Getting there and away

Upon your arrival at the Seattle/Tacoma (SeaTac) airport, or if you're starting in Seattle, you have two general transport options: aerial (air-island), or amphibious (mainland-water-island). We've suggested two simple scenarios below, but myriad creative combinations of these two general schemes are possible. Primarily because long lines of cars can develop at the ferry terminals on weekends, we encourage those who elect not to fly to utilize a shuttle service (outlined below) or rental car to reach Anacortes, then walk on to the ferry (having parked your rental car for the weekend), enjoy the ride to Orcas, and --once on Orcas Island-- transit to Doe Bay Village Resort (or other accommodations) via shuttle or taxi services.

We suggest you start by taking a look at some maps, and -- once oriented - utilize the information provided below to design your itinerary and make any necessary reservations. You may also want to refer to the Doe Bay Resort "How to get here" web page. Good luck!

The Amphibious Solution

1. From SeaTac International airport, arrange for ground transportation to the Anacortes ferry terminal.
2. Drive north to the ferry terminal (1.5 HOURS BY CAR, 2.5 BY SHUTTLE), referencing pertinent maps.
3. Take a ferry to Orcas Island (1.25 HOURS). If you came without a car, buy yourself a latte and walk onto the ferry when it arrives. Otherwise, you can choose to:
   • Park your car for the weekend ($/day) and walk on to the ferry ($/passenger, $/bike...)
   • Drive your car onto the ferry (IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED TO ARRIVE AT LEAST 2 HOURS (on Friday or Saturday) AHEAD OF FERRY DEPARTURE TIME TO GET CAR ABOARD THAT SAILING)
4. Proceed (30-40 MINUTES) from the ferry terminal in the village of Orcas to Doe Bay Resort or your B&B via the city of Eastsound. The road signs are clear, but you may want to refer to a map of Orcas Island. If you are not in a car already, you have other on-island ground transport choices.

   Here's an example of how much time to budget, constrained fundamentally by the ferry schedule:
   

   Arrive	Arrive		Board	Arrive	Arrive
   SEATAC	Anacortes	Ferry	Orcas	Doe Bay or B&B
   9:30am	11:30am		12noon	1:20pm	2pm
   

Harbor Air: 1-800-359-3220, ~$158 RT (~$248 RT from Bay Area via Alaska Airlines)

They fly between SeaTac airport and Eastsound airport on Orcas 3x/day. Harbor has a partnership with Alaska Airlines which gets you slight discounts on continuation flights from Alaska flights.

West Isle Air: 1-800-874-4434, ~$125 RT (+$15 RT van service to Boeing Field)

They fly between Boeing Field in Seattle and Eastsound airport 3x/day. They have a shuttle between SeaTac and Boeing and are happy to arrange charter flights, as well.

Kenmore Air: 1-800-543-9595, $112 RT weekdays, $142 RT weekends

Based out of Seattle (not SEATAC airport), they fly seaplanes from Lake Union in Seattle to Rosario resort on Orcas 3-5x/day. If you have problems contacting them, call Rosario (1-800-562-8820) as they have all the schedules as well. We are having the rehearsal dinner there Friday night before the wedding, so they should be very helpful!

An alternative you may want to explore is flying into Bellingham, WA, via a flight from SEATAC to Bellingham (via Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, Empire Airlines, or United Express) and connecting with a $33 one-way air flight to Eastsound on West Isle Air (1-800-874-4434).

Land Transport

Victoria Clipper (1-800-888-2535)

Seattle to Rosario Resort (on Orcas Island), via Friday Harbor (on San Juan Island), 1/day, taking a beautiful 7 hours and costing ~$60 RT)

Washington Ferry

Services the San Juan Islands via Anacortes, WA (and Sidney, Vancouver, Canada). This is the recommended method for reaching Orcas Island from the mainland. You only pay for westbound transits (to the Islands), and only cash, in-state checks, and traveller's checks are accepted. Here's a distillation of departure times (to/from Orcas Island) and fares:

WESTBOUND
Leaves Anacortes        Arrives Orcas
5:40am                  6:55am
8:00am                  9:05am **foot traffic only. no orcas vehicles**
8:30am                  9:45am
9:00am                  10:25am
12:25pm                 1:50pm
3:30pm                  4:55pm **foot traffic only. no orcas vehicles**
4:10pm                  5:10pm
5:20pm                  6:20pm
6:40pm                  7:50pm
8:25pm                  9:50pm *Daily EXCEPT Friday*
9:35pm                  11:00pm *Friday ONLY*

EASTBOUND (ie. return to Anacortes)
Ferry Departs Orcas     Arrives Anacortes
7:15am                  8:40am
10:50am                 12:00pm
2:15pm                  3:45pm
5:05pm                  6:15pm
5:30pm                  6:30pm
8:05pm                  9:05pm

$04.95 -- Individual passenger (in vehicle or walk-on)
$17.95 -- Vehicle + driver
$02.75 -- Bicycle surcharge (unless it's on your car)

If you plan to walk on the ferry and park your car in Anacortes, you must pay if you plan to park at the ferry dock. $7 12-24 hours and $14 3 days. If you want to park for free, you can park at the South March Point Road Park and Ride, just off of route 20 before you get to Anacortes city proper. More detailed directions. There is a free shuttle to the ferries, times are listed below:

Bus Leaves Park&Ride    Bus arrives Terminal            Ferry departs
5:30am                  5:50am                          
7:15am                  7:35am                          8:00am, 8:30am
8:15am                  8:35am                          9:00am
9:15am                  9:35am
11:30am                 11:50am                         12:25pm
12:40pm                 1:00pm
2:50pm                  3:10pm                          3:30pm, 4:10pm
4:20pm                  4:40pm                          5:20pm
6:00pm                  6:20pm                          6:40pm
7:40pm                  8:00pm                          8:25pm (m-th)
8:50pm                  9:10pm                          9:35pm (f only)

RETURN TRIP

Ferry Arrives           Bus leaves Terminal             Bus arrives P&R 
8:40am                  8:35am?, 9:35am                 9:10am, 10:00am
12:00pm                 11:50am?, 1:00pm                12:20pm, 1:30pm
3:45pm                  4:40pm                          5:30pm
6:30, 6:50pm            7:55pm                          8:35pm
9:05pm                  ??

As you can see, the return trips with the buses don't match very well
with the revised ferry schedule right now. This is because the shuttle is
contracted out to another organization. I do not know if they are planning
to change the bus schedule for the interim ferry schedule, but a call to
the washington state ferry phone line would probably give interested
travellers more info.
 

 San Juan Island Shuttle Express (still in service?)
 Bellingham to Lieberhaven on Orcas Island
 Sailboat!?
 Moorage available...  Possible trip from Washington Park to Doe Bay on 
Friday/Saturday morning?   (Parking at Washington Park?  Shuttle possibilities?)
 Sea/kayak, SCUBA, snorkel, wind surfers, etc.
 Landing is possible at Doe Bay on a cobble beach west of the promontory (look for the old boat house), or at the head of Otter Cove east of the promontory.  (Other locations, rental options, tide tables for those days...)