Nanaimo Whale Watching in a Semi-Covered Boat

Whales galore

A fabulous day lots of whales seen and a great naturalist who told us lots about the whales

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Great whalewatching trip

Great experience on our Sunday whale watching trip. The naturalist on board (Rosalie) was engaging and knowledgable and kept everyone informed throughout the trip. Lucky enough to see 2 orca and spent quite a lot of time just watching them from a safe distance. Moved on and out into the fog before finding a couple of humpbacks and watching them. Finished up with sea lions catching salmon close to the boat then sea lions hauled out near the paper pulp factory. The trip was never rushed and we actually spent close to 5 hrs on the water. Rodrigo was an excellent skipper, keeping the boat at a safe distance from the whales but still giving everyone great viewing opportunities. The whole trip was well organised with good communication before departure. Thankyou for helping me tick orca off my bucket list!

Response from the operator: Thanks for joining our tour! It sounds like it was an amazing day out there. We are so happy we could help you see orcas and check that off your bucket list! We will be sure to let Rosalie and Rodrigo know that you enjoyed your time spent on the water with them. Thanks again for joining us and for taking the time to leave us a review!

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Excellent experience

Brilliant afternoon spent Whale watching saw humpback whales, orcas and sea lions guide was knowledgeable and answered all questions. Learnt so much about whales in four hours. Only criticism was I felt cold on the boat should have worn more layers ! definitely recommend.

Response from the operator: Thank you for taking the time to leave a review! It sounds like you had an amazing day on the water; it's always special to see both whale species, along with other wildlife. Regarding the temperature, yes, it can get quite cold out on the water, typically dropping 5-10 degrees. Layers are great to bring, even though they usually feel like too much while you're still on land! Thanks again for joining the tour, and it's great to hear you enjoyed it!

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Good whale watching with an awful guide

I do not recommend spending your money on this tour. This could have been one of the best whale watching tours I've had if only a guide had been there to help guests spot the whales! Unfortunately there wasn't. During the entire tour, the guests had to find the whales on their own. Not only that, it got worse. The "guide" in my tour was a young man who was only interested in taking pictures for himself. As soon as the boat left the harbor, he stated only 2 people were allowed on the deck for 5 minutes, but never bothered to enforce that rule, so two people took the deck for themselves for 15 minutes. I had to give a dirty look to one of the deck huggers to have them go back inside so I could be there because the "guide" wouldn't let me be there. When he spotted a whale, he'd start taking pictures right away with his 400mm lens. Only after taking them, he'd vaguely say "there are whales over there". I asked, "Where? At 4? At 8?" The answer: "There! Over there!" JFC, where dude? I'm not even looking at you! (I was looking for the whales through my DSLR). He never used the conventional clock to indicate where the whales were. Later, he literally said, "ok guys, please make room so I can identify the whale first", followed by "oh that's whale X, we can't stop!" Translation: "let me take my pictures with my 500mm first, then maybe you can take yours". On several occassions, the boat captain slowed down the boat for a few seconds just so that his buddy, the not-so-amazing "guide", could take his pictures, then took off to another location. Adding insult to injury, the "guide" then showed the picture he just took to the group. Really??? Awesome, I paid CAD$242 for that! The Salish sea is good for whale watching, but not with this Vancouver Island Whale Watch crew. Book with another company. Experience: whales present, tour ruined by an unprofessional guide Cost: pricey Length: 3 hours Crowd size: 6 guests Staff: terrible

Response from the operator: Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We are sorry the tour didn't meet your expectations, especially since you hoped for a more guided experience while watching the whales. We would like to provide some additional context around a few of the concerns you raised, as it sounds like there may have been some miscommunication during your trip. Our Marine Naturalists do much more than take photographs for themselves. Throughout the tour, they photograph the wildlife we encounter for identification, research, and documentation purposes. We also share these photographs with our guests free of charge on our Recent Sightings page, so everyone can enjoy and download photos from their experience. Photos are particularly important to our approach to responsible whale watching. There are whale populations in our area that we do not watch, including the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales, and we also avoid watching individuals who are known to be sick, injured, or otherwise in distress. Clear identification photographs allow our Naturalists to determine who we are viewing and make informed decisions about whether we should remain in the area. This means that when a whale is first located, the Naturalist may need to prioritize obtaining identification photos before focusing on directing the group's attention toward the animal. We understand, however, that simply telling guests that there are whales “over there” is not the clearest way to communicate a sighting. Our Naturalists should help guests understand where to look and what they are seeing, and we are sorry you felt you had to locate the whales on your own. Your comments about the use of clock positions and clearer directions are particularly helpful, and we will be sharing this feedback with our team. We also want to clarify our policy regarding the back deck. There is not a set five-minute time limit for guests using the deck while the vessel is underway. Our crew does, however, try to rotate guests through the available outside viewing space so that everyone has an opportunity to spend time outside. We are sorry this didn't meet your expectations during your trip. We agree that our crew should be attentive to how guests share the available viewing space, rather than relying on guests to manage it themselves. Finally, when our Naturalists show guests photos they have just captured, this is intended to give everyone a closer look at the wildlife they have seen and to give guests an idea of what photos will be available to them afterward. We are sorry that, in the context of your experience, this came across as the Naturalist prioritizing his own photography rather than the group's experience. That was certainly not our intention. We appreciate you bringing these concerns to our attention. While we're glad you encountered whales during your trip, we recognize that seeing wildlife is only one part of the experience. Our crew should also help guests understand what they are seeing and make the experience enjoyable and accessible for everyone onboard. We will pass your feedback along to our team.

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Expert whale spotting

The guide and captain were both experienced and helpful (despite looking relatively youthful!). They were experts at spotting whales, and also found some sea birds along the way. We were fortunate to see multiple of both orcas and humpbacks, though obviously the quantity of wildlife on a trip like this can vary. Our guide Allie also offered a good quantity of commentary on the lives of the whales.

Response from the operator: Thank you for the review! It's great to hear that you enjoyed the tour with us and got to see so much wildlife. Our staff are extremely passionate, so it's great that it shone through during your time out with us. Thanks again for choosing us for your adventure!

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