Wild Whale Watching Experience - Open Air Vessel

Recommended by 98% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Vancouver, Canada

High interest

Booked 2 times today.

5 hours (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Take in Vancouver’s local wildlife in a respectful way on this whale watching tour from Granville Island. Your guides are marine naturalists who are passionate about animal conservation, so they emphasize observing animals in their natural environment without human interference. The open-air vessel lets you see any wildlife up close.

Data from Vancouver tours goes to research and conservation initiatives
Read field guides, whale identification guides, and more on board
Ginger candy and ear plugs can be provided for motion sickness
Your vessel can legally approach wildlife closer than other vessels can

What's Included

Full length (arms and legs), one piece, anti-exposure flotation suit (to be worn overtop of your clothing)
Field guides, whale identification guides, and learning materials can be borrowed on board
Bottled water

We prefer that our guests bring a refillable water bottle (to save on single use plastics), but we carry extra bottled water on board just in case!
Sunscreen
Ginger candy can be provided upon request for travellers that may be experiencing motion sickness
Single use ear plugs can be provided upon request

An optional gratuity for your guide and your captain is greatly appreciated by our staff
Snacks

The journey can last up to 5 hours depending on where the whales are, so it is recommended that our guests bring their own snacks on board.

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

1806 Mast Tower Ln, Vancouver, BC V6H 4B6, Canada
Arrive to our office to check in 45 minutes ahead of your scheduled departure.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers

Most travelers can participate
Not recommended for travelers with neck problems
Not recommended for children under the age of 5
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 35 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

RACHEL_L

This was a great tour. We saw a pod of orchas and a bunch of seals. It’s a much longer tour than you will think so take snacks. You will be given an orange waterproof jumpsuit to wear. We were thankful for them as it would have been freezing without them. It’s a long time on a boat for a short time of whale action, but most people understand this is what whale excursions entail. Boat was a nice size instead of a huge tour with so many people you can’t see. There was a restroom on board. Yaz was our naturalist and she was great!

Reviews

4.9

based on 237 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Tour was fantastic, guide...

TerriLynn_M, May 2026

Tour was fantastic, guide very knowledgeable. We stayed watching a group of humpback whales for some time, then saw sea lions hanging out on a weather buoy, they were very entertaining .

Response from Host, May 2026

Hi, thank you for the great feedback! It's great to hear you enjoyed all of the wildlife encounters!

Disappointing trip.

Luke_P, May 2026

Marketed as 3-5 hour whale watching trip and back at base in 4 hours having seen a few distance spray puffs, distance glimpse of a whale back and a bunch of sea lions on a bouy. No signs of orca, which was the purpose of the trip. Very disappointing.

Response from Host, May 2026

Hi Luke, thank you for your feedback, as it can help us improve our tours in the future. Whilst we market a 3-5 hour tour, this is due to several factors including weather and time to search for encounters. As your tour travelled as far as Vancouver Island, we needed to allow sufficient time to get back to dock while leaving extra time for any sightings on the return or indeed for changing sea conditions. We cannot speak on your personal expectations or purpose on the trip. Our tours offer whale encounters - these are not species specific, however we always strive to find humpbacks whales and orcas. As these are wild animals travelling freely, specifically the orcas who can travel an average of 100km a day, they may not be in the area on any given day. It sounds like this was the case the day that you went out, as none of our tours viewed any orcas on May 19th, the same was the case the day after. But we understand the disappointment given you had really hoped to see them. However your tour did see a Humpback whale just off Gabriola Island. Viewing distances are down to local regulations for wildlife protection and of course, guest safety. Seeing Humpback whales in this area is very special to us as they were once almost hunted to extinction in the mid 1900’s, resulting in no humpbacks in these waters for a very long time. We’re sorry you are disappointed, and truly hope you get to see Orca in the wild someday. If you would like to come and try again, having the same chances of seeing Orca, we can offer you a discount as a returning customer.

Amazing day!

kourtenay_m, May 2026

We had a great experience from start to finish. Our guide was so knowledgeable and friendly. Everyone was so great from captains, to the staff at check in. We saw about 17 killer whales and stayed with them for a while so everyone got great pictures and videos. Our guide brought the book around and showed us which whales we were seeing. It was such a great day that we will remember forever.

Response from Host, May 2026

Thank you so much for your kind words! We're thrilled to hear you had such an unforgettable day with us. Seeing around 17 killer whales is truly an incredible experience, and we're so glad our crew and guides helped make it even more special. Thank you for mentioning the whale identification book as well--we love helping guests connect more deeply with the wildlife they're seeing. We hope to welcome you back on another adventure soon!

The boat was comfortable,...

Jen_h, May 2026

The boat was comfortable, the naturalist and captain were wonderful but best of all was the experience. We saw a pod of 3 killer whales and were able to watch them for about 45 min. We then saw a bunch of sea lions and then 2 humpbacks feeding close to shore. The scenery was spectacular! Great day on the water

Response from Host, May 2026

Hi Jen, thank you for leaving a review. We’re happy the wildlife and scenery made for such a memorable day!

Great Trip

Kristen_H, May 2026

Great crew on board. Very knowledgeable. Boat was comfortable. It was a cold grey may day, but we managed to see some Orcas, and sea lions.

Response from Host, May 2026

Hi Kristen, thank you for leaving a review. We’re happy you had such a great experience out on the water with the orcas and sea lions!

Every tour will be different, like no whale will reappear where you just saw it.

Camille_S, Sep 2025

Fresh air, high-speed boat. Ship’s captain knew when to slow down or stop when whales were near. We all hushed, then gasped at the sight of a fin.

Response from Host, Sep 2025

Hi Camille, Thank you for your lovely worded overview of your tour with us. So glad you enjoyed

Great trip!

Susan_M, Jul 2025

Amazing trip! Whales came right up to us and played around the boat for at least 20 minutes. It was a once in a lifetime experience for sure!

Response from Host, Jul 2025

Hi Susan! Wow so so lucky to experience such a rare close encounter! Thank you very much for your review and we hope to have you onboard again some day soon

Did not disappoint!

RACHEL_L, Jul 2025

Response from Host, Jul 2025

Hi Rachel, thank you for your review! We're so happy to hear you had a great tour! We'll be sure to pass along your kind words to Yas, who we agree is amazing!

Wonderful!

Federica_Q, Jun 2025

Great experience! Before leaving there was a problem with the booking and I was offered a free upgrade to the zodiac ride. The guide is the captain were incredibly professional and engaging. We saw killer whales, seals, sea lions and humpback whales. Tour absolutely recommended!

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