Whale Watching
Orca Spirit Adventures. This company offers year-round tours with both Zodiacs and covered vessels. Boats are equipped with hydrophones and all guides are marine biologists. In summer a three-hour tour starts at C$115. It offers free hotel pickup/drop-off service. 950 Wharf St., Victoria, British Columbia, V8V 1V4. 250/383–8411; 888/672–6722; www.orcaspirit.com.
Prince of Whales. Victoria's biggest whale-watching company offers a whole range of marine excursions, from three-hour boat or Zodiac tours from Victoria, to five-hour trips that include a stop at Butchart Gardens, to one-way or round-trip crossings between Vancouver and Victoria; all sailings have naturalists on board. Zodiac trips cost C$120 and leave year-round; covered boat sailings on the Ocean Magic II are C$120 and run from April to October; and Victoria to Butchart Garden trips run from late May to late September (the C$150 fare includes admission to the gardens). The company's Vancouver to Victoria crossings, running from late May to late September on the 94-passenger Salish Sea Dream, are a great time-saver, combining a sailing to or from Victoria with a whale-watching trip. A stop at the Butchart Gardens or return flights by floatplane or helicopter are options, too. The most popular trip, billed as The Ultimate Day Trip, includes a whale-watching trip from Vancouver to Victoria, a stop in Downtown Victoria, a bus transfer to Butchart Gardens, and a sunset sailing back to Vancouver. This C$310 trip runs daily from late May to late September. The company's Victoria office is on the Inner Harbour Causeway, below the Visitor Info Centre. 812 Wharf St., Lower Causeway Level , Downtown, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 1T3 . 250/383–4884; 888/383–4884; www.princeofwhales.com.
SpringTide Whale Watching & Eco Tours. Using marine biologists as guides, this company runs tours on Zodiacs and on 61-foot motor yachts. Summer tours are three hours long, and the boats are equipped with hydrophones. Rates are C$109. 1119 Wharf St., Downtown, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 1T7. 250/384–4444; 800/470–3474; www.victoriawhalewatching.com.
Pacifica Paddle Sports. Operating out of Brentwood Bay and Canoe Cove, here's where to find kayak, canoe, and stand-up paddleboard rentals and lessons. Plus, there are five-hour tours, including lunch, that explore the intertidal waters and coves in and around the peninsula. Brentwood Bay, 789 Saunders La., Brentwood Bay, Victoria, British Columbia. 250/665–7411; www.pacificapaddle.com. Tours C$125.
