Friday Harbor — Attraction in Eastsound

I have been a frequent traveler on Washington State Ferries, a service that while offering stunning views, has been consistently marked by delays and communication failures. To help future travelers avoid the inconvenience I've faced, here are some key suggestions:

Arrive at the Friday Harbor Ferry Terminal as early as possible. Secure a parking spot in LOT A, which generally has a higher chance of boarding the next ferry. If LOT A is full, proceed directly to LOT B, the overflow lot. Cars from LOT B fill up LOT A next, so parking elsewhere can result in longer waiting times. Avoid booking the last ferry back to Anacortes if possible. There's a high risk of significant delays that can extend until midnight or the next morning. Keep food, drinks, and comfort items like blankets in your car. Unexpected delays can mean spending extra hours, or even overnight, in your vehicle.

My experience on May 28, 2023, serves as a prime example of these issues. My return trip was abruptly cancelled without prior notification, leaving me stranded at the terminal. I was told to wait for the last ferry at 11:30 PM, which had such a limited capacity that nearly no cars were able to board. I ended up spending the night in my car in the parking lot, which disrupted my plans and led to the cancellation of my hotel reservations and subsequent itineraries.

My past experiences have been equally challenging. Around 80% of my return trips from Friday Harbor to Anacortes have been delayed, often until midnight. On one occasion, I was riding a bike and was forced to endure the cold until I could board the last ferry.

The consistent lack of communication about schedule changes and the poor resolution of the issues I've faced have greatly disappointed me. I sincerely hope Washington State Ferries will address these persistent problems, improving their service for the convenience and benefit of...

Horrible service!! I can’t believe they get such good reviews every single time I ride this ferry we wait in line for hours with a reservation. The sad part is this government ferry service charges you $10 per reservation and people who live in Friday Harbor or are just coming to visit book 3 ferries at a time because of broken down ferries, ferry being late, etc. All in all there is always something wrong. The main lady directing the traffic on Friday Harbor is extremely rude, she was screaming at cars and yelling at people simply trying to get home. It’s a frustrating experience for everyone. Today we have been in line since 7AM we wanted to get on the earlier ferry and parked here with our two children ages 3 and 1.5 years old. The 8AM boat broke, but was another boat sent, nope! They just made all the people with reservations get on the 11AM boat, so all the people who reserved for 11AM are now on the 1:50PM boat. It’s 1:57PM the ferry is nowhere in sight and although we had a reservation for 1:50PM they are telling us we might not even make it and have to catch the next ferry at 2:40PM! Talk about inconvenient and expensive and frustrating! Stop charging people fees to make three reservations if you don’t maintain...

Staff had multiple lies: that the cars who got to go first were waiting longer than us, that they are medical cars. Give us empty promises that we would “definitely” be on the next boat because we’re the first few lanes lined up, then orchestrating cars coming out of nowhere to cut in lines in front of us.

We would’ve believed all that, had we not been here waiting since 1PM, had we not been waiting over 10 hours by now.

Staff kept yelling us about how we should be making reservations ahead of time. We tried! We checked online. Nothing. The website misleadingly said you don’t need to book your return trip because all tickets are round trip. I double checked w a ticket booth staff before I got on the island. She said the same thing. People doing business on this island are very nice and made my trip great. The government agency, however, is ruining...