A Step-By-Step Day Trip to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island from Seattle
You’ve heard of the San Juan Islands and want to visit them but are not sure how to. Here is a step-by-step made just for you. First, we suggest bringing your favorite friends or family to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island to experience a 3-hour kayak tour with Crystal Seas Kayaking. Sounds great…but we are often asked, “How do I get there?”
The most common way to get to Friday Harbor is to drive to Anacortes and then take the Washington State Ferry over to San Juan Island (Friday Harbor). We suggest giving yourself two hours to drive from the Seattle area to Anacortes. The ferry is located at 2100 Ferry Terminal Road in Anacortes, WA.
Plan to get to the ferry terminal about 45-60 minutes before the scheduled departure. This will give you time to find parking and to buy your walk-on (foot passenger) ferry tickets. The beautiful 1.5 - 2 hour drive is along the Skagit Valley located at foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Park your car at the Washington State Ferry Terminal and leave it there for the day. The parking lot is safe and there is a small fee to park. Buy a foot passenger ferry ticket to Friday Harbor inside the terminal. The ticket is round trip, so you do not need to buy a ticket for the way back. (You do not need reservations ahead of time if you are walking onto the ferry). If you have extra time at the ferry terminal, buy a snack, use the restrooms, or go for a walk along the beach next to the ferry terminal to check out the Ship Harbor Preserve.
The ferry ride lasts about an hour and there are restrooms as well as snacks available on board. Make sure you get a window seat because the view is gorgeous with Mount Baker and the Cascade Mountain Range framing the first views of the islands.
Once on San Juan Island, our shop is located at 40 Spring Street in downtown Friday Harbor only half a block from the ferry terminal. Come to our shop when you first arrive, and we will be happy to give you a map and answer any questions you have about your tour and the island. If you have extra time before your tour, check out our walkable, waterfront historic downtown. Shop for island gifts and eat lunch at a locally owned restaurant to enjoy fresh island farmed food before hopping onto an afternoon 3 hour or sunset kayak tour. Guests are allowed to bring a snack if they don’t have time to eat beforehand. We provide free transportation from our shop to our kayak docks at Snug Harbor Resort. The total time for the tour is 4 hours with pick up and drop off. Once the kayak tour is over and you are back in downtown Friday Harbor, grab some food and well-earned beverages at one of our waterfront restaurants while watching and waiting for the arrival of your ferry. Once it does, simply walk back onto the ferry to Anacortes. No ticket and no reservations needed.
Once back on the ferry, you’ll find yourself planning your next trip to Friday Harbor!