Take the ferry to Friday Harbor:

The most common way to get to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island: Drive your own car, a rental, or take a shuttle to the Washington State Ferry Terminal in Anacortes, WA. (about two hours north of Seattle) and then either walk-on (recommended) or drive-on. Reservations are NOT required to get on the ferry however you should arrive at least 45 minutes before the scheduled departure on weekdays and more than an hour on the weekends. As of January 5th 2015 the Washington State Ferry system accepts reservations. Reservations are highly recommended if you plan on bringing your vehicle to the islands. Visit this website to make ferry reservations. Reservations are not required if you plan on parking your car in Anacortes and "walking on" the ferry. Anacortes Ferry Landing Parking: There are over 1,000 parking spaces at the Anacortes Ferry Landing. The daily parking charge is around $10.

The ferry ride is about 1-1.5 hours  giving you the opportunity to relax and take photos of the surrounding islands. See driving directions below.  Washington State Ferry (800) 84-FERRY or (206) 464-4600. Click here for the current ferry schedule.

Click here to get your personalized driving directions to our office in Friday Harbor using Google Maps 

Take an airplane to Friday Harbor:

Fly to Friday Harbor from downtown Seattle or Sea-Tac International Airport.  This is the quickest way to get here with the trip taking around 40 minutes.  Make sure to appreciate the amazing views on your way over.

Kenmore Air (800) 543-9595 - Float plane service from Lake Washington and Lake Union in the Seattle area.

San Juan Airlines (800) 874 4434 - Service from Seattle, Anacortes and Bellingham.

Friday Harbor Seaplanes Operating May 08-October 04 with three daily departures at 8:30am, 12:00pm and 5:00pm from Renton Municipal Airport, at the south end of Lake Washington. Call 425-277-1590 for pricing and availability.

Driving directions to the ferry terminal in Anacortes:

Click here to get your personalized driving directions to our office in Friday Harbor using Google Maps 

From the Seattle area:

Take I-5 north to exit 230, which is just north of the city of Mt. Vernon.  Go west on Highway 20 for about 20 miles to Anacortes following the  "Anacortes-San Juan Islands" signs.   Drive through Anacortes and take a left at the light by Safeway.  Follow this road until you reach the Washington State Ferry terminal.  Here you can choose to either park your car in one of the available lots or drive your car onto the ferry.  If you walk-on then just arrive at the terminal 30-40 minutes prior to the ferry time to give yourself enough time to find parking and get your ferry passes.  If you choose to drive onto the ferry the wait time could be quite substantial depending on the time and the day (typically 1.5-2+ hours). 

Total drive time from Seattle is about two hours.

From the Vancouver/Bellingham area:

Take I-5 south to Burlington and and then take exit 230. Go west on Highway 20 for about 20 miles to Anacortes following the  "Anacortes-San Juan Islands" signs.   Drive through Anacortes and take a left at the light by Safeway.  Follow this road until you reach the Washington State Ferry terminal.  Here you can choose to either park your car in one of the available lots or drive your car onto the ferry.  If you walk-on then just arrive at the terminal 30-40 minutes prior to the ferry time to give yourself enough time to find parking and get your ferry passes.  If you choose to drive onto the ferry the wait time could be quite substantial depending on the time and the day (typically 1.5-2+ hours).

Total drive time from Vancouver is about two hours plus border crossing time.  Total drive time from Bellingham is about one hour.

Shuttles and Buses to the San Juan Islands

From the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport:

Airporter Shuttle (866) 235-5247 - Regularly scheduled shuttles to the ferry terminal in Anacortes.