Deception Pass Tours

"A fun tour for all ages"

My family is vacationing on Whidbey Island, WA this week, and today we took a boat tour of Deception Pass.  Our group ranged in age from 62 years old down to almost 1 year old, and everyone had a great time!  
Going on the boat tour is a two-step process- the ticket booth is right across the Deception Pass Bridge, on the Whidbey Island side. Then, after handing in your tickets, you drive a few more miles down the road to the large parking lot on the water. Then just wait for the crew to tell you to come get aboard!
We were on the boat ride with a small school group, so the 36 seats on the boat were mostly full. All seating is outdoors, so dress appropriately for the weather! I was just in a light jacket, and it wasn't particularly warm today, but I didn't get too cold, even when the boat was going fast. The crew did offer jackets if anyone felt they needed something warmer than what they were wearing.
The sides of the boat were high enough that I wasn't at all concerned about the safety of my almost-3-year-old or my almost-1-year old.  And since most of the scenery is above you on this tour, or out in the distance, we were still able to see everything fine.  
The tour is an hour long, and I thought it was well done. It alternates between going quite quickly out on the water to times where we were stopped to look at bald eagles or porpoises or falcons nearby.  The naturalist on board did a good job of explaining what we were looking at and the history of some of the area. It was fun to go under the Deception Pass Bridge and see our surroundings from a different perspective.
An hour is a nice length of time for this tour, enough to get a real feel for the area, but not so long that the kids (or I) got bored or cold.
Tours run April-October- visit the website for exact time information. Tickets are $25 for adults, $21 for seniors, and $21 for kids 12 and under (the website doesn't specify at what age kids do need tickets- mine did not have tickets of their own, they are both under 3). Group rates are available.