Olympic National Park Tour from Seattle

First, this review is not a reflection of the service/care that we got during the trip. The operator was very helpful all throughout, in terms of flexibility, pickup/dropoff and communication etc. Joel, the tour guide is excellent, helpful and knowledgeable in every respect. Problem is, I dont think I got my money's worth for $200 per person. I canceled a rental car to do this tour instead and in the end walked away underwhelmed and thinking i could have done this tour myself at less than half the cost. The purpose of my comments is to set correct expectations for out of state tourists like me, who want to achieve lots in minimum time. Maybe that is a wrong goal, but i am sure there are many who are looking for that. There is a lot of driving involved on this trip. We got picked up at 7am and the first noteworthy sight to behold was almost at noon. Hurricane ridge road, the major attraction, was closed. And then we stayed pretty much in the lake crescent/elhwa valley area for the rest of the tour, doing short hikes and scenic stops. Turned back home at 5pm because we had to catch the ferry. So the 13 hr trip is really less than 5 hrs. Major attarctions in the park such as the rialto beach and the hoh rain forest were not covered, because of lack of time (too far?). We covered similar in the lake crescent area instead. Food/bio breaks were adequate. Joel also had a cooler with drinks available on the bus, that was helpful. He took lots of photos for us and stopped at scenic pullouts. Overall an above average trip.

This is family owned and operated tour company is absolutely lovely. My wife and I did the Olympic National Park tour with Joel from Seattle and had a phenomenal day! Joel and his company were very communicative and considerate. They even called a few days before to let us know the tour wasn't fully booked and gave us a chance to reschedule. Joel knew the park, history and area so well and was pleasant, funny, and a great photographer. It was a long day, about 13 hours, and about 20,000 steps with the included hikes at 4 stops in/around the park. We stopped at the visitor center, the Elwah river valley and Madison Falls, Lake Crescent, the forest around lake Crescent to another set of falls, and the beach to see some tide pools. Food isn't included on this tour which we actually appreciated because the tour was cheaper and we could pick out the food we actually wanted that met our dietary needs. Your first stop before the park is your opportunity to get food and snacks for the day to eat on the bus or out at one of the stops. We each got two sandwiches for the long day. Joel did provide cold drinks and even some beer. He made us feel super welcome and had great tips on how to get awesome pictures at each spot. He clearly loves this area and his job. We were so grateful for and inspired by this tour, and in my honest opinion it's very underpriced for the value delivered. Thank you for an amazing day!

Joel was great. We had a wonderful time. Highly recommend. Came on time to pick us up and took us to see several areas of the park.

Joel was a fantastic tour guide. We had a smaller group of 12, and it felt like traveling with a group of friends. Joel is like an encyclopedia of knowledge of the area, made time to get to know everyone, and took us to locations I won't forget about any time soon. Even though Hurricane Ridge was closed due to weather, Joel made the effort to make the rest of the trip worthwhile by adding in additional scenic stops and even a surprise stop on the way home. I would not hesitate to book with Customized Tours again!

Joel gave us a great tour of Olympic Park. We walked through amazing old growth forests with trees that are hundreds of years old. We saw gorgeous waterfalls and a beach with tide pools containing small creatures. My only disappointment was that Joel didn’t find Bigfoot for us.

The guide was amazing!! Went way above and beyond to make sure we had a great experience! I highly recommend this tour (bring a raincoat just in case!)

Joel was awesome! He took so many amazing photos. Very accomodating. great stops for food and restrooms. Very knowledgeable of the area, history, trails, and wildlife. 10 outta 10 would do it again!

The hike through the rainforest near Lake Crescent was other worldly! And Lake Crescent was pristine & beautiful. Joel was extremely knowledgeable & entertaining. We had an awesome time!

Crescent Lake was breathtaking!! Very informative tour!! Joel was an excellent guide! Pointed out native flora and fauna.

It was an excellent tour! Well done! Joel are tour guide thought of everything. I would recommend it to anyone.