So much depends on the crew’s ability to not just find the whales (and we saw a pod of orcas and a trio of humpbacks) but also to help you understand what you are seeing. Joseph and Desarae really made this an amazing experience: it is a privilege to see these wild creatures and the care the outfit take to ensure these majestic whales thrive while still helping us as humans appreciate them is fantastic.

Rodrigo guided us safely and Desiree gave great commentary! Even though the weather was bleak the whales did not care and we were in for quite the treat! My favourite was counting 22 tail slaps and then seeing a whale fluke loom large beside one of the open boats! The company seems to have a good philosophy around avoiding more endangered species and encouraging less noise - very hard in such a busy shipping area! A wonderful tour that I would highly recommend!

This was an absolutely brilliant experience! Val, the marine naturalist, was very knowledgeable and experienced and able to share her enthusiasm with our group. We were very lucky in getting good sightings of about 9 separate humpbacks, plus harbour seals, sea lions and other marine life. Full marks to Joseph, the captain of the RIB too. Cannot recommend highly enough!

Great enthusiastic guides! Awesome stuff. Saw all the humpback behaviours which felt really rare and exciting. Thank you Aly and Rodrigo 🙂

We enjoyed the semi-covered vessel for this August 21st tour. While the waves were quite choppy, our guides were amazing in locating multiple humpback whales, orcas, sea lions, and harbour seals. They were also very knowledgeable from start to finish and would hands down recommend Des and Vanessa for anyone wanting to go on this adventure.

This eas a peak experience. We were lucky to see some whales breaching and an on board photographer captured great shots. I did get a little seasick though and wished I'd prepared better for that although it didn't ruin the trip.

It has been my daughter's dream most of her life to go whale watching. After looking at many reviews & different options, we chose Vancouver Island Whale Watch & we are so thankful we did! We did the 3:30 sailing on the covered boat. We went back & forth many times about which boat to go on, as my daughter has a tendancy to get motion sick & we weren't sure if it would make a difference (see below for details if you're trying to figure this out too!). Val & Rodrigo found a group of 3 humpbacks very quickly & we spent an hour watching them. We then found a mom & calf...and then a lone whale on the way back (as well as seals, sea lions, & birds!). Val & Rodrigo were absolutely wonderful guides....obviously caring about us as their guests & about the whales! We were excited to purchase stickers for 2 of the whales we saw that day! Our only disappointment was to not see Orcas, but we know that is never a guarantee! Thank you so much Val & Rodrigo, your joy & passion for what you do is contagious & we so enjoyed our trip! Regarding sea sickness for those who are looking for that info like we were.... To start, all the windows were closed on the boat which made it quite warm inside, which tends to make the movement worse. Once we picked up speed it quickly cooled off & was quite comfortable. I wouldn't say my daughter didn't get at all sick, but it was very manageable & she was enjoying the trip. When we found the first group of whales, she went to the back to take pictures & was just fine. When she had to come back in for us to go fast again, it was the same problem...windows closed, no airflow, feels sick. At this point it had compounded a bit so it was worse. In hindsight, I would have had her stay outside until we got going (2 people were allowed to stay out). When we found the mom & calf, Rodrigo positioned the boat for us to best be able to see which is wonderful. Unfortunately, that time it was parallel to the waves & the constant rolling was making it really bad for my daughter. When I mentioned this to Val, she immediately got us a few ginger candies (we had already been using our own as well) & talked to Rodrigo. He repositioned the boat to be facing the waves (in a way that we could still see the whales!) & it was immediately much better. After that, my daughter stayed in the back while we were moving & she was totally fine.

Went on the 10:30 am semi-covered whale watch with captain Tino and naturalist Aly, with my 4-year old daughter. The weather was perfect and we had a spectacular day, particularly interacting with humpback whales Kelpie and then Grizzly. Grizzly was particularly performative and did a lot of jumping and fin flapping. We also saw sea lions, seals, vultures and a bald eagle. We also learned a lot about the ocean life in the Salish Sea.

Amazing experience, enthusiastic and very friendly crew loaded with knowledge. Highly recommend, cause that is exactly what we were looking for

Amazing, fun & knowledgeable crew; loads of whales sighted (including one that emerged right beside the boat!). The boat itself was really comfortable.

Very enjoyable trip with Vancouver Island Whale Watch on the semi-covered boat! Our guide Hayley was knowledgeable and engaging and our captain Tino was excellent. We saw 2 groups of orcas, as well as harbour seals and sea lions. I would 100% recommend this company for whale watching trips in the Nanaimo area — hope to go out again someday!

A really well engaging trip with Tino and Hayleigh for 4hrs which went past too quickly. Understanding the wildlife we saw and the important research supporting these amazing creatures was really inspiring. Spotted humpback whales, sealing, seal pups, bald eagles, turkey vulture and even a deer. Highly recommend 👌

We had a fabulous day out with Vancouver Island Whale Watch. Excuse my grainy Android pics which do not remotely do the experience justice. It has been a life goal of mine to see orcas since I was a little kid and we were barely out on the water for half an hour when we came across a little group of a mom and her two children whom we got to spend close to an hour with as Hayley and Tino told us interesting info about them. Hayley, our guide, and Tino, the driver were both such assets who helped us see and learn about so much. Later we saw some humpbacks including a lunge feeding humpback which was a really special treat. Then we got to visit with some boisterous sea lions who were all bickering and bellowing adorably. On our way back in we saw an eagle dive into the water and try and fail to pull up a fish much too big for it. We also saw a juvenile bald eagle on its nest and dozens of cormorants hanging out on cliffs. It truly was a magical day and the experience was smooth from start to finish. The covered boat was a plus as it had a bathroom on board so I'd recommend trying to get on that if you can. 100% recommended company. Thanks, Hayley and Tino! Looking forward to seeing the undoubtedly much better pics Hayley took on our perfect day out.

We very much enjoyed our trip. We found it east to book the trip online and good information over the phone on how to find their office and where to park. We got to see some Orca and Sealions.

We had previously had an unsuccessful trip out from Victoria so decided to try a different area and booked with Vancouver Island Whale Watching. Everything was simple and professional from the online booking to checking in for our tour. We made our way down to our boat for the 3-5 hour trip with our naturalist Aly, and met our boat captain Tino, both were enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Within 30 minutes we were treated to the show of our lives from a humpback called coyote, at 40ft long he was a gentle giant. This has to have been one of the most memorable times of our lives something that could never be replicated. We managed to see 3 confirmed humpbacks and 2 others but only for a few moments. We also saw Bald eagle, Stellar Sealions and Cormorants. We cannot express how great the team were and how great our trip was thank you.