BC Wildlife Viewing & Adventure Boat Tours
West Coast Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
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| The west coast village of Zeballos, where the river meets the sea |
An Island Tides Wildlife Viewing & Adventure Boat Tour is the perfect way to spend a few days, or longer, exploring the natural wonders of Vancouver Island, BC. Our West coast Vancouver Island boat tours include whale watching for Killer Whales (Orca whales), Grey Whales and Humpback Whales, sea otter viewing and up-close encounters with bald eagles, seals, sea lions and other marine mammals and birds.
Adventure on Land or Sea! Our BC Wildlife Viewing Adventure Tours can combine boat tours with land based wildlife viewing tours. Add a visit to spectacular old growth forests where you will see black bears fishing in rivers for spawning salmon, bald eagles feeding on salmon, Roosevelt elk and Black tail deer or maybe even an elusive cougar or a wolf.
Vancouver Island, BC is rich in wildlife and marine life, and features incredible natural beauty with majestic mountains, miles of unspoiled rivers and streams, clear mountain lakes, rugged shorelines, windswept beaches and fjord like inlets and a very diverse array of wildlife and marine-life.
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| Black bear in hot pursuit of dinner |
BC Bear Viewing
Through the spring months of May and June the large Vancouver Island Black Bears lumber down into the river valleys. During this time they are seen on a regular basis as they feed on the new grasses and shoots that are just beginning to grow. We often see Black Bears and their cubs ambling along the shoreline of inlets, turning over rocks in search of small eels and crabs and ignoring our boat as we drift close enough for fantastic pictures.
In the fall, from the middle of September through the month of October, the salmon return to many of our Vancouver Island Rivers to spawn. This abundance of nutrient rich food draws both the bald eagles and the bears to the rivers where they feast on the spawning salmon.
One of the best bear viewing stands in BC is the deck of our Island Tides Fishing Lodge in Zeballos on the West coast of Vancouver Island, BC. The salmon spawn in the Zeballos River right in front of the lodge and in the fall the bears can be seen fishing throughout the day. Our guests often get out their cameras, enjoy a cup of coffee or have a delicious lunch with a glass of wine and watch and photograph the bears fishing in the river from the safety and comfort of our lodge.
These are just some of the activities you'll find on Vancouver Island. Be creative, you can combine a couple days of golfing, playing a different course each day, with a couple days of fishing and a marine tour or bear viewing all on the same trip. Of course there is always the option to just kick back and relax.
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| Humpback whale coming up to say "hi" |
BC Whale Watching
The waters surrounding Nootka Island, on the West coast of Vancouver Island, BC are home to several species of whales including Killer Whales, (Orca’s) Humpback Whales and Grey whales. The most common whale sightings are of the giant Grey and Humpback Whales as they feed in the Shallow waters around the mouth of Esperanza Inlet and in the inlets throughout the spring, summer and fall months. Just imagine drifting in the boat on a quiet morning and the only sound you hear is the puff of feeding Grey Whales exhaling as they surface a short distance away.
BC Sea Otter Viewing
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| Sea otter posing for a picture |
We invite you to visit the sea otters of Esperanza! In addition to bears on the beach and feeding whales, Natchatlitz Inlet and Esperanza Inlet, on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, BC, are also home to hundreds of sea otters. Here the sea otters are frequently seen in large family groups called rafts or in smaller family units. It is always a pleasure to watch these playful animals as they break open clams or mussel’s on their chest using a rock or just laze about, floating on their backs soaking up the sun.
What Do YOU Want To See?
At Island Tides Fishing Lodge we can customize your Vancouver Island Wildlife Viewing & Adventure Boat Tour. Tell us if you want to combine a boat tour and marine wildlife viewing with a land based nature and wildlife viewing tour and we’ll make sure you get to see it all! You can even include a day of salmon fishing or halibut fishing if you want to, it’s up to you. All of our Vancouver Island Wildlife Viewing Adventure Tours are well suited for the whole family.
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| Steller sea lions relaxing in the sun |
Contact us for more information on putting together your Vancouver Island wilderness adventure. We are able to customize all inclusive BC adventure tours from two to six days in length with fully guided tours, first class accommodation, all meals and non-alcoholic beverages, airport pick up and drop-offs.
It's all here just waiting for you on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada!