for you at no charge — no questions asked. You must enter “3 day orca guarantee” into the notes field at the time you make your three reservations. You must also book and pay for all three of your tours at the same time in order to qualify for this guarantee.
5 Day Money-Back Orca Guarantee
May - September
If you book five days in a month from Anacortes and do not see orcas, we will give you your money back for all of your tours in full and you can ride again for free (for life) until you see an orca. If you see orcas on any of your five booked tours, you may cancel the remaining of your tours (if you wish) at no charge. You must enter “5 day orca guarantee” into the notes field at the time you make your five reservations. You must also book and pay for all of five of your tours at the same time in order to qualify for this guarantee.
We're serious about finding whales.
Did you know that orcas, humpbacks, gray whales, and minke whales can travel more than 100 miles in a 24 hour period? To increase our chances of seeing whales each day, Island Adventures uses a variety of tools. Over the past 20 years, our spotting network has evolved into the most sophisticated sightings network on the entire west coast. We work with other whale watch vessels, land-based spotters, researchers, dive boats, early morning fishermen, water taxis, tug boats, and ferry boats to help locate whales in the area. If the whales are here, we know it. We understand our guests’ passion to see whales in the wild — that’s why we’ve developed three different guarantee options.
On each and every tour, we guarantee that you'll see at least one type of whale (orca, minke, humpback, or gray) or you ride again free - for life - until you do! Many of our guests are passionate about orcas and travel to the Pacific Northwest specifically to see this iconic species. For orca enthusiasts we offer multi-day orca guarantees. This is not a ploy to sell more tickets, we simply want to maximize your chances of viewing orcas in the wild. As soon as you see orcas, you can cancel any remaining tours at no charge — no questions asked. We are able to offer these orca-specific guarantees because Island Adventures has the highest success rate in the region of finding orcas.
Please remember that we cannot control what the whales do or where the whales go each day. What we can give you is the highest possible chance of seeing whales due to our quick vessel speed and convenient departure locations. No company sees whales more than Island Adventures — the proof is in our whale report.
Whale Sighting Records
Our 97% success rate since 2002 speaks for itself. Check out what we've been seeing lately with our daily Whale Report.
- 2020: 206 of 224 tours - 92.0%**
- 2019: 532 of 540 tours - 98.5%
- 2018: 587 of 600 tours - 98.4%
- 2017: 571 of 603 tours - 94.7%
- 2016: 515 of 525 tours - 98.1%
- 2015: 429 of 433 tours - 99.1%
- 2014: 363 of 375 tours - 96.8%
- 2013: 260 of 266 tours - 97.7%
- 2012: 212 of 225 tours - 94.2%
- 2011: 262 of 266 tours - 98.5%
- 2010: 477 of 488 tours - 97.7%
- 2009: 239 of 248 tours - 96.4%
- 2008: 258 of 264 tours - 97.7%
- 2007: 244 of 256 tours - 95.3%
- 2006: 479 of 505 tours - 94.9%
- 2005: 269 of 274 tours - 98.2%
- 2004: 205 of 210 tours - 97.6%
- 2003: 221 of 230 tours - 96.1%
- 2002: 193 of 198 tours - 97.5%
Online Reservations
Make a reservation online with our secure system and receive an immediate email confirmation.
Whale Report
See what we've seen on the water. There's a detailed account from every tour since 2003!