シアトルからヴァン/フェリーでオリンピック国立公園を探索する

We were VERY disappointed because our tour to Olympic National Park was cancelled with less than 24 hours notice. The reason given was that they didn't have enough people booked. How was that our fault? We then received a text saying for another $176 EACH, we could get a semi-private tour. We were already paying a lot for this tour. That seemed very unprofessional. We booked this 4 months in advance & it was the #1 reason we went to Seattle. Just saying we will get our money back is not sufficient since we missed out on this opportunity. We were very upset. We attempted to book a tour with someone else, but with such little notice, that was not possible.

Pros: - the views were amazing on the Olympic Peninsula. - He did get us to airport on-time which was comforting. - very good conversation. Cons: - ferry traffic is horrific. ( could not be controlled but could be avoided) - I had to front our tour operator the money to get into Olympic National Park. ( He did go to bank and pay me back.)

Was having huge expectations about the travel based on the description provided but had chance to visit only couple of places with more driving.

We met our “tour guide” as agreed. We drove for 2.5 hours to go to Olympic National Park. It is beautiful there but one could do the same thing much less expensively by renting a car and just driving there. Saw no animal park, saw no small town shops. We did see a deer and a Marmot. Ate at Wendy’s. Was a little disappointed trip was so expensive.

Pickup time will Be different from what was arranged, so expect a text or call ahead. Tour include only us and one other person, so it was individualized to our tastes.

Our trip was sold as a 10 hour tour on 5/11/25. Our driver Bob was about 12-15 minutes late arriving to pick us up at our hotel. He repeatedly made comments in the first 3-4 hours of our tour not to worry about time saying that we had the entire day however long necessary to ensure we all had a nice time together. That made us feel nice and comfortable as we began the first hours of tour. The ferry ride was smooth, about 30 minutes to cross from Seattle seaport to Bainbridge Island, where-in we resumed the drive to first tour site stop at the Olympic Animal Game Farm. Really enjoyed the drive-thru animal farm to see and feed the animals. We bought 4x loaves of bread at $5 per loaf and 3/4 way thru the animal farm we wish we had bought 6x loaves to had more for Bisons and Llamas! We had lots of laughs feeding the animals in the hour slow speed drive to see and feed various animals. We then made way to Hurricane Ridge/Hill mountain. Temps dropped quickly to about 20°F as we drove up the mountain’s curving road. Our driver made us a bit nervous as he made a few comments the tires on Honda Pilot SUV were not in good condition. Ugh. Once on top we saw lots of deer in the parking area and in the snow covered areas around parking lot for about 1 hour. The clouds quickly developed into fog and visibility was poor as it began snowing on us in last 15 minutes on mountain top. We then went down mountain and drove on to Lake Crescent. Along lake shore line we had about a 15 min stop at a roadside turnout to take a few pics of Lake Crescent and read the historical sign about the lake formation via glacier. Once at the parking lot area for Lake Crescent and Marymere Falls, wife and I made the hike up to the water falls using Google walking map on iPhone and following trail signs. The driver exited vehicle quickly and got his walking sticks and spikes and took off up the waterfalls trail leaving us to find our own way. The walk was peaceful and nice through forest and the water falls were pretty. As we were about 10-15 minutes from reaching the waterfalls we met our driver on the trail as he was descending back to the parking lot. He told us after we cross 2 bridges to stay left at the loop sign to climb on up to waterfalls. He made no comment on tour time remaining. We are in our 60’s so what is about a 25 minute hike each way plus time stopping on trail and at waterfall to take pics, the hike up and down took us about 1.5 hours. About half way back on our walk back from the waterfall to parking area, friends who did not make the hike to the waterfall began texting us to tell us the driver was saying he needed us to hurry-up as he was going off the clock in an hour and would not be paid by his boss. This did not set well with me or the other 2 guests who felt uncomfortable sending us multiple text messages to hurry back to parking lot. Once back in vehicle the atmosphere was tense for several minutes as driver was in a hurry to return to ferry terminal in attempt to time arrival to drive immediately onto the ferry. Ferry was just departing as we got vehicle in line so we had about a 20-30 minute wait to drive onto ferry. Once across water he returned us safely to our hotel and was quite pleasant as we exited vehicle. Summary, we really enjoyed the tour stops to see the sites of the tour itinerary we purchased. Our driver Bob was a nice man and personable. There were no snacks or water for us. Our group of 4 guests felt the tour length sold as being 10 hours is not enough time for guest or for the driver to travel roads, ride the ferry twice, and have adequate time at each tour stop to truly enjoy the sites visited versus being in a hurry to get it all in inside 10 hours. As it turned out, our tour duration was nearly 12 hours which all 4 guest were okay with but from experience with driver saying he only gets paid for 10 hours “on the clock” at the last tour stop and the fast drive back we all felt a bit uncomfortable how our tour was ending. Bob was a nice person but we all felt he was more a driver to take us to the tour stops rather than being a tour guide on this particular tour. All said, we had a good day seeing some very scenic spring countryside in Washington. Thank you.

Wonderful trip with the highlight a walk up to Marymere Falls. Got to see some beautiful countryside and locations. Weather was misty and occasionally rained which is standard for this area so make sure to pack waterproof gear. Added to the beauty though.

Day started with guide showing up 50 minutes before scheduled time. He said he tried contacting us previous evening, but we never received & therefore unaware of change in requested pick up. Per description tour was to include visit to Olympic National Park, Crescent Lake, hike to Marymere water falls & animal safari. At start of the day we opted out of the safari. After stopping to purchase lunch items (not mentioned in description) we spent little less than an hour at Hurricane Ridge then on to Crescent Lake. Again less than 1 hour which included time to eat food purchased on trip. Then back to Seattle. NO way you could visit 4 sights in time allotted. We barely had 2 stops. Driver was knowledgeable about area & provided many trivia points about Seattle/Washington state. 4 adults plus driver in a Honda Pilot. Person in back row had to perform gymnastics to get in & out of vehicle. Light breakfast to be provided was non-existent. Not worth the $1,400 to have a ferry ride & driver to 2 locations.

Had a wonderful time! Dwight, our guide, was very entertaining & knowledgeable. Olympic National park is a must see! Very gorgeous & spectacular scene!

The beautiful scenery and we loved the animals at the park even though they closed early, could have stayed all day. Of course our tour guide Dwight was the best, learned so much about the area from him. He made it a really good experience!