Planning a Trip

Getting There

From I-5, take Wash. 20 west at Burlington. The highway turns south before you reach Anacortes and crosses over the Deception Pass Bridge to reach the north end of Whidbey Island.

Washington State Ferries (tel. 800/84-FERRY or 888/808-7977 in Washington, or 206/464-6400; www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries) operates ferries between Mukilteo and Clinton at the south end of the island and from Port Townsend to Keystone near Coupeville. Fares are $6.30 to $7.90 for a car and driver and $3.60 for passengers between Mukilteo and Clinton; $8.20 to $10 for a car and driver and $2.35 for passengers between Port Townsend and Keystone. The Airporter Shuttle (tel. 866/235-5247 or 360/380-8800; www.airporter.com) provides daily service from Sea-Tac International Airport to Oak Harbor. The fare is $36 one-way and $65 round-trip.

Visitor Information

Contact Island County Tourism, P.O. Box 365, Coupeville, WA 98239-0365 (tel. 888/747-7777; www.donothinghere.com); Central Whidbey Chamber of Commerce, 107 S. Main St. (P.O. Box 152), Coupeville, WA 98239 (tel. 360/678-5434; www.centralwhidbeychamber.com); or the Langley South Whidbey Chamber of Commerce, 208 Anthes St. (P.O. Box 403), Langley, WA 98260 (tel. 360-221-6765 or 888-232-2080 langleychamb.whidbey.com).

Getting Around

Island Transit (tel. 800/240-8747 or 360/321-6688; www.islandtransit.org) provides free public bus service on Whidbey Island.

Festivals

On the first weekend of March, you can eat your fill of mussels at the Penn Cove Mussel Festival, and in mid-July, Langley celebrates the visual and performing arts with the Choochokam street festival. In early August, there's the Historic Coupeville Arts and Crafts Festival. In late February, aspiring private detectives descend on Whidbey Island for the Langley Mystery Weekend, during which participants wander around trying to figure out "who done it."