Top Vancouver Island Whale Watching

This was an excellent ghost tour. I’ve been on dozens of ghost tours in multiple countries and Jill was one of the best storytellers I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. My only regret was not having any Canadian cash for a well deserved tip. I only had 6 hours in Victoria and this was easily the best way to spend one of them. Highly recommended.

The Prince of Whales was our vessel of choice for our whale watching tour off Vancouver Island in July 2026 (you've gotta have a bigger boat, right?!). We covered a long distance in our search for whales, but it paid off! Towards the end of our tour we had multiple sightings! It was a glorious day weather-wise and we couldn't have wished for a better result. Would recommend this tour - we had a great time. Keep your eyes peeled everywhere - look for the blow holes, stay focussed and start clicking away with your camera - the whales don't wait for that perfect shot - but you just might capture them!

Nanaimo was the best place ever for viewing whales, seals, sea lions and harbor seals! We booked early for the semi-covered boat and are so thankful we did, since those on the zodiac boats were required to wear dry suits and goggles. The vessel accommodated 12 passengers comfortably and we were able to move around both inside and outside. The biologist onboard provided excellent commentary and the captain was intent on locating as many opportunities as possible for us. We were able to see 3 distinct pods of orcas and the humpbacks put on a wonderful display of tail slaps, breaching and one curious young humpback surfaced so close to the boat we could have touched it. Neither the captain nor the biologist had experienced such a close encounter with a humpback; everyone realized what an unusual experience we had. After the humpbacks left the area we were treated to “stinky island” to watch the seals. Truly a once in a lifetime experience. Our biologist took photographs throughout the day and we are anxious to view them.