Overview

The Vancouver Island, British Columbia coast is one of the most rugged and dramatic on earth, and one of the finest sea kayaking areas anywhere. Heavily forested islands and mountains are laced with thousands of miles of intricate waterways. It is a sea kayaking paradise, and our sea kayak tours are designed to offer you the very best that this region has to offer.

Inside Passage

Inside Passage sea kayaking trips begin in Port McNeill, near the northeastern end of Vancouver Island. From there, we explore the islands and waterways within a 25-mile radius. Orca encounters here are very common. There are two Inside Passage options: the Wildlife Discovery

and Orca Humpback Odyssey tours.

Wildlife Discovery
The astounding variety and abundance of wildlife in our area, combined with the vast possibilities of wonderful kayaking routes, set the stage for our Wildlife Discovery kayaking adventures. We strive to spend time in the proximity of all the whales in our area on these trips, but we also measure our "whale time" with the desire to fully experience the variety of wildlife that can be encountered.

For many, this is the perfect balance of pure sea kayaking pleasure with experiencing and learning about the entire area, from the smallest seashore creatures to the black bears and blacktail deer who casually stroll the shoreline in search of food during low tide periods. We may hear a pack of wolves howling in the distance or see signs of the presence of the mysterious and rarely sighted cougars. Our guides will help identify the area's edible plants, trees, birds, deer, otters and seals.

Still, we all want to see the magnificent whales: orca, humpback and minke, who are more easily encountered in these waters than anywhere else. By our mere presence in these waters, searching for all the wildlife that lives here, our whale encounters should be a highlight for all.

We have carefully chosen the weeks of our Wildlife Discovery adventures to coincide with the larger tides of the full and new moons, when the animals of the forest spend more time on the beaches we pass by while kayaking. The fascinating intertidal life is far more exposed during these weeks of low tide. Currents are stronger and the sea birds are most active with their fishing.

Price: $1595.00 perperson


Orca Humpback Odyssey 
Ever since Northern Lights pioneered sea kayak exploration in the Inside Passage in the early 1980's, the thrill of encountering whales has been at the top of many guests' lists of their lifetime experiences. Traveling by kayak through some of the most beautiful islands on earth, while knowing whales could be discovered around almost any corner, gives our guests an ever-present sense of wonder and excitement.

Our Orca/Humpback Odysseys are six-day adventures for whale lovers who want to focus on experiencing these creatures while still making time to have a richly rewarding sea kayaking adventure, spotting eagles, deer, porpoises and seals in their natural home. With making whale sightings a priority, itineraries, routes and campsites will be chosen with those goals in mind.

Our Orca/Humpback Odysseys are scheduled for the weeks of the summer when the currents that effect kayakers' ability to move in any direction they please are at a minimum. That means we can quickly alter a kayaking route when we hear of whales in one direction or the other and be less likely to be limited in our movements by currents.

Price $1595.00 per person

Wild Orca Adventure trips take place in the best area in the world to see orcas and other whales in the wild. These trips will focus on whale watching from camp and our kayaks, in the finest orca waters on earth.

When your No. 1 goal is seeing a wild killer whale, or a minke whale or humpback whale for that matter, our Wild Orca Adventure trips are your best choice. With 24 years of experience in this area, we have chosen the No. 1 spot on Earth to see and encounter orcas in the wild. At this spot we have built a camp that will serve as a base for our "guaranteed whales" adventures.

Still a sea kayaking trip, our focus each day will be on seeing and encountering orcas and other whales in the wild from land and by kayak. Killer whales pass through the waters surrounding this camp more than any other place on the planet and we'll be there when they do. Humpback whales and minke whales are also occasionally seen in the area.

When we get up each day, whales will be our main focus. Your guides will talk about whales, help you identify individuals and family groups, and tell you about over twenty-five years of research that has gathered information on the whales who live here, in an attempt to understand them and possibly ensure they have a safe, viable habitat to live in in the future.

These trips are shorter than our six-day Inside Passage adventures. Here we spend four days kayaking in prime orca waters. If your group does not see any whales on the trip, including the water taxi rides to and from your camp, you are welcome to return in the same year or the following year for a free trip of the same or lesser value, or receive credit toward any of our trips, excluding Lodge Trips.

Price $1095 per person.


Blackfish Guest House trips are your choice if you want all the wildlife and kayaking you can stand, and still enjoy the luxury of an intimate, personalized guest house as your refuge each night. Topped off by a day of grizzly bear watching, many will feel this trip is the way to perfect the art of Blackfish Archipelago kayaking..

Simply launching a kayak from our beach puts us in the path of the whales as they travel through Blackfish Sound. Here on the edge of the Blackfish Archipelago, we're perfectly situated to give us many days worth of exceptional kayaking while barely retracing any of our previous paths. What's more, we're at the gateway to the Great Bear Wilderness and every Blackfish Guest House trip we offer begins with a day of boat-based grizzly bear watching.

This is the ideal trip for those who want to enjoy the beauty of paddling British Columbia's Inside Passage with the comfort of staying at the nicest guest house on its coast. Each day's pace is set by you, with numerous options to fill the time. We can fish for salmon right in front of the lodge and bring it home for the freshest meal on the planet.

No place on the British Columbia coast is as rich in wildlife as this. Porpoises, dolphins, seals and whales - orcas, minkes and humpbacks - frequently pass by, close to the shoreline the guest house sits on. Eagles perch in the trees and dive for salmon; seabirds swarm over schools of herring.

September is the perfect time for lodge-based trips, with the sun going down earlier, the evenings becoming cool, and a chance to see the northern lights shimmering in the sky. Only four trips are scheduled: two of six days and two of five days. We can accommodate only six guests with our two guides on each of the trips - perfect for families, groups of friends, or the solo traveler.

5 Days $1750.00
6 Days $2100.00