The Northwest is famous for its opportunities for whale watching, and in this week’s Faces of the Northwest, our regular series featuring Q&A interviews with small business owners and tourism professionals in the region, we’ll get an in-depth look at Puget Sound Express, which offers guaranteed whale watching tours in Washington State.
Can you tell us a little about your business?
Puget Sound Express operates guaranteed whale watching tours, as well as multi-day cruises out of Port Townsend and Edmonds, WA. Three generations of our family have helped visitors have life-changing experiences with some of the most majestic creatures on the planet. We’re blessed to live in what’s been called “the American Serengeti,” with some of the highest concentration of whales and dolphins and sea life anywhere in the world — including our totem species, the orca. Our three boats are the fastest and most comfortable whale watching boats in the Pacific Northwest, providing customers with the comfort and and access to wildlife we’d want our own family members to have.
Puget Sound Express
Do you have any ‘insider tips’ you’d like to share?
We see orcas, humpbacks, minkes and gray whales throughout the year. Of course, many folks think of whale watching as a summer activity, but some of the best encounters with whales happen in the Spring.
How did you get started?
In 1981, my husband Pete started with his dad, Pete Sr., providing week-long sailing adventures in the Pacific Northwest aboard the 80ft schooner, Alcyone. Over the years, we moved from sailboats to powerboats, but always made sure the whale watching experience and the vessels were first rate. To that end, we still continue to operate what we feel is the best whale watching company in the Pacific Northwest.
Orcas on Puget Sound Express tour
Is there something about Puget Sound Express that not everyone knows?
How amazed we are at God’s hand in the company, and how much we LOVE our staff.
When you have a day off, what are some of your favorite things to do in the Northwest?
Being outside hiking in the Olympics, riding bikes to Finnriver Farm & Cidery, and on the Sequim to Port Angeles Discovery trail. I love riding horses on Eastbeach and Marrowstone Island.
If you had to describe what you love about the Northwest in 3 words, what would you choose?
Mountains, farms, and weather.
Is there anything else you’d like people to know?
It is our family’s sincere joy to serve our guests. It still gives me a smile when our passengers order “blueberry buckle” (our homemade coffee cake). I’m just amazed at how much fun it is to hear folks mention it in their reviews and when they ask for the recipe.
Puget Sound Express family
