Vancouver Island Whale Watch - Nanaimo, British Columbia

Ina S.

We did the whale watching tour with Aly and Rodrigo - Aly definitely is the best orca spotter there is. It’s been the best time!! We saw 10 Orca, two Humpbacks, lots of Sea Lions (they even did a detour just to make sure we saw them), couple of Seals, River Otters and some birds as well. All in all the best tour we did so far! Would totally recommend and do it again.
Rodrigo made sure we were safe and sound even though at the beginning it was a little bumpy. Aly knew everything and more and made sure to answer all our questions with a big smile. Plus she made sure everyone felt safe at anytime.

David C.

Amazing time with my family experiencing this for the first time. Jordan who was our marine biologist was very attentive, informative, and very kind. Rodrigo who sailed the boat during the tour was also the same but also made sure to sail slowly so the passengers experiencing motion sickness would feel better. We were all well taken care of.
We saw so many beautiful sea animals with seeing several humpback female whales with their calves. What I appreciate as a person is how much they care about the wildlife giving them enough space between both the boat and animals to interact in a safe and secure manner. We’ll for sure be back for another tour when we visit Nanaimo again.

Thank you again for the wonderful experience especially in regard to Jordan and Rodrigo.

Austin M.

A very neat experience. Very knowledgeable guide. I found it fascinating how the whales all have names and how they’re tracked.

We spotted Kappa and her calf. And Nike.

The sea lions rock was a nice stop. We came across a young pup and her mom. Was neat to watch them hobble along.

Other stops included finding a bald eagle.

We only came across hump backs which was too bad as I was hoping to see a Orca over all.

Nonetheless was a great one time thing to experience. Wish we woulda saw more.

ceyerra S.

Incredible Whale Watching Experience with Rodrigo and Ally!

I had an amazing time on our whale watching tour! Rodrigo was a fantastic captain—skilled, calm, and made us feel super safe throughout the trip. The boat ride itself was smooth and comfortable, and we got to some great spots quickly thanks to his expertise.

Ally was our guide and she was absolutely wonderful. Her passion for marine life really came through in every explanation. She gave us so much interesting information about the whales, sea lions, and the local ecosystem, and she made it all easy to understand and super engaging. You could tell she genuinely cared about the animals and wanted us to appreciate and respect them too.

We were lucky enough to see several whales, and it was truly a magical experience. Between the stunning scenery and the knowledgeable, friendly crew, this was a highlight of our trip.

Highly recommend this tour—especially with Rodrigo and Ally!

Hilary K.

This was an incredible tour! We went out on an open vessel boat led by Allie and driven by Matthew. Both of them were professional, knowledgeable, and made us feel safe the entire ride. We were fortunate enough to come across a pod of Orcas and it was truly the most breathtaking experience. Highly recommend them if you’re in Nanaimo!

jen V.

Thank you so much for today, Hayley and Rodrigo. We enjoyed our tour so much and will be talking of it for years to come.
We went out with the rain and clouds chasing our tails and ended up staying perfectly dry and even had some sun on the way back to port!
We had luck on our side as a group of 4 humpbacks decided that our boat was worth a closer look and got close enough we could have touched them (we didn't, but they were that close!)!

All of this amazing adventure and experience wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the team at Vancouver Island Whale Watching and our amazing naturalist, Hayley, and our captain, Rodrigo, so thank you so much.

Thank you again, and we will definitely recommend you to anyone we know who is heading out to Nanaimo.

Arin G.

Picked out this whale watching tour to be able to explore some of the rich wildlife in and around Vancouver Island. Took a tour operated by Cheyenne, who was an incredible marine naturalist / tour guide! From our boat, we saw orcas, humpback whales, Steller's sea lions, and unfortunately a jellyfish that I missed! The storytelling from the guide and the photo opportunities were absolutely Steller 🙃🌝

Allamanda P.

Our guide Val was incredibly knowledgeable, and i learned so much. We went on the covered boat, and for younger kids or kids not used to boats i would definitely reccommend. We brought snacks and water. The whole horbor was super cute with great souvenir shops, coffee, and restaurants. We saw starfish, giant crabs and otter while we waited for our tour. On our tour we saw 4 humpback whales, of which Val was able to identify by name and tell us some of their back story. We saw harbor seal (so cute!) And even steller sea lions which google told us that were only there in october and november. We went in july. We watched eagles and i saw a harbor dolphin. Other than the whales the sea lions may have been my favorite just because they are so funny, but i couldnt get past how cute the seals were either. An amazing trip. We tiped 10% of our total fair for val and our captin at the end.