Vancouver Island Bear Watching Tours:
Our Top Picks
Searching for Vancouver Island bear watching tours? You’ve come to the right place! We know our Island well, and we’ve done the research on which companies offer the best Vancouver Island bear tours. Bear watching on Vancouver Island is a pretty incredible experience and one you'll be talking about for a long time. So... what's the best time for bear watching?
You can spot bears anytime on the Island, but the best time is generally in September and into October. This is when bears come right down to the shoreline to forage for their favorites, like clams, rock crabs and sedge grass, including… salmon, which they feast on in preparation for their winter rest.
About Our Bears
Graeme and I have seen Black Bears in various regions on Vancouver Island during our travels. Seeing a Black Bear with your own eyes is a pretty incredible experience, compared to just seeing them on National Geographic!Did you know?... - Vancouver Island Black Bears (ursus americanus vancouveri) are a separate sub-species of Black Bear and they are only found here on Vancouver Island.
- Out of the entire province of British Columbia, Vancouver Island has the densest population of bears.
DO WE HAVE GRIZZLY BEARS? There are no grizzly bears on the Island. Any advertising for “Grizzly Bear Tours” will not be ON Vancouver Island, but will be FROM the Island, boating across to the Mainland into Knight Inlet. These tours are a minimum of 8 hours and generally start at around $300.00/person. If you’d prefer a Grizzly tour, then we’d recommend checking out either
Aboriginal Journeys
tours, or
Tide Rip Grizzly Adventure
tours.
Best Vancouver Island Bear Watching Tours
Coastal Knights Kayak
- These guys offer really cool Vancouver Island bear watching tours… by kayak! Operated out of Ucluelet, you can book a fully guided 2.5 hour kayak trip to see bears and other great Island wildlife – doing this by kayak (which we love) is a fantastic way to combine adventures. We hear that they now also offer tours in a dory if you prefer the non-kayak method. Note: their tours are extremely well-priced, starting around $55/person. See their website, or call them toll-free at 1-877-726-4202.
West Coast Aquatic Safaris
- Based out of Tofino, we’ve heard from friends that these guys offer excellent bear watching tours. Tours are done by passenger vessel and have onboard washrooms, and the cost runs about $89/person, with seniors and children a bit cheaper.
NOTE: both of these tour companies are based out at Tofino and Ucluelet, towns which are on the Island’s western coast. Drive time from the City of Nanaimo (on the Island’s eastern coast) to Ucluelet is roughly 2.5 hours. Drive time from Nanaimo to Tofino is roughly 3 hours.
Another really incredible Island adventure! Enjoy and drop us a line if you do a tour and let us know your comments!
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