Top Reasons to Stay at Tucker House Inn

• It’s located in the coastal village of Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, just a block from quaint downtown Friday Harbor and the ferry—a convenient home base for exploring the island.
• Each morning, enjoy a three-course gourmet breakfast that starts with fresh fruit, homemade granola, and yogurt, followed by a hot entrée and a sweet dessert. Fruits and vegetables come from the onsite organic garden and local farmers in the San Juan Islands.
• The circa-1898 inn has just a handful of guest rooms, each of which features a two-person jacuzzi tub and vintage-style furnishings.
• Your stay includes a few perks: enjoy complimentary homemade cookies each afternoon, and feel free to use the inn’s bicycles and kayaks to explore the area.
• This getaway includes a choice between a bottle of sparkling wine or a $25 dining credit to the nearby Coho Restaurant, where chefs craft Pacific Northwest cuisine with a Mediterranean twist.
• San Juan Island is a nature lover’s paradise. There are hiking trails throughout Lime Kiln Point State Park, located on the other side of the island. You can sometimes spot orca whales from the shore here.<p>

Friday Harbor, Washington: Coastal Village and Cultural Hub on San Juan Island

The San Juan Islands are an archipelago off the coast of northwest Washington in the Salish Sea, the body of water that divides the Washington and from Vancouver Island in Canada. San Juan Island itself is the main hub, home to Friday Harbor—the largest town among the islands. Friday Harbor is also the cultural epicenter, with plenty of art galleries, restaurants, boutiques, and museums.

Frommer’s notes that San Juan Island is the only place where “you can reliably see orca whales from shore.” There’s also the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, where exhibits include the skeleton of a 3-year-old orca and an interactive display on gray whales.

San Juan Island is also historically significant in a peculiar way: In the mid-1800s, Great Britain and the United States clashed over territorial rights to the islands, due to the land’s precarious position between Canada and the U.S. After an American soldier killed a British pig in 1859, the boundary dispute came to a head and both sides geared for battle in what became known as the Pig War. Both countries’ troops were at a standoff until 1871, when the Treaty of Washington was signed, granting full possession of the islands to the Americans. Today, you can visit what remains of the former English and American camps—located on opposite sides of the island. Both are designated as part of the San Juan Island National Historic Park and are popular spots to hike nature trails, pick blackberries, and spot wildlife.<p>

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