Where to Whale Watch?
 

Hi - it's spinsker here again. We have all the transportation and lodging issues settled for our upcoming 9 day trip to Vancouver, Tofino, and Victoria> Now I'm down to planning what to do once we're there! I'm wondering since we have 3 days in Vancouver and 3 in Tofino, and only 1 1/2 in Victoria, where should we do our whale watching? I assumed Tofino, but I keep reading about people doing it in Victoria, so I wanted to make sure I was aware of the different options and what might be best for us.

Thanks for everyone's help in our planning. We are getting very excited. Promise to do a trip report once home.

Susan

I am not sure about the timing (yours or the whales) but we saw the Orca pods from Victoria. There is a spotter system and a good chance of an encounter. The pods are resident around VI but mainly in the San Juans and Nothern VI.

We are also planning a trip to Tofino and it would appear that the Humpbacks migrate just of the coast.

Be warned, for us the whale watching trip wasn't (don't know how to out this) a totally environmental experience. More like Disney. On our last trip to The Bahamas we swam with wild Dolphins on a chance encounter with no other boats around. That was incredible.

However, the organised tours are a money making industry for the area. On our encounter from Victoria we tracked down the pod, only to find around 20 - 30 other boats harrassing the Orca. I just wasn't happy with the situation, it didn't seem natural.

There again it is a safe and easy way to achieve an "in the wild" encounter. I personally wouldn't repeat the experience and wouldn't have done so in the past had I known the environment.

it depends on what kind of whales you are hoping to see. the southern resident orca pods are seen on trips out of victoria, while you're more likely to see gray whales out of tofino, although if you're going soon, it would be a matter of luck seeing one as the migration isn't until later in the winter. but you might also see the occasional humpback or transient orca up there.

it's getting to be late in the season for the southern residents but they've been seeing them almost every day lately--probably because of the great salmon run the fraser river is having this year--the orcas feed on salmon. once the run's over they will move on to find food and generally move out of the san juans/victoria area in the late fall and winter.

i really hope none of the boats yanumpty were harrassing the whales--there are strict laws about that and the times i've been out, the operators have been good about respecting them.

The laws were following the rules but the fact is that having 30 boats jockey for position so that the pod swims into a particular boat cannot be good for the health of the pod. If they have to run that sort of gauntlet every day is not natural. I agree that the rules regarding motoring up to Orca are observed but most boats were actively trying to drift into their path to give the crowd their monies worth.

There is a line of extremes. At one end is seeing an Orca in an aquarium at the other end is kayaking in the wild and having a fin break water out of the blue. The tour boats are definitely towards the aquarium experience.

Personally, I wouldn't repeat the experience and for me it left a bad taste. Others may find it different.

Thanks NWWanderer and Yanumpty for your replies. I didn't realize the complexity of whale watching, but I get a sense of it from your responses. It helps give me a better idea of what to expect. As to dates, we'll be in Tofino from Sept. 22-25 and Victoria Sept. 25 and 26th. Will we have missed it all by then? Also, wondering which part of the Wild Pacific Trail you recommend seeing in Ucluelet. Since we have 3 full days in Tofino - I thought we would drive to Ucluelet one day. Any other recommendations for Tofino? We'll arrive in Victoria around 2 pm on the 25th and leave for Seattle on the 7 pm ferry on the 26th. Of course I want to see the gardens, so not sure if whale watching should be the other thing on our list or something else. Any advice appreciated. Ya'll are wonderful to help out. We are getting very excited!

The 'Lighthouse Loop' of the Wild Pacific Trail gives you a
wonderful overview of both the rugged headlands and the rain
forest.

Go even if it's pouring rain - if the seas are rough the trail
is just spectacular.

If you google Wild Pacific Trail you'll get lots of info on the
park.

We go to Tofino 2Xyear and every time we walk a part of the trail
- it's magical.

Oh God! this is dragging me into something I was trying to avoid. We are planning for next year but flights to BC have gone through the roof. We lost Zoom and Flyglobespan last year and used to pay £400 return. Best price for next year is £850 but all this talk of Tofino is dragging me back.

Thanks Immimi for your response about the Wild Pacific Trail - sounds amazing! NWWanderer - do you think our dates are too late to see any whales? Hope not!

Oh bite the bullet, ya, c'mon over!

My feeling is you've got to get as much of small-town, surf-city
Tofino before it turns into an over-condo-ed, over-crowded (not
that it isn't now) tourist town. It's just too beautiful for its
own good, IHMO.

"My feeling is you've got to get as much of small-town, surf-city. Tofino before it turns into an over-condo-ed, over-crowded (not that it isn't now) tourist town. It's just too beautiful for its own good, IHMO"

Never has a truer word been spoken. I started travelling at the age of 6 months. Since I was 20 (20 years ago) I have lost count of the jewels we have lost to over- development, places that were really special and now are condo city.

It's true - most of the places I have visited over the years have changed dramatically with development. Some cities, like Cambria in California, limit the number of water permits allowed as a way of limiting development.

it's impossible to say but normally i would not count on seeing the orcas from victoria that late in september. a number of whale watching operators are on twitter and facebook, and/or post reports of sightings on their website, so you might look closer to your trip to see what's been happening. but of course, seeing them one day doesn't mean you'll see them the next.

Lots of Sockeye Salmon around means lots of Orca sightings-they are seen almost daily off the mouth of the Fraser-a short run from downtown Vancouver/a bit longer from Victoria.

that's true now...but as you know, this is an unusually high run and who knows if it'll still be going in a few weeks? i'm just making sure the op knows the chances in late september are statistically not great so they are not disappointed. maybe this year will be different due to the fraser run being so high this year, but they shouldn't count on it.

After Sockeye come Spring <i>(Chinook</i>) & Coho and after them Chums-well into November-so Orcas will be feeding heavily on Fraser runs for at least 6 weeks yet.

The real question is whether seas will lay down enough for WW boats to get out.

As to WCVI if you aren't out on the water you're missing the Best Part of the whole experience. :'(