Ocean Outfitters
Ocean Outfitters
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About
Tofino's carbon neutral adventure tour company. Join us for ethical bear & whale watching, remote kayaking & SUP tours, Hot Springs Cove programs, Meares Island service, and custom private adventures. We operate both Zodiacs & cabin vessels offering programs for both families and for the adventurous. Our experienced local guides will pilot you through beautiful scenic Clayoquot Sound in search of wildlife including grey whales, humpbacks, orca, black bears, sea otters, sea lions, wolves, eagles and seabirds. Deep respect for nature and ethical business practices are our core values. Our self-determined mandate demands that we go beyond education. That’s why we are committed to supporting local projects and programs that affect real and measurable change in the environment around us. We offer safe, professional programs that encourage stewardship. Reservations are recommended. Our waterfront location on Main Street in the Shore building also has a in-house organic Espresso Bar.
Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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5.0
1,145 reviews
Excellent
998
Very good
92
Average
23
Poor
18
Terrible
14
katdornian
Calgary, Canada1 contribution
Aug 2022
I had a wonderful time on the Zodiac boat (open air) with guide Artie. We were well outfitted for the trip. Artie was so great; he took us to a few spots were we saw harbour seals, sea otters, stellar sea lions, and two gray whales! He showed such a passion for his job and the wildlife through his stories and answers to questions. He was also great at making sure everyone on the boat had a great experience and got to see the wildlife. I also love Ocean Outfitters dedication to being a green business with respect for indigenous cultures of the land. I would definitely recommend Ocean Outfitters to anyone else looking to see some wildlife around Tofino.
Written August 26, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Annemarie
Vancouver, Canada71 contributions
Apr 2021
I arrived in Tofino later afternoon with very little time to research and find a company to do an excursion with. Ocean outfitters luckily had space to accomodate my late request and I was able to get on board a very safe, comfortable, clean, vessel. The captain had a VAST ARRAY OF EXPERIENCE to share with us from being a pilot to various out door experiences and guide expertise. I felt safe and secure he had such a knowledge of operating boats as well, excited to listen to anything he had to say. I learned a lot more than I bargained for that day. On top of it we got to watch a black bear turn over rocks looking for tasty treats underneath. I had such a great time, I recommend Ocean outfitters to anyone if its your first time out on a boat or have any reservations or fear. They are utterly professional, experienced and knowledgeable.
Thank you Ocean Outfitters for making my experience so wonderfu. .
Thank you Ocean Outfitters for making my experience so wonderfu. .
Written April 8, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JJawandering
Lethbridge, Canada355 contributions
Sept 2021 • Solo
I did two tours with this group and they met my expectations. The guide was knowledgeable and carefully and quietly manoeuvred the boat to give space to the orca whales and the bear we saw fishing at low tide. I appreciated the insulated PFD suits to give us extra warmth at this time of year. They also give a seniors discount and discount if you take two tours. Highly recommended!
Written September 8, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Arjenth
Apeldoorn, The Netherlands34 contributions
Sept 2022
After three weeks of seeing just the trails (and poo) of bears, we wanted to see them live. On a safe distance of course. And boy, were we lucky. This trip proved fruitful, two solitary bears and one mother with cub showed up on the shores where we visited.
Meanwhile our captain / guide proved to be very knowledgable about the surroundings, while also being careful with mother nature. So don't expect african safari-situations where everybody dives on top of the wildlife once encountered, we keep a safe distance not to disturb the animals in their habitat. Binoculars or a camera with zoomlens are highly recommended.
Meanwhile our captain / guide proved to be very knowledgable about the surroundings, while also being careful with mother nature. So don't expect african safari-situations where everybody dives on top of the wildlife once encountered, we keep a safe distance not to disturb the animals in their habitat. Binoculars or a camera with zoomlens are highly recommended.
Written October 1, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
gerry r
10 contributions
Aug 2020
We booked a covered vessel whale watching tour about a month in advance of our trip for 9am. The day before the tour they called and said they had to move our tour to 10am due to an issue with 1 of their 2 boats. No problem for us as I deal with mechanical breakdowns and can understand. The 1 hour late start time turned out to be a blessing since there was fog in the area all morning. By the time our tour started, it had all burned off. We were assigned to their vessel named Miss B Haven with Captain Ron. He was very knowledgeable about the area, the ecology and the local wildlife. Was very eco-concious as well as he made every concerted effort to not disrupt the wildlife we saw on the tour. And there was plenty to see. The list included, many sea otters, harbour seals, california sea lions, cormorants, tufted puffins, a few other types of birds, and of course the whales. This time of the year only houses the grey whales that do not make the full migration. Apparently the odd Orca and Humpback also make appearances this time of the year. You would probably have better luck with those species though during migration seasons. We saw 5 or 6 different whales over 2 different areas. Definitely a trip to remember.
Written September 1, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Robert W
Toronto, Canada102 contributions
Aug 2021
We booked the whale watching zodiac tour in mid Aug but was disappointed that we only encountered one whale. In fact the boat was stopped in the water quite a distance from the whale, so all we saw was the occasional blow out of the water.
I understand there are protocols about keeping a distance, but we were so far away that you might as well not have encountered the whale at all. What is the point of whale watching if you cannot even see the whale? There were other boats as well from different companies right beside us as well. So it is not a specific company issue but an local restriction it seems.
Later we found out that all the whales have migrated north to Alaska and only a handful ( less than 10) stay in the area. Makes you wonder why run a whale watching tour at all. Jul, Sept & Oct are probably terrible times to take this tour.
We also booked the bear-watching tour but lucky for us it was cancelled and we got a full refund. On our whale watching tour, we spend the last 30 minutes cruising the shorelines looking for bears. Well no luck either. Looking at the shore-line I cannot see why a bear would come out of the woods into the deep water. Every documentary I have watched shows bears in shallow riverbeds grabbing fish. I doubt very much anyone on a bear watching tour would see a bear.
The zodiac boat ride is fun but it is very bouncing, avoid all foods and all liquids at least 2 hours before your tour, unless you have an extremely good stomach and bladder control.
The company tries and the staff are friendly but it is probably not the ideal place for their animal watching tours.
Bottom line is when in Tofino try the surfing or don't bother visiting the town.
I understand there are protocols about keeping a distance, but we were so far away that you might as well not have encountered the whale at all. What is the point of whale watching if you cannot even see the whale? There were other boats as well from different companies right beside us as well. So it is not a specific company issue but an local restriction it seems.
Later we found out that all the whales have migrated north to Alaska and only a handful ( less than 10) stay in the area. Makes you wonder why run a whale watching tour at all. Jul, Sept & Oct are probably terrible times to take this tour.
We also booked the bear-watching tour but lucky for us it was cancelled and we got a full refund. On our whale watching tour, we spend the last 30 minutes cruising the shorelines looking for bears. Well no luck either. Looking at the shore-line I cannot see why a bear would come out of the woods into the deep water. Every documentary I have watched shows bears in shallow riverbeds grabbing fish. I doubt very much anyone on a bear watching tour would see a bear.
The zodiac boat ride is fun but it is very bouncing, avoid all foods and all liquids at least 2 hours before your tour, unless you have an extremely good stomach and bladder control.
The company tries and the staff are friendly but it is probably not the ideal place for their animal watching tours.
Bottom line is when in Tofino try the surfing or don't bother visiting the town.
Written August 29, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Micheltravel
Netherlands1,032 contributions
Aug 2022 • Couples
First of all, it is not a zoo, it is open water and forest, so to see animals you have to be a bit lucky. And we were. Went on a covered boat bear watching tour, worth every dollar. 2 hours of fun, and we saw a bear foerage at the coastline, a dolphin, 3 eagles and a seaotter. Brayden was a great and knowledgeable guide, and the company is a non profit organization, something we did not know upfront, that supports a number of wildlife conservation project in the area. An even better reason to choose them for a tour.
Written August 6, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
sandy b
4 contributions
Jun 2022 • Couples
Our guide Braden was excellent and made the trip! He was very knowledgeable and friendly.
Overall, good value for your money, within the first 15 minutes he took us to a spot where a grey whale had been feeding the day before and we were fortunate enough that it was still there. Although, the Orca’s did not appear for us we were able to see sea otters and seals and Braden pointed out many interesting facts about the area throughout our trip.
We also appreciated that the organization is environmentally & socially conscious with profits being used for those purposes. Would definitely recommend.
Overall, good value for your money, within the first 15 minutes he took us to a spot where a grey whale had been feeding the day before and we were fortunate enough that it was still there. Although, the Orca’s did not appear for us we were able to see sea otters and seals and Braden pointed out many interesting facts about the area throughout our trip.
We also appreciated that the organization is environmentally & socially conscious with profits being used for those purposes. Would definitely recommend.
Written June 15, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ali921
Edinburgh, UK1,551 contributions
May 2022
We undertook the bear watching excursion with them. There are two options - covered or uncovered boats. We opted for the covered version, you can still stand outside if you want. Whilst there is no guarantee of sightings the level of service and information provided was excellent by our guide. It was fortunate that we had three separate sightings of black bears but that shouldn't be the main reason for our review. Throughout our trip we felt that he was doing the best he could to ensure that we enjoyed our time on board. Totally recommend these guys
Written June 15, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Khilan D
London, UK2 contributions
Jul 2022 • Family
Ana amazing Bear Watching trip : our host Braydon was so good at explaining about the wildlife as well as lots of the history, including the First Nation history and current affairs. He made the trip engaging for the young kids and adults alike.
We were lucky enough to see four coastal black bears and some bald eagles.
We were lucky enough to see four coastal black bears and some bald eagles.
Written July 15, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ellen L
Burnaby, Canada
Hi, I'm planning to stay for 2 nights in Vancouver Island in early Aug. We're interesting in whale watching, bear watching, hot spring cove and fishing too. But due to the time limit, we have to choose some out of the above four. Please advise if there is a whole day trip for whale watching and hot spring cove. Furthermore, please advise where to gather as I may not staying in Tofino but Parkville.
Besides, please advise the rates for different trip. Many thanks.
Written May 23, 2017
If I were you I would choose bear watching and the whale watching then squeeze in sea plane excursion
We did do the hot springs and it was lovely but the best bit was boat ride out
Written July 14, 2018
How long does the tour last and how much is it? Easy to find?
Written March 17, 2017
Hello Alejandra,
Hot Springs is a 6 hour program. 1.5 hours by boat up and 3 hours at the Cove. 1.5 hours return. The board walk is 2 km and takes approximately 30min to walk. We do scout for wildlife along the way! We are located on the waterfront in Tofino between 3rd and 4th streets. 368 Main Street. Hope you'll visit us for some adventure!
Written March 20, 2017
Susanxu131
Shanghai, China
I will go visit Tofino in the end of January and I'm wondering is that ok to take a boat trip at that time? Thanks
Written January 11, 2017
Ocean Outfitters offer winter Hot Springs Cove programs year round plus taxi service to the Big Tree Trail on Meares Island. We still have whales in the area however it is not whale or bear season. Call the office 2507252866 and we will be happy to assist you.
Written January 11, 2017
I have just booked a tour to hot Springs cove, leaving at 2:30pm - will this get us there at high tide such that we can't go in the springs?
Thank you
Leanne
Written July 15, 2016
You will be fine. Enjoy the tour.
Written July 16, 2016
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