Vancouver Island Whalewatching

Victoria & Far West Coast Whale Watching Tour from Vancouver - 4 Days - Don't miss out on the Victoria & Far West Coast Tour! Flowers and whales, who could ask for more? A morning cruise to Vancouver Island starts your tour and then it's straight off for a killer whale watching excursion. Next enjoy a stop at the world famous Butchart Gardens. You'll also get to enjoy some free time in the quaint city of Victoria.

Next go on up the island to see 1,000 year old trees and enjoy a native cultural experience with a traditional grilled salmon meal. From there you'll head on to the rugged outer coast of Vancouver Island, where it's all about the whales as you spend the day on the area's prime whale watching tours. Come and explore on this fully guided motorcoach tour to British Columbia's far west coast.

There is a two person minimum for this tour to operate.

Tour Highlights:
~ Mini cruises (Gulf Islands and Georgia Straight)
~ World famous Butchart Gardens
~ Scenic tour of Victoria with free time, and entrance to a Victoria attraction
~ Two whale watching excursions
~ First Nations native cultural event including traditional dances and meal.

Tour Includes:
~ All accommodations, in standard hotels
~ Bus or van transportation
~ Services of a professional local guide
~ Entrance to specified events, tours, and attractions
~ All breakfasts, and some meals

Itinerary:
Day 1 - Vancouver to Victoria
Your tour will start with a pick up service anywhere in the Greater Vancouver area for a 40 minute drive through the agricultural country south of the city to catch the British Columbia Ferry service to Vancouver Island. Priority boarding will whisk you on board the ship for a truly breathtaking 1.5 hour cruise through the Gulf Islands that stand between the mainland and Vancouver Island. Upon arrival to Vancouver you will proceed right away with your first whale watching excursion specifically for Orca (Killer) whales.

Next you'll head to the world famous Butchart Gardens. The gardens are one of the world's premier floral show gardens. Jennie Butchart began to shape this magnificent landscape in 1904. She established, in the style of grand estates of the period, several distinct gardens to evoke a range of aesthetic experiences. An abandoned limestone quarry was transformed into the dramatic Sunken Garden, a reflection of the early 20th century beautification movement, and an exceptional achievement in Canadian gardening history. Through successive generations of the Butchart family, the Gardens have retained much of their original design and continues the Victorian tradition of seasonally changing the outstanding floral displays.

You'll depart the gardens in late afternoon for a brief drive to the city of Victoria, the picturesque provincial capital. Victoria is often called the "garden city" because of it's many private and public gardens. Once you arrive in Victoria you'll enjoy a city tour including: Legislature Buildings, the Inner Harbour, James Bay, Chinatown, Antiques Row, Empress Hotel, Beacon Hill Park, and more. After your hotel check in you'll have free time to explore this fascinating city and all it has to offer.

Day 2 - Victoria to Tofino/Ucluelet
On day 2 you'll depart Victoria and drive north through farm lands, and then up the Malahat highway. Your first stop will be at Chemainus. From just five murals and lots of spirit in the summer of 1982, Chemainus has struggled, grown, and succeeded in literally putting itself on the map. In 1983, it won the prestigious New York Downtown Revitalization Award for redevelopment of the town core. It has since gained world wide acclaim for the integrity and superb artistry of its huge depiction of the town's history, earning the British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Award (the Americas) in 1994. Thirty six larger than life historic paintings in this open air gallery and many statues now greet the gaze of hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Chemainus thrives as a result, but it remains a smalls town with just over 4,500 residents. These welcoming people still dish out island hospitality, along with ice cream, afternoon tea, and scones, just as they always have.

After Chemainus you'll go to the Quw'utsun Cultural Centre where the heritage of the Cowichan people is brought to life through live demonstrations, hands-on activities, and a moving multi-media presentation of their oral history. There are 2.4 ha (6 ac) of landscaped grounds and a number of traditional buildings for you to stroll through and enjoy. Don't pass up on this unique chance to enjoy a delicious lunch on the banks of the historic Cowichan River! You'll experience the sights and sounds of traditional dance as you eat lunch. The Cowichan Tzinquaw Dancers will perform traditional songs and dances that have been passed down through many generations. The barbecue features fresh salmon cooked on cedar stakes over an open fire in traditional native style. Every table receives their food on a cedar plank by servers in traditional native regalia. You'll love the freshly baked native scow bread and blackberry pie!

Next you'll head to the Coombs Market with the famous "goats on the roof," located about 37 km north of Nanaimo. Thousands of people each year travel through the Coombs, stopping to visit the goats. Your next stop will be the Cathedral Grove. Walking through the immense, ancient trees of Cathedral Grove is a singular, awe-inspiring experience. The dense canopy creates a magical, dappled green light, matched by a profound quiet broken only by the occasional birdcall. One giant Douglas-fir on the south side of the highway measures more than 9 m(29.5 ft) in circumference. On the north side, western red cedars dominate the landscape by nearby Cameron Lake. Cathedral Grove is one of the most accessible stands of old-growth Douglas-fir trees on Vancouver Island, and is not to be missed! By the evening you'll arrive on the far west coast of Vancouver Island and stay overnight in Tofino/Ucluelet.

Day 3 - Tofino/Ucluelet
Tofino (population 1,466) sits on a narrow peninsula bordered by Pacific Rim National Park Reserve to the south and the Pacific Ocean to the west, north, and east. Tourism has replaced timber and fishing as the mainstay of the local economy. It's no wonder as Tofino lies in the center of a United Nations World Biosphere Reserve, an ecologically significant area that supports many uncommon plant and animal species. Its scenery, which includes miles of sandy beaches, is covered with massive old-growth cedars. The seascape is dotted with verdant islands and is breathtaking by any standard.

In the morning you will embark on a whale watching trip; the most often viewed whale is the Pacific Gray whale. The migrating whales start to show up along the coast of Vancouver Island in early February and continues through late April. From April to November there are "resident" Gray whales feeding in the Clayoquot and Barkley Sounds. Humpback whales can be seen throughout the season, although the heaviest sightings are in February, June, July, August, and September. You may also see some Orca (Killer) whales; there are 12 pods of "transient" orcas that can be seen every two to three weeks throughout the year.

About the Whales:
Gray Whales: Each year the Gray whales make the longest annual migration of any mammal, traveling about 8,000 km in each direction from their breeding and calving lagoons in Baja, Mexico to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi Seas off Siberia. About 22,000 of these great whales parade past the shores of Tofino and Ucluelet from early February through late April. The gray whales hug the shoreline on this northern migration making the west coast of Vancouver Island one of the best viewing areas in the world. From mid-April on, three to twenty or more of these magnificent creatures stay and feed on the west coast of Vancouver Island, with a few in the Barkley Sounds just out of Ucluelet, and the rest in Clayoquot Sound near Tofino. These "resident" whales remain feeding in this area through mid-November, at which time they head out to sea to join with the main migration as it passes the coast on the southern journey.

Humpback Whales: The Humpback whale usually ranges between 12-16 m long and weighs approximately 36 tons. It is well known for breaching (leaping out of the water), its unusually long front fins, and its complex whale song. It is a migratory species, spending its summers in cooler high latitude waters found on the west coast of Vancouver Island while mating and calving in tropical and sub-tropical waters. You can see humpback whales occasionally March through May and quite regularly June through October

Day 4 - Tofino/Ucluelet to Vancouver
You'll have an early morning departure for Vancouver using a slightly more direct route through Nanimo. You'll stop along the way at the Bastion. The Bastion is the oldest freestanding Hudson's Bay Company fort in North America. A curious, octagonal building of three floors, it was constructed in 1852 without the use of nails. It was built with cedar timbers that were notched and then fitted together with dowels. This French-Canadian construction method was called "poteau sur sole" (post on sill). The third floor, considerably larger than the first and second, was originally intended as a refuge of Hudson's Bay Company employees and their families in the event of an attack by the "natives'(no such attack occurred). The building has since had many functions in the Nanimo community including jailhouse, meetingplace, and currently, a museum. Your afternoon will be free to explore Namimo then you'll take the British Columbia ferry service across the Straight of Georgia to the mainland.

Pick up and drop off is free in the Greater Vancouver Area. Additional charges apply to those outside of the area who wished to be picked up. It is $2.00 CAD per mile for overage, payable at the time of service.

There is a two person minimum for this tour to operate.

8 DAYS MINIMUM ADVANCED BOOKING REQUIRED. Tour does offer hotel pick-up in the Greater Vancouver area. Rates are per person in US dollars. Please reserve online, or call us toll-free at 888-848-0742.