Summer Whale Watching Tour in a Zodiac Boat in Victoria
Recommended by 92% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Victoria, Canada
- 3 hours 20 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Set out on the Pacific Ocean off Victoria, British Columbia, in search of whales, and get closer to wildlife than you could otherwise, on this immersive, small-group tour by open-top Zodiac. Travel through the Haro Strait and the San Juan de Fuca Strait, visiting Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Sites and Race Rocks Ecological Reserve to see diverse marine wildlife, with a guide onboard to provide insights.
- Small group capped at 12 for a personal experience
- Choose a departure time that works best for your schedule
- Stay safe, warm, and comfortable in provided survival suits
- Whale guarantee lets you rebook at no extra cost if no whales are seen; food and drinks not included; tour lasts about 3 hours 20 minutes; Get closer to wildlife than on other tours
What's Included
- Professional guide
- Survival Suit
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 950 Wharf St, Victoria, BC V8W 1T3, Canada
Located at same dock as Harbour Air seaplane terminal.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Victoria (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Most travelers can participate
- Operates rain or shine, please dress appropriately
- Not suitable for pregnant women
- Not suitable for participants with pre-existing injuries and/or health conditions
- Minimum age of 6 years old and must be above 4ft tall for Zodiac tours
- This experience requires good ocean conditions. If it is cancelled due to poor conditions, you will be offered a different date or a full refund.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Vicky was a great skipper! She was informative and professional. Took her time sharing the beauty of the ocean with us. We were surrounded by humpbacks and caught several flukes!
Reviews
4.7
based on 439 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
This is an incredible experience. Close personal whale watching with excitement knowledgeable guides. Sarah was awesome. She has a wealth of knowledge and her experience made this an enjoyable trip.
Response from Host, Oct 2026
Hi there,
Thank you for this glowing review! It's amazing to hear that you had an incredible experience with us. Our crew loves to share their enthusiasm and knowledge with our wonderful guests, so they will be happy to hear that you had an enjoyable trip. We will be sure to let Sarah know that you would recommend this experience to others! Thank you again for your kind words. We hope you join us for another adventure soon!
Ryan was a fabulous guide. He was very informative. Gave great information about whales and the local area.
Response from Host, Oct 2026
Hi there,
Thank you for this fantastic review! It's wonderful that you had a great experience with Ryan. He loves sharing his knowledge with our amazing guests and does whatever he can to ensure that everyone has the best time possible, so he will be happy to hear that you enjoyed your adventure! Thanks again for your kind words. We hope to see you for another tour in the future!
Definitely recommend this experience. Sarah, our captain and guide was great and highly knowledgeable in marine life. The boat is fast and a fun ride. The wet suit they provide is great and keeps you warm and dry. We saw around 5 killer whales and two humpback whales up close. If you can tolerate a cold breeze and some sea water splashing on you, this will be the best whale watching excursion you will do.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Hi there,
Thank you for this lovely review! It's fantastic to hear that you'd recommend this adventure to others and that Sarah was great during your tour. She absolutely loves sharing her knowledge and does everything she can to ensure our wonderful guests have the best adventure they possibly can, so she will be delighted that you had the best excursion seeing 5 orcas and two humpbacks! Thank you again for your kind words and for your recommendation to others. We hope you join us again soon!
The staff, especially our guide Ryan, were very helpful and knowledgeable. Our guide Ryan was able to put us close to over 7 beautiful hump backs. The ride on the zodiac was thrilling
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Hi there,
Thanks for this great review! Our crew does everything they can to ensure that our lovely guests have the best time they possibly can during their tours, so they will be happy to hear that you found the zodiac thrilling. We will be sure to let Ryan know! Thank you again for your kind words, we hope to see you again soon!
We had an amazing experience with Orca Spirit as Josh the Captain lead us to some excellent locations. Before our trip out, there was a pod of 5 Orcas in the Inner Harbour. There was a lot of activity with a pod of Orcas sharing/celebrating a big kill and we even caught a breech. We then were witness to couple of Humpbacks doing deep dives and showing us their massive tails. Sealions galore at Race Rocks ... Plug your nose lol. Josh was very informative and a fantastic guide.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Hi there,
Thank you for this fantastic review! It's so great to hear that you had an amazing experience and that Josh was able to bring you to some excellent spots. It's delightful that you got to see some orcas in the Inner Harbour and even got to see them breaching! Also great news that you got to see humpbacks and lots of sea lions. We'll let Josh know you had such a great tour, he'll be happy to hear it. Thanks again for your kind words, we hope to see you again for another adventure soon!
It was a ton of fun. We saw lots of incredible animals!! The weather was incredible. Beautiful place and knowledgeable staff.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Hi there,
Thank you for this fantastic review! It's wonderful to hear that you had so much fun and got to see plenty of wildlife during the incredible weather. Our staff loves sharing their knowledge with our lovely guests, so they'll be happy to learn that you enjoyed your tour. Thank you again for your kind words, we hope to see you for another adventure again soon!
What an exhilarating and fun morning whale on this watching trip. We felt very lucky to see a Humpback Whale and Orca’s yesterday Whales, as well as Otters and Sea Lions. Luke and Sarah made sure we had the best time. Would highly recommend.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Hi there,
Thank you for this lovely review! It's so good to hear that you had a fun time on your Zodiac tour with Luke and Sarah. They always do whatever they can to ensure our wonderful guest have the best time possible during their adventures. It's fantastic that you got to see Humpbacks, Orcas, Sea Lions and Otters during your experience. Thank you for your recommendation and kind words, we hope you come back for another tour soon!
The ride on the zodiac is pretty exhilarating. It is bumpy and you could get pretty wet (though not soaked, so wallet and phone should be ok).
The whale watching is so-so since you are pretty close to the surface of the water. But we did see some whales from a distance.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Hi there,
Thank you for this review! We're happy to hear that your zodiac ride was exhilarating and that you got to see some whales. We appreciate the feedback regarding the water on the boat and will do what we can to improve on that. Thank you again for your kind words, we hope to see you on another tour soon!
Liam was a great guide, we saw lots of wildlife and learned lots too. Don’t forget to wear a sweater.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Hi there,
Thank you for your fantastic review! We will let Liam know you thought he was a great guide and that you learned lots. He will be happy to hear it. Thanks again for your kind words, we hope to see you again soon!
Francisco with his French accent was a good captain of our zodiac boat with nine people. He answered questions well also.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for your review! We're glad to hear you enjoyed your tour with Francisco and that you learned a lot from him. Thanks for joining us!
Great People working for the whale watch tour. Francis (or Francesco) was great as well as the women working in the office.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for your review! We will be sure to pass on your kind words to Francisco and our office staff!
Excellent guide and very professional staff.
We saw orcas, humpbacks, sea lions, king sea lions, many birds and 2 porpoise. Our guide was very knowledgeable. It was an amazing 3 hours on the water. The guide said it was one of the best days he has ever had since he started as a guide.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for taking the time to share this!
It is great to hear your time on the water was so amazing, and that the crew’s professionalism and guidance stood out throughout the trip. Seeing such a wide range of marine life in one outing is always something special, and we are glad it made for a memorable few hours out on the water (even for the guide!)
Thank you for joining us, and for your kind words about your time on board
A great time finding humpback whales, harbor seals and bald eagles in May! Josh and Amanda were our captains and were super friendly, positive and knowledgeable about marine wildlife. They kept us aware of what they were doing and how far we’re legally able to get to whales; you can tell they love their jobs. It looks like they have different sized boats as well to tailor it to the size of their groups; there was only 6 in mine so we had a smaller boat that went fast - so fun! Highly recommend!
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for sharing your experience with us! It is wonderful to hear that your time on the Salish Sea included such a variety of wildlife, from humpback whales to seals and bald eagles.
We're especially pleased that Josh and Amanda helped make the day so enjoyable. Our crew loves sharing their knowledge and giving guests a better understanding of both the wildlife and the regulations that help protect it.
We truly appreciate your recommendation and thank you for choosing to join us! 🐋
Fun, safe, and full of adventure. If you want adventure the whale watching on a Zodiac is the way to go.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for sharing this review! We’re glad to hear you had such an enjoyable time out on the zodiac and that the sense of adventure stood out for you.
We appreciate you joining us and taking the time to leave a review!
This was so much fun! Definitely not for young kids or adults who can’t stand a very bumpy ride - my aunt and uncle are in their 80s and said “no thank you”. But, we saw plenty of whales and our captain was great!
It was so exhilarating! An absolute must do if you are visiting Victoria! Plan on getting wet, but seeing the whales in their natural habitat is incredibly breathtaking. An experience we will never forget and an item checked off our bucket list!
This was a wonderful experience. It was cold! Even though the body suits provided protect you from getting extremely wet, dress warmly.
Great communication. Safety first Boat was full and we saw humpbacks. Orcas and seals. Weather was great. Sea was calm
I explored the Victoria area with skipper Gareth — we were able to see several groups of humpbacks and sea lions. We then had a gorgeous encounter with a solo orca. We were able to just coast with him along the shore in calm waters. Truly a bucket list experience! Gareth was an amazing guide — super knowledgeable and engaging with the group, with a passion for the wildlife.
Phoenix was a fantastic guide and we saw a ton of wildlife and Orcas! The scenery was also so beautiful!
Shannon a great guide. Whales were a little too far away for a close up but fun anyway. Beautiful weather.
We had an amazing time.
Our tour guide did a wonderful job making sure we saw whales and seals. He was also very informative of the animals and whales we spotted.
The experience was great!!! read before to know more about the whales. Great weather, the guide guy was excellent driving the boat.
We had a great time and saw a lot of orcas!! We even saw a humpback whale. The guide was amazing and knew a lot of the animals :)
So much wildlife!!! We saw Whales, Seals, Otter and SO MANY different kinds of birds. The trip was long and well worth it! So glad we did it! Highly recommend it!
It was wonderful to see 4 humpback whales and the sea lions. I really enjoyed being in the front seat of the zodiac.
I cried afterwards thinking of the whales and what they have suffered
Safety was the 1st concern, then spotting the marine life. The captain/guide took great care that we would have an awsome experience- it was a success.
I enjoyed the tour. I thought it was cool to see various humpbacks, seals and sea lions. It was really nice to see the other parts of Victoria by boat.
I did not care too much for our guide. I was extremely excited to learn about the wildlife, Victoria and anything else. Our guide seemed distracted and unfocused. Each time our guide would share a fact about something it felt as though he was unsure about what he was saying. Almost as if he didn’t know what he was doing. We also heard a phone call from the office that he miss-counted the amount of guests and just laughed it off. Lastly we didn’t get a briefing about the experience until we got back and everyone on our boat was looking at the map that the other guides made that had just left.
Not the best experience and maybe try a different company. I was really excited about this one but truthfully not worth it when you feel like your guide doesn’t know what they’re doing or necessarily cares.
Was a very informative tour, friendly staff, free drinks was nice, loved seeing the whales, seals and otters.
Whale watching from a zodiac is bar far the best way to see the animals in their habitat. You are on the water, feeling the waves, wind. They give you a life preserver suit, but it’s not waterproof, and you will get wet, lots of spray. Wear quick drying clothes, no denim.
Member Pricing
From
$132.13
per personWas $139.09(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Summer Whale Watching Tour in a Zodiac Boat in Victoria
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3 hours 20 minutes
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