Vancouver whale watching

[swimster01]

Hi, has anyone been whale watching from Vancouver and what was your experience? We are going in July and not sure whether to book a whale watching trip.

We have seen lots of whales in Alaska in August so there’s a good chance in July I would have thought. They migrate up the coast from Baja California for the food rich waters of the North in the summer and go back again later in the year. I think some species are resident all year round.

Look at the web sites of boat operators and check how many whales they have seen on their July log last year. If they have seen whales most days, you should be ok.

I love seeing whales! We heard them singing in Alaska! I’ll never forget it.

My DSiS went slightly further north on Aug and saw loads

We are also going in July to visit family and they have reccomended whale watching so I should think there will be something to see.

We've been whale watching elsewhere and I would really recommend it - one of the best things I've ever done

We went whale watching in Victoria, Vancouver Island in July - great trip and Vancouver Island is lovely.

We went in August and saw loads of Orcas ..honestly was the best day out ever.
We booked with a company that offer another trip if you don't see any so we arranged it for the beginning of our holiday just in case..but I was shocked by how many we saw ..all jumping up and being all amazing right in front of us....truly truly brilliant.

We went in June from Victoria inn vancouer Island. It was amazing. We were in a fairly small boat and had Orcas going under it - also saw elephant seals, eagles, etc

like this !!

We went in September a couple of years ago and it was amazing- saw a humpback whale blowing water, and an orca pod swam right past our boat. We went with Vancouver Whale Watch and they were fantastic (they put their latest photos and info up on Facebook if you want to look) but all the local companies work together on the radio to share sightings. VWW also seemed very respectful of the whales, they encouraged us to be respectful and told us what they did to avoid distressing or otherwise disturbing them. It's the most memorable part of my holiday, loved it.

Thanks for the feedback - sounds like we should definitely go!

Yes do it! We went late June early July and saw loads around vancouver Island (plus you should definitely stay on the island for a few days, it's lovely!)

We went a few years ago, as I am a rubbish sailor husband went and enjoyed - loads of Orcas. It was a very long day. We stayed in Vancouver and we thought the trip would go from there, but up very early, coach to ferry to Vancouver Island 2 hours poss. Then drive to Victoria to get rib from there. Victoria quite nice and I had a wander - in the rain - it does rain an awful lot there! Then the long trip back!

I went on a trip on a RIB from Vancouver Island (Victoria) in October. It was amazing and we saw three pods of orca; a total of about 90 individuals. There were other types of boats running trips but in a RIB you can get to locations where the whales are much quicker. The company I went with (whose name escapes me as it was a while ago) were hot on safety (we wore survival suits etc) and respectful of the wildlife. They carried a hydrophone onboard so we could listen to the whales communicating. That actually made me cry it was so wonderful!

Ooh, going to Vancouver Island in June. Sounds like our chances are good.