Subtidal Adventures
Subtidal Adventures
4.7
7:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
7:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
7:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
7:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
7:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
7:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
7:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
Closed
Full view
About
Ucluelet’s most respected, respectful and experienced marine wildlife watching company. Whale and Bear watching surrounded by incredible scenery. Small group cruising since 1978 in Barkley Sound and the Broken Group Islands. Choose our “fast and fun” Zodiac or our slower paced cabin cruiser. Mainly Gray, Humpback, sometimes Orca whales. Sea Lions, Seals, Eagles, possible Sea Otter. Exciting, innovative boat tours include: spring, summer and fall "Whale Watching"; summer and fall "Bear Watching Harbour Tour"; summer and fall "Islands and Sea Things"; winter Sunset Islands and Harbour tours.
Ucluelet, 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.
Popular mentions
4.7
226 reviews
Excellent
190
Very good
21
Average
9
Poor
3
Terrible
3
SydneyR
Sydney14 contributions
May 2022
We had a 3.5 hour tour with Brian today - the weather was perfect and we were the only two customers on board. The tour was aimed mainly at bears, sea lions and Bald Eagles.
We saw 7 bears, including 2 cubs with their mother. Good shots were possible with a 400mm lens. We also saw many sea lions crowded on 2 pontoons and also several Bald Eagles, one perched for a good period of time. We also tracked two Grey whales, mother with calf. Brian provided a useful commentary throughout the trip. Overall, I felt the tour was excellent and recommend it strongly.
We saw 7 bears, including 2 cubs with their mother. Good shots were possible with a 400mm lens. We also saw many sea lions crowded on 2 pontoons and also several Bald Eagles, one perched for a good period of time. We also tracked two Grey whales, mother with calf. Brian provided a useful commentary throughout the trip. Overall, I felt the tour was excellent and recommend it strongly.
Written May 11, 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.
cinnamon2017
Solihull, UK4 contributions
Aug 2024 • Family
A fantastic trip in & around Ucluelet harbour where we saw black bears with and without cubs, deer, seals, sea lions, bald eagles and an unexpected treat of a tumbling sea otter! Relaxing and informative with a great guide, Brian. He not only shared his wildlife expertise but also shared a couple of his great photos of the sights we had seen on our morning. Would thoroughly recommend.
Written August 26, 2024
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.
MarylandSnowfish
maryland33 contributions
Aug 2022 • Family
Whale watching/wildlife viewing trip. We went out in the late afternoon, they provide one piece suits (like a snowmobile suit that is both water/wind protection and a flotation device. We were in a Zodiac, small/stable/safe and easy viewing for everyone. Max 12 passengers. Our captain was funny, well informed, and knew the whales by name (he has been doing this for years.). We saw two humpbacks, seals, sea lions, otters, eagles…..AMAZING. Sightings never guaranteed BUT if anyone can find a whale it’s these guys.
Written August 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.
Emily H
8 contributions
Jun 2023 • Couples
Had so much fun zipping along on the Zodiac Trip yesterday afternoon. It was an overcast day with some light rain but that didn’t affect the trip at all. We were lucky enough to see whales, sea lions, sea otters, eagles and a cheeky raccoon at the end! Owen was an excellent guide thank you for a great trip.
Written June 10, 2023
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.
AnamCara
20 contributions
Aug 2022 • Family
A very relaxing fun bear boat cruise captained by Brian. Some time watching an adolescent bear then an older male bear on another patch of coastline. Bald eagles galore, sea otters, seals and some very noisy californian sea lions. We loved the slow paced meander of this tour. Highly recommend.
Written August 19, 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.
David S
Brecon, UK4 contributions
Sept 2022 • Couples
Small group of like minded people and great wildlife. We saw 3 black bears and briefly 2. Cubs. A bald eagle , sea otter and numerous seals and sea lions. Excellent trip.
Written October 17, 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.
tezzzka
George Town, Grand Cayman536 contributions
Aug 2014 • Couples
Unfortunately this tour was very bad! Actually, the worst tour we have ever done. It was 4 of us - we went on the Zodiac with some other people and all of us were so disappointed in what happened. They just want your money - they don´t care if you see whales or not, once they get your money, they have 3 hours for your tour and won´t give you not even extra 5 minutes when you finally find whales around you!
After 2 hours of sailing and trying to find whales we finally saw the first whale: "Ooh look, there is a whale!" and our guide just said "Sorry guys, we don´t have time, we have to go back so I won´t be stopping here" Really?! You pay for whale watching and she won´t stop to watch them?! But why did she spent 20 minutes talking about some birds at the begining of our tour? We didn´t want our money back we just wanted to know why they don´t use at least a little bit of personal attitude. You know, when you owe your business, you should care more about your customers and not that much about money. If she just gave us 5 minutes to watch the whales, everybody on the boat would be so happy and this review would have "excellent" instead of terrble rating.
When we complained about ther attitude we were told that they were not a museum - WOW, great customer service, indeed!
Try to use a different company for whale watching!
After 2 hours of sailing and trying to find whales we finally saw the first whale: "Ooh look, there is a whale!" and our guide just said "Sorry guys, we don´t have time, we have to go back so I won´t be stopping here" Really?! You pay for whale watching and she won´t stop to watch them?! But why did she spent 20 minutes talking about some birds at the begining of our tour? We didn´t want our money back we just wanted to know why they don´t use at least a little bit of personal attitude. You know, when you owe your business, you should care more about your customers and not that much about money. If she just gave us 5 minutes to watch the whales, everybody on the boat would be so happy and this review would have "excellent" instead of terrble rating.
When we complained about ther attitude we were told that they were not a museum - WOW, great customer service, indeed!
Try to use a different company for whale watching!
Written February 3, 2015
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.
Hans H
Switzerland13 contributions
Jun 2016 • Couples
We have not seen any whales or Bears. We were told that it was the same situation at least for the last 3 days. The Company just rips you off. You pay a 100 dollars for nothing and they know that there are no whales around. June 27, 2016 2 PM Dixi ship
Written June 27, 2016
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.
dutchguest2016
Zeist, The Netherlands21 contributions
May 2016 • Couples
We had a wonderful boat trip with Subtidal. Small and comfortable boat. Guide knows a lot and really respects nature and the animals. We saw many bald eagles, sea otters, sea lions and grey whales. Trip to the broken islands group was beautiful.Best boattrip in our holydays.
Written July 4, 2016
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.
Dan L
3 contributions
May 2016 • Couples
Upon arriving on the dock, a young lady by the name of Yarrow greeted us with a friendly smile. We chatted for sometime and you could hear her passion for the sea in her voice which continued throughout our entire excursion. Within 10'minutes of making out if the harbor she brought us upon sea lions and about five minutes later we found a grey whale. We were able to watch this whale for more than a half hour!!! After this we found more sea lions and bald eagles.
Written May 23, 2016
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.
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