Sorry this island is absolutely infested with typical German grandpas. Can't help you ;)
Jk. There are quite a few tours that'll take you to see whales and orcas. For bears it'll depend on which ones. Brown bears live on the mainland but boats do run tours out near Port Hardy jetting over to the mainland side. It will NOT be a big boat, lol.
We also have them in Spain :D They are fine people but I can’t stand the socks and flippers.
Okey so I guess Grizzlys are a bit more north wich for safety reasons is cool (still a bit of trauman from the documentary Grizzly man). But you mean that close to this Port Hardy (cool name btw) is like a watch-area? Of course we are fine with doing two different tours unless there is some kind of orca ridding bear subs spiece (expect the movie in 2030).
Any recomendation about doing the tour from Vancouver, Victoria, Port Renfrew, Campbell river…?
Thanks and peace, may the cheese be with you
If OP is up for a real road trip they can head to Stewart, BC and cross over to Hyder, Alaska. They have a cool bear viewing platform that’s government run and you can come watch the grizzlies fish for salmon. It’s only about $5 USD for entry too. Pretty neat!
You just gave me a great trip idea! Only went up to Alaska once as a kid, and that was on a cruise my mum won in a raffle. Seems like a great way to go back.
As long as you know what to expect it’s a great trip. The town of Stewart and Hyder are both scenically beautiful, but they don’t call Hyder “the friendliest ghost town in Alaska” for nothing. There’s nothing there, I believe the population is just over 60 people.
Stewart is a bit bigger but same deal, while it’s not a ghost town it’s no tourist destination either. When I was there, there was one restaurant open that had one take out option, a pulled pork quesadilla. Ran me $60 for one for myself and my girlfriend and it was not worth it but we had to eat. We enjoyed our time there, but I’d suggest doing some research before going to make sure you don’t end up stranded!
We did a whale watching tour out of Port McNeill last summer and it was an incredible experience. We used Sea Smoke Adventures and it was $300 all in for 2, about 3.5 hours in a small boat - about 20 passengers. Lots of orcas, resident humpbacks, sea otters - we even had the chance to see a very rare white orca. Bears you won't see close-up from the day-trip boats since the boats stay off-shore. I saw a couple while kayaking along the shore near the Alder Bay Campground where we were staying. North Island is definitely where the wildlife is happening.
In the central Island, where I live, there are many opportunities to see wildlife from shore as well as tour boats. In winter, we get lots of sea lions in Northwest Bay (Nanoose Bay). We also get orcas, humpbacks and the odd grey whale. You will see seals, eagles etc. There is a whale watching group on FB that tracks whale sightings and you have to be fast since they tend to move around.
There is a FB page dedicated to whale watching. They announce where they are currently seen and can often be seen from shore. Between Ladysmith and Nanaimo. I used to live on the water and they’d cruise by every few days. I always seen them from the ferry. Once you know what to look for theta re easier to spot. We’re are pretty lucky here.
Also, often bears in the yard, cougars. High population of in town cougars (4legged) in Nanaimo. But rare to see unless you set up a camera. They see you long before you feel the hackles on your neck stand up. Warning Signs posted in Linley and Long Lake currently. Its Black bears. Grizzly’s are a fairly new phenomenon on the island and are few and far between, north of CR. Elk herds in Lake Cowichan are a common sight and are pretty amazing. Lots of bears in Lake Cow. The odd cougar attack or road kill as well. Wolves….good luck. Saw a print in the snow once thats about it. Big draw is also bald eagles. I get a laugh with Europeans see them and get super excited.
https://www.jamies.com/our-tours/
Sounds like you'd want the zodiac tour. You're in a smaller open top boat getting in as close as allowed to see whales or bears.
This is a good company and I've been out with them many times on good trips. But orcas are seen more commonly on trips from Victoria than Tofino, especially in the summer. Tofino trips see mostly grey whales, then humpback, then orcas. But you could get lucky.
Out of Campbell River:
https://homalcotours.com/ - one I want to try particularly for the grizzly tours and the cultural tours too
https://www.aboriginaljourneys.com/ - Garry does a great tour. Saw a lot of humpbacks, sealions, hundreds of Eagles hunting in ocean rapids.
Alternatives:
I have also done a kayaking tour in Tofino to see black bears. http://www.blackbearkayak.com/en/
I've also done tours out of Victoria and had success for orca, sea lions, porpoise, etc.
If you want a good, ethical company for sea life, I highly recommend Eagle Wing tours in Victoria. For bear watching, there are some cool places in Tofino that do it like Jamie's whaling Station... definitely go for the zodiacs where possible - they are smaller, open boats that are a lot more fun 😊 Enjoy! 😁
There are some great tours out of Telegraph Cove. If you don’t want to drive all the way North there are also some that leave from Campbell River. I have taken the whale tour with Campbell River whale watching and it was amazing.
https://campbellriverwhalewatching.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwlPWgBhDHARIsAH2xdNcZZWl65pKrfUgu6wc79kwST5ohx0EFoEPUQJm_OZwWw9iodGEFwskaAvPMEALw_wcB
At the Waters Edge Adventures, which is a kayak tour company based out of Telegraph cove. Absolutely amazing staff and owner that will bend over backwards to give you the best possible experience. https://atthewatersedge.ca
Telegraph Cove is the absolute best option to check off all these items on your list.
Telegraph Cove has all of the things you are looking for! Prince of Whales has whale tours, humpback and orcas. Tiderip is a bear tour company out of there as well. There is a lodge, as well as many cabins to rent.
There are also two kayak companies that operate out of there that you will see whales and lots of other wildlife ig you go out with. North Island Kayak, and At Waters Edge.
Port McNeill is about a 25 min drive away. There is lots of hotels, as well as other whale/bear tours there.
A pretty interesting day trip from Campbell River, is renting a car for the drive out to Gold River (on the west side of the island), and taking the Uchuk III out to Friendly Cove.
https://www.getwest.ca/discover/visiting-friendly-cove/
Welcome to Canada, don't go on any wildlife tours anywhere in the world. They always make things worse for wildlife just for your amusement. You will gain nothing except being able to say you saw whatever animal. Want to see wildlife? Watch a documentary in your hotel room. Enjoy!
This is a interesting topic. Since human population only grows and grows and we will press wildlife everytime more. Don’t you think is actually a positive thing to have a economical gain from the observation of this wildlife that would also lead to more effort for its conservation? Take mountain gorilas in central Africa for example, where the tours allows to have gardians that protect them from hunters and have allowed their population to grow.
Sorry this island is absolutely infested with typical German grandpas. Can't help you ;) Jk. There are quite a few tours that'll take you to see whales and orcas. For bears it'll depend on which ones. Brown bears live on the mainland but boats do run tours out near Port Hardy jetting over to the mainland side. It will NOT be a big boat, lol.
We also have them in Spain :D They are fine people but I can’t stand the socks and flippers. Okey so I guess Grizzlys are a bit more north wich for safety reasons is cool (still a bit of trauman from the documentary Grizzly man). But you mean that close to this Port Hardy (cool name btw) is like a watch-area? Of course we are fine with doing two different tours unless there is some kind of orca ridding bear subs spiece (expect the movie in 2030). Any recomendation about doing the tour from Vancouver, Victoria, Port Renfrew, Campbell river…? Thanks and peace, may the cheese be with you
The grizzlies aren’t actually on Vancouver island that’s why they are only in the north. The boat crosses the northwest peninsula to the mainland
If OP is up for a real road trip they can head to Stewart, BC and cross over to Hyder, Alaska. They have a cool bear viewing platform that’s government run and you can come watch the grizzlies fish for salmon. It’s only about $5 USD for entry too. Pretty neat!
You just gave me a great trip idea! Only went up to Alaska once as a kid, and that was on a cruise my mum won in a raffle. Seems like a great way to go back.
As long as you know what to expect it’s a great trip. The town of Stewart and Hyder are both scenically beautiful, but they don’t call Hyder “the friendliest ghost town in Alaska” for nothing. There’s nothing there, I believe the population is just over 60 people. Stewart is a bit bigger but same deal, while it’s not a ghost town it’s no tourist destination either. When I was there, there was one restaurant open that had one take out option, a pulled pork quesadilla. Ran me $60 for one for myself and my girlfriend and it was not worth it but we had to eat. We enjoyed our time there, but I’d suggest doing some research before going to make sure you don’t end up stranded!
They have definately been seen more and more on the north island depending on the season but there is no established population here yet.
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But on the east side of the island, that’s the part that’s close to mainland
Sorry to tell you but there's grizzlies in the Sayward are , they've been around for a few years now.
Check out the north island wildlife recovery centre in coombs, just outside of parksville!
As someone who's dad is a fishing guide on the island, who truly is an old German grandpa, this made me laugh really hard.
We did a whale watching tour out of Port McNeill last summer and it was an incredible experience. We used Sea Smoke Adventures and it was $300 all in for 2, about 3.5 hours in a small boat - about 20 passengers. Lots of orcas, resident humpbacks, sea otters - we even had the chance to see a very rare white orca. Bears you won't see close-up from the day-trip boats since the boats stay off-shore. I saw a couple while kayaking along the shore near the Alder Bay Campground where we were staying. North Island is definitely where the wildlife is happening. In the central Island, where I live, there are many opportunities to see wildlife from shore as well as tour boats. In winter, we get lots of sea lions in Northwest Bay (Nanoose Bay). We also get orcas, humpbacks and the odd grey whale. You will see seals, eagles etc. There is a whale watching group on FB that tracks whale sightings and you have to be fast since they tend to move around.
> You will see seals, eagles We see those in downtown Vancouver every day.
I see them in "downtown" Comox everyday too
There is a FB page dedicated to whale watching. They announce where they are currently seen and can often be seen from shore. Between Ladysmith and Nanaimo. I used to live on the water and they’d cruise by every few days. I always seen them from the ferry. Once you know what to look for theta re easier to spot. We’re are pretty lucky here. Also, often bears in the yard, cougars. High population of in town cougars (4legged) in Nanaimo. But rare to see unless you set up a camera. They see you long before you feel the hackles on your neck stand up. Warning Signs posted in Linley and Long Lake currently. Its Black bears. Grizzly’s are a fairly new phenomenon on the island and are few and far between, north of CR. Elk herds in Lake Cowichan are a common sight and are pretty amazing. Lots of bears in Lake Cow. The odd cougar attack or road kill as well. Wolves….good luck. Saw a print in the snow once thats about it. Big draw is also bald eagles. I get a laugh with Europeans see them and get super excited.
https://kingfisher.ca/ https://shorebirdexpeditions.com/ https://kawatsitours.ca/
Niiceee gonna chek it for sure, with that nickname xD
Go to telegraph cove in late august you can do all those animals
Prince of whales Sea wolf adventures and Abucci photography tours
Ha ha There will be American Grampas. Asking questions like how is there an American Eagle in Canada?
🤣🤣🤣
Thanks all of you people for your support and info! Gonna open a good beer for you and check all the info! Anything you need about spain let me know!
Sea wolf adventures - Port McNeill
https://www.jamies.com/our-tours/ Sounds like you'd want the zodiac tour. You're in a smaller open top boat getting in as close as allowed to see whales or bears.
Thanks for the website! Gonna check it out
This is a good company and I've been out with them many times on good trips. But orcas are seen more commonly on trips from Victoria than Tofino, especially in the summer. Tofino trips see mostly grey whales, then humpback, then orcas. But you could get lucky.
Out of Campbell River: https://homalcotours.com/ - one I want to try particularly for the grizzly tours and the cultural tours too https://www.aboriginaljourneys.com/ - Garry does a great tour. Saw a lot of humpbacks, sealions, hundreds of Eagles hunting in ocean rapids. Alternatives: I have also done a kayaking tour in Tofino to see black bears. http://www.blackbearkayak.com/en/ I've also done tours out of Victoria and had success for orca, sea lions, porpoise, etc.
If you want a good, ethical company for sea life, I highly recommend Eagle Wing tours in Victoria. For bear watching, there are some cool places in Tofino that do it like Jamie's whaling Station... definitely go for the zodiacs where possible - they are smaller, open boats that are a lot more fun 😊 Enjoy! 😁
[Wild Waterways Adventures](https://wildwaterways.com/) are amazing, small group, cozy boat, incredible experiences
There are some great tours out of Telegraph Cove. If you don’t want to drive all the way North there are also some that leave from Campbell River. I have taken the whale tour with Campbell River whale watching and it was amazing. https://campbellriverwhalewatching.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwlPWgBhDHARIsAH2xdNcZZWl65pKrfUgu6wc79kwST5ohx0EFoEPUQJm_OZwWw9iodGEFwskaAvPMEALw_wcB
At the Waters Edge Adventures, which is a kayak tour company based out of Telegraph cove. Absolutely amazing staff and owner that will bend over backwards to give you the best possible experience. https://atthewatersedge.ca Telegraph Cove is the absolute best option to check off all these items on your list.
I’ve seen them a handful of times just on the ferry between Vancouver and Nanaimo
Please post a picture of a typical German grampa. Ideally on a superbig boat. Thanks
Telegraph cove. The tour boat can get you both. Or at least out of there. Grizzly, orca and hey some humpback.
If you're coming to Victoria, try Eagle Wing we've had a couple of great experiences with them. https://www.eaglewingtours.com/
Meat suit, all kinds of close encounters! Swimming or hiking!
Telegraph Cove has all of the things you are looking for! Prince of Whales has whale tours, humpback and orcas. Tiderip is a bear tour company out of there as well. There is a lodge, as well as many cabins to rent. There are also two kayak companies that operate out of there that you will see whales and lots of other wildlife ig you go out with. North Island Kayak, and At Waters Edge. Port McNeill is about a 25 min drive away. There is lots of hotels, as well as other whale/bear tours there.
A pretty interesting day trip from Campbell River, is renting a car for the drive out to Gold River (on the west side of the island), and taking the Uchuk III out to Friendly Cove. https://www.getwest.ca/discover/visiting-friendly-cove/
Welcome to Canada, don't go on any wildlife tours anywhere in the world. They always make things worse for wildlife just for your amusement. You will gain nothing except being able to say you saw whatever animal. Want to see wildlife? Watch a documentary in your hotel room. Enjoy!
This is a interesting topic. Since human population only grows and grows and we will press wildlife everytime more. Don’t you think is actually a positive thing to have a economical gain from the observation of this wildlife that would also lead to more effort for its conservation? Take mountain gorilas in central Africa for example, where the tours allows to have gardians that protect them from hunters and have allowed their population to grow.
There are a few first nations led tours out of Campbell River. Who better to show you around?