Parksville Half Day Whale and Wildlife Adventure

What a fabulous experience we had with Captain Andy on the water. He provided us with all the pertinent info to get us started....safety on the water overview, all the necessary housekeeping details and of course education on the whale families that we were hoping to see. The day did not disappoint - from crystal clear waters, gorgeous sunshine and multiple wildlife sightings including 2 to 3 humpbacks, up to 6 orcas as well as barking sea lions. Overall, it was a fantastic day and well worth the spend.

OEVP's whale watching tour was an absolutely fantastic experience. We ventured out 11SEP26 for the 11:00 am tour and were almost immediately met by a mother Humpback and her babe. Several more Humpbacks appeared and for the next 90 minutes it was almost non-stop amazement as we watched these gentle giants move all around us, some so close we could hear (and smell!) their breath! We then travelled further up the coastline, saw a gathering of sunbathing seals along the way to find the Orcas. As timing (and stellar captaining by our amazing guide Andy!) would have it, we met the famed Chainsaw and his mother Whitby. We played cat-n-mouse chase for awhile, and then our patience paid off. The Orcas full-breached AND we watched them catch a seal and have a feed. This was truly one of the most heartful, amazing experiences I've ever had. I highly recommend this adventure and crew. Big thanks to Andy for his knowledge, humour, and stealth capacity to curate such a stellar day. Two thumbs way up, do not hesitate to book your experience!

Amazing experience. Andy was a fantastic guide, giving us lots of info about the whales we were seeing. We found 8 humpback whales very quickly and he spent time making sure we all had a great view. Orcas took a while to find, but Andy was determined to find them for us, so much so we ended up staying out half an hour longer than our tour, as we were following a mother and son Orca. We have done whale watching trips in other counties, but this was by far the best one we’ve ever done.

You will be wearing a survival suit so probably don’t need the extra clothes you are prompted to bring. It was all very comfortable though.

Captain Andi was amazing- we had a truly memorable adventure where we saw two humpback whales breach! The kids were gobsmacked, as were we. Andi was so friendly, knowledgeable and engaging- we asked so many questions and learnt a lot as well as enjoying blasting along in the most incredible scenery!

We thoroughly enjoyed our 1/2 day whale watching trip and it exceeded our expectations. We had a brilliant tour guide Abi who who had so much knowledge to share and was friendly and welcoming. We were fortunate and saw both orcas and humpback whales as well as other wildlife such as sea lions and a bald eagle. In addition to the wildlife it was wonderful to see the amazing island scenery from the boat. A very professional tour operator from beginning to end.

The tour was well organised and professional. We were on a fast boat that seated around 12 people. We were all issued with floatation suits and had a clear health and safety chat. We felt very safe and relaxed. Our guide/captain was extremely knowledgeable and we were very lucky to see a pod of orcas who we observed for over an hour we also saw some humpbacks and a baby humpback. It was an amazing experience and well worth the money

Great experience saw humpbacks breeching, Mom Humpback and calf. Guide was very knowledgeable about the animals we encountered: Humpback’s, seals, eagles. Really safety conscious!

On June 10, we went on a tour from Parksville with Captain Simon. We were hoping for some sightings, and our expectations were more than met! A few years ago, we had already seen some of the “residents” off Vancouver, and this time we were hoping to spot a humpback whale. We were incredibly lucky… we saw a total of three humpback whales, as well as an encounter between two orca families and even both species together. It was so moving to see these wonderful animals interacting. We saw the orcas leaping, slapping their fins, and even an orca calf. These unforgettable experiences were accompanied by lots of information from Simon, and we could tell how deeply connected he feels to the animals. If we ever come back to Vancouver Island, we’ll definitely take another tour with Ocean Ecoventures!

+1

Timely and comprehensive communication. Easy to reach by phone and quick to process my refund. But our original excursion date was cancelled due to weather and we were offered alternatives. This seemed great — they had a few options that still worked during our time on the Island for vacation. We already had plans for the Friday so chose the Saturday option. Was very excited — this was the only pre planned event made for our trip. Found out Friday afternoon that the Saturday option given was not confirmed as only my husband and I and one other person were booked on the boat. As a result barring 2 more people booking the excursion would be a no go. Although I understood this condition from the original booking and I knew weather could still cancel it — I don’t understand why they would reschedule to an unconfirmed boat due to the number of people??? Also had they made me aware of the situation when I was rebooking I could have moved my Friday plans to make the excursion happen. Very disappointed and will not pre book next time but plan something on the fly with a different event company.