group of orcas exhaling at the waters' surface

humpback whale with it's tail out of the water

lighthouse with waves crashing on the shore in front of it

steller sea lions on a rock with dramatic lighting

It's autumn! Our Edmonds and Port Townsend tours will now generally depart Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Last week, photographer Janine Harles joined us on our Edmonds tour and captured some beautiful images of the T46B1 family of Bigg's orcas, along with the humpback "Hemlock".

Our Oct 31 Edmonds tour will be spooky 🎃 - we're having a costume contest & the winner gets 2 free tickets! Join us for the tour *in costume* - our crew will pick the winner, who will receive a gift certificate for future travel. Family-friendly costumes, please & you still need to fit in a seat 😅

New baby orca in the T36A pod! Our Port Townsend half day tour viewed a newborn Bigg's orca in a superpod today containing members of the T36A, T38 and T65A families. Plus humpback Sylvester and a minke whale! Amazing day with amazing guests.

3 orcas, including a young calf in the middle.

humpback whale raising two pectoral fins

large male orca at the surface

humpback whale raising pectoral fin draped in kelp

We're now accepting bookings for our 2026 tours! (Our 2025 half-day tours run through the end of the year.) Last week, we headed to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where we saw the T46B1 family of Bigg's orcas (including their new baby), T49C Nielson, & humpback BCY1029 Hemlock kelping & pec slapping.

humpback lunge feeding

sea lion swimming in kelp

humpback fluke

humpback dorsal fin

It's been a week of amazing humpback sightings in the Salish Sea! On 9/23 we viewed more than half a dozen humpbacks at at Race Rocks Ecological Preserve near Victoria, B.C. feeding. On the way back home, we came upon an unidentified humpback giving us a picture-perfect lunge feed!

Sound On! It’s rare that we get to witness two different whale species interacting. On our 9/19 Port Angeles trip, a mixed group of Biggs orcas including the T65Bs, T46Bs, T46B1s & others were dispersed with a single humpback (BCZ0531) in the middle. Listen to those Bigg's vocalizations!

humpback whale breaching

orca half out of the water eating a porpoise

orca spy hopping

group of orcas with Mt. Baker in the background

A memorable day in late August from our Edmonds location. The day started with a "bang" out at Constance Bank where we watched the T60 pod catch a porpoise. After watching the T46B pod we found a juvenile humpback off Dallas Bank, who exploded out of the water with two big "full twirl" breaches!

orca spyhopping

two orcas; with one exhaling

humpback whale fluke

Jaeger flying

Adventures out West! Our Port Townsend Half-day tour searched the glassy seas of the Strait of Juan de Fuca on 8/24. We watched humpback whales feeding & the T60 family of Bigg's orcas socializing & spyhopping as they explored the kelp forests. Spotted a Jaeger flying above us as we cruised along!

breaching orca

three orcas at the surface

breaching orca

orca at the surface with buildings and breakwater in the background.

Our August 6th Port Angeles afternoon trip was whale-filled from start to finish. We began with a sighting of T65A5 Indy minutes from the dock, followed by 10+ humpbacks mid-Strait. Heading east we found 20+ Bigg's orcas, including the T65As, T99s, T36s, T36Bs, T37s, T36A1s & T75Cs!

humpback whale breaching

humpback whale breaching

humpback whale breaching

humpback whale breaching

More Breach Summer! Last week on our Port Angeles tour, after spending time with 15+ humpbacks & 4 orcas, we saw several big splashes from over a mile out and slowly made our way over to investigate. This amazing whale breached, chin slapped and cartwheeled for over 5 minutes straight!

We have been seeing a lot of Bigg's killer whale pods hunting harbor porpoise lately. During this encounter T137A (Jack), and his little sister T137D (Wright) hunted and captured a harbor porpoise in south Puget Sound on July 27. Nothing *too* gnarly here, but apex predator nature content warning...

a humpback whale with kelp draping over its fin

a humpback whale with kelp draping over its snout

a humpback whale with kelp draping over its fin

a humpback whale swimming through a kelp bed

On July 27, our Port Townsend Half Day tour witnessed humpback whale "Zephyr" taking a seaweed spa session! This behavior known as "kelping" involves rolling around in large floating bull kelp patches. The kelp acts as a natural exfoliant and helps remove barnacles and potential parasites.

Breach Summer Continues! Our Port Angeles afternoon trip on July 30th was a stunner. In a kelp bed in Sooke Basin, the T109A family started breaching and didn't stop for over 20 minutes! We estimated nearly 50 breaches before we had to turn and head home (and they were still going)!

On July 14 our Port Townsend Half-Day tour had an outstanding day viewing the T137 & T37A families of Bigg's orcas off of Possession Bar. Just south, we found humpback whale "Ulli". Our tour finished at Rat Island to view harbor seals, Black Oystercatchers, juvenile Gulls, Terns, & a Bald Eagle!

Glacier Spirit - our Port Angeles boat.

Saratoga - our Port Townsend half-day tour vessel

PA sees slightly more humpbacks due to their westerly location. PA uses a monohull boat & guests sit at booths (seats 70). PT has a larger, faster catamaran that seats 120. PT has a wider travel range & sees slightly more orcas. Both tours frequently see both species, though. AM/PM no real diff.

humpback whale fluke

orca dorsal fin poking out of the water

two western grebes facing each other

a huge lineup of seals in the water

On 7/10, @Janine Harles.bsky.social joined us & she shared her photos/highlights: "Right away we found a humpback on Possession bar & as we are watching that one, we saw two more! We then headed to Port Susan & found the T37As as well as the T99s. Besides whales & birds, we saw a HUGE line of seals!

Our full-day tour from Port Townsend recently found the T37 family of Bigg’s orcas (grandma, mom, & baby) soon off the dock. As we watched, T37B3 took off in the opposite direction, porpoising like a torpedo away from & then back towards them. Zoomies! - Naturalist Brooke C.

large orca facing towards the camera

to orcas, with the one on the right spy hopping

orca exhaling

bald eagle flying with mountains in the background

On 6/17 we encountered a whopping 22 Bigg's Orcas in two different encounters. The T99s, T34s, T37s, T38C & E were socializing near Point No Point. We then found the T36 and T36Bs with T49C near Saratoga Passage. While watching them a bald eagle tried to swoop up a meal! 📸 @janineharles.bsky.social

2 humpback whales with one beginning to breach.

humpback whale lunge feeding

humpback whale breaching

humpback whale with pectoral fins in the air

Humpback season is officially in full swing in the Salish Sea! We've had absolutely *incredible* encounters over the last few days with 15 or more humpbacks north of Port Angeles. We are also witnessing the full range of surface-active behaviors, from lunge feeding to breaching and pec-slapping.

photo of a boat in the water with an orca in the foreground exhaling.

Hello Bluesky! We're excited to share our journeys on the water with you. Puget Sound Express has been connecting guests with whales for 40 years. We're a family-run business, with three generations of knowledge and caring at the ready. Member of @pacificwhalewatchassociation.com .