The Pacific Northwest: Marine & Wildlife Exploration

Arrive to the Seattle-Tacoma airport where you will meet your Global Works leaders. Transfer to our group accommodation near the Seattle waterfront. We hold an orientation to prepare for our adventure, and have dinner at the hotel before settling in for the night.

Our private charter bus brings us to the Anacortes ferry dock where we catch the ship and enjoy a beautiful passage through the San Juan Islands. Check in to our hotel in the quaint town of Friday Harbor. Then take a short ride to Wolf Hollow Wildlife Preserve to learn about and interact with just a few of the endangered and protected species that we might encounter during our trip. Return to our hotel, dinner at our hotel, and prepare for our Kayak adventure.

Head to the waterfront at Friday Harbor and meet our Kayak adventure guides. We learn proper paddling technique before paddling along the San Juan Island coastline until our lunch stop at the San Juan Historic National Park. We continue our expedition along the coast and end at our overnight campground. The next morning, wake up to the sounds of the ocean and watch for passing whale pods. We take a stop at one of the island’s iconic pebble beaches! The adventure concludes in the afternoon back at Friday Harbor, where we enjoy dinner at a local restaurant and relax at our hotel after an active two days on the water.

After a quick breakfast at the hotel, we board the ferry back to the mainland and say farewell to the San Juan islands. We head to Seattle and walk from our hotel to nearby Pike Place Market and the waterfront to sample some unique Seattle culture, foods, sightseeing, and shopping experiences. We have a tasty dinner at our hotel.

After breakfast at our hotel, we walk a short distance to the famous Seattle Space Needle, followed by the Chihuly Glass Garden and the American Museum of Pop Culture. After lunch at the Seattle waterfront, we visit Ballard Locks and check out the King Salmon migration up close through an underwater view port. Relax and catch some sun rays at the beaches in Discovery Park before returning to our hotel for a home-cooked dinner.

Our final day begins bright and early! We meet our local nature guides to explore the majestic Mt. Rainier National Park. We visit several destinations in the park in order to see many of the hidden gems of Mt. Rainier. Short hikes throughout the day allow us to encounter the waterfalls, vistas, and alpine forest for which the National Park is known. We depart Mt. Rainier in time to enjoy a final group dinner near the Pike Place district in Seattle.

After a final group reflection to close out our journey, we pack our bags and depart for the airport according to your flight schedule. We can’t wait to share new memories and experiences with our friends and family back home.