Campbell River : Bute Inlet Grizzly-Watching Tour & Boottocht

As a surprise 60th birthday gift, we spent the day with Alex and Laura on the All Day Grizzly tour to Bute Inlet. Alex is the most amazing Captain. We had some rough water for part of the run and he handled it awesomely. We always felt safe. He and Laura both kept us well informed about where we were and what was up next. They stopped or slowed at any wildlife viewing opportunity of which there were many! After a wonderful locally catered lunch (and snack along the way) We were joined by Kailin and Conrad at Homalka Tours and given the most amazing Grizzly viewing experience. 8 grizzlies in all including a mama and her cubs. They seemed to think this was a quiet day! I would highly recommended this tour and we will definitely come again!! Our photo ops were amazing! Thank you thank you thank you! What a fantastic Thanksgiving and the most amazing early birthday gift! So grateful!!

Amazing experience. Saw 11 Grizzlies including a nursing cub; a pod of killer whales, 2 humpback whales, Loads of Seals, Sea Lions and Eagles. Bet our guide was the best. Along with Homalco guides who allowed for extra viewing time when we came across more bears.

From start to finish, the tour was exceptional. Our boat captain and naturalist were friendly, helpful, and informative. The boat ride was spectacular, with unexpected viewings of many humpback whales and eagles along the way! Lunch and snacks were delicious and the view from the lunch spot could not be beat. Our bear tour with the First Nations guides was wonderful. They were funny and friendly and informative, with great stories intermixed with personal experiences and information about the wildlife, land and indigenous people. We were at the tail end of bear season so felt extremely lucky and satisfied to have a close encounter with one magnificent grizzly. It was as exciting as I expected. The ride home was also beautiful, with another unexpected sighting of an entire colony of frolicking stellar sea lions. Our boat captain and guide knew exactly where to take us and how to position us to get the most out of all wildlife viewings. I'd recommend this trip to anyone able to make the trip up to Campbell River BC.

Incredible experience! The tour accommodates 30 people, but it doesn’t feel too crowded. We got to see whales on the way out and sea lions and dolphins on the way back. We stopped at a few viewing spots and saw 5 bears in total, including a mother and cub, which sticked around for quite some time. The hosts were fantastic and getting some indigenous background and having indigenous guides was incredible!

Geoff and Tyler were outstanding guides for this adventure. The members of the Homalco tribe were also incredible during the grizzly bear portion. We saw humpback whales, mother bears and their cubs as well as one male grizzly. Stellar sea lions and multiple birds rounded out our wildlife viewing. The lunch and snacks were delicious and obviously homemade with great care. This company is also mindful of the environment and their impact on it and strive to make as little a footprint as possible while also encouraging efforts to decrease humans negative impact on the environment. This will be an experience you will not forget and will talk about for days. Highly recommend!

Alex was a great Captain and Naturalist. Excellent Grizzly Bear sightings but also Orcas and Humpback Whales and Seals

Great tour! John and Lexie were very good and very helpful stopping to explain many anecdotes and curiosities!

We had a fantastic experience with Lexie and Geoff. They are both very knowledgeable and gladly shared their knowledge. And it was great to see with how much respect they treat the wildlife while ensuring that the group does the same. The lunch was also great, especially the granola bars! It does get quite windy outside and as people had to sit outside, just make sure to wear windbreakers.

This was the most exciting, planned activity for our 11-day trip to Vancouver Island. It did not disappoint. We saw a Momma Bear catch a Chum Salmon for her two cubs and in immature male walk right by the platform. We were just at the start of the salmon run (August 21), so we were fortunate to see the bears. As they will tell you, this is the wild environment, not a zoo. There is no guarantee that you will see the bears. Hundreds of salmon in the water. Tyler, our guide, was very knowledgeable about all of the area and wildlife. He was terrific!! We also saw some Humpback whales breach the water and swim for several minutes on our way to Bute Inlet. Be prepared, it is quite a trek to get to Bute Inlet. Roughly 2.4 hours each way. But the scenery at every point is breath takingly beautiful. We had low winds that day, so the boat and ride was very comfortable. On this particular day, it was far warmer than expected. You are at sea level the whole day. So while you go well into British Columbia, you are in a fjord, not traveling up into the mountains. However, I'm sure it could also be cool, but our jackets were not required. I would recommend a camera with an excellent zoom capability. A standard I-phone is not really going to get the shots you want, even if the bears of whales get close. The platform is safe and well protected from the bears, so if you are concerned (for some reason) that you might be in harms way, rest assured you are not going to be in any danger whatsoever!!!

I can’t say enough about this tour! Not an inexpensive offering, I will tell you it was well worth the cost. From start to finish of a full day, we had our captain Alex and naturalist/captain Tyler totally committed to providing us the best possible experience. Early on, Alex pointed out harbor seals, gave us a brief history of the area. Then he spotted the “blows” of humpback whales! He made sure we all got great views and as the whales chose to swim in our direction, he turned off the engines. Totally respect for the whales! Then on to the Bute Inlet. Wonderful lunch included before the Hamalco First Nations guides gave us a native language greeting, gave us the do’s and dont’s of being in bear country. Duke was our native guide, bound and determined we’d find something special! Loving his purpose here, we got to view a mamma and her two cubs feeding! Delicious snack as we reboarded. Don’t miss this if possible