Victoria Zodiac Wildlife Tour: Discover Breathtaking Marine Fauna
4.8
134 Ratings
Victoria
Embark on a thrilling Zodiac tour in Victoria to witness breathtaking marine fauna. Spot sea lions, whales, otters, and more on this 3-hour adventure!
Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Orca Spirit Adventures - Come aboard a 12-passenger zodiac to experience the wild west coast. Let the snow-capped mountains of the Olympic Peninsula be your guide to open the doors to fascinating wildlife of the waters surrounding southern Vancouver Island.

With tours lead by a passionate, knowledgeable, and experienced captain, you will be equipped with a cruiser suit, hat, and gloves before departing from the dock in search of the mysterious and exciting wildlife that’s waiting to be discovered.

Possible wildlife that you may see include Stellar and California sea lions, harbour and elephant seals, humpback whales, otters, Bigg’s killer whales, and a variety of birds such as cormorants and bald eagles.

Tours are three hours in length, departing from our inner harbour location daily at 1pm.

What's Included
  • Led by a Professional Guide
  • Dry storage under seat or Belongings Safekeeping
  • Guidance from a Certified Marine Naturalist
  • Full Flotation Cruiser Suits Provided
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Food and drinks
Additional Information

Join us on a 12-seater zodiac to enjoy the raw beauty of our west coast. The snowy peaks of the Olympic Peninsula will guide you to a captivating marine environment surrounding the southern part of Vancouver Island.

Our tours, conducted by a devoted and informed captain, ensure your comfort with a cruiser suit, headgear and gloves. Set off from the dock with us to uncover a world teeming with breathtaking wildlife.

The aquatic animals you might glimpse include Stellar and California sea lions, different species of seals like harbour and Elephant, Humpback Whales and otters. Exploring the Bigg’s Killer Whales and various bird species, including cormorants and bald eagles, could be another exciting part of this trip.

Our tours run for three hours, embarking from our downtown harbour site each day at noon.

  • Not suitable for pregnant women
  • Not suitable for participants with pre-existing injuries and/or health conditions
  • Minimum age of 6 years old
  • Operates rain or shine, please dress appropriately
Location
950 Wharf St
Wharf Street
Located on the same dock as Seaplane Terminal
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(134 Ratings)
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N8243tjirisl
Jun 17, 2024
Love Orca Spirit - The Zodiac whale watching tour with Orca Spirit was amazing. We saw so many whales. The guides were extremely professional. I would definitely book them again.
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Mark
Jun 13, 2024
Fantastic Whale Watching Experience - An exhilarating boat trip which literally went the extra mile to ensure we saw a pod of Killer Whales. We opted for the covered boat trip because my wife is not great with boats and she was fine. The crew were knowledgeable, courteous, friendly and caring. I highly recommend this company for a whale watching experience!
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724klaash
Jun 13, 2024
Great orca tour - We did the covered boat tour and saw several groups of orca's. Our guide Kelly explained all we wanted to know and was very knowledgeable.
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U7454injonc
Jun 12, 2024
Awesome - Saw 3/4/5 families of orcas - Awesome experience! I went on the zodiac trip with Jonny, first boat out at 9am. The zodiac is a really thrillingx rapid way to get out into the Haro Strait which adds to the whole fun. Jonny is a great pilot too, really knowledgeable and friendly - great job navigating some pretty choppy waters coming back, which I appreciated as a first timer on a boat like this! We were out for a little over three hours and spent the vast majority of that time watching 3/4/5 families of orcas do their thing. It was breathtaking to see them like that, really quite life-affirming! I also want to note how wonderful it was to see how respectful all the boats in the area were. Jonny coordinated with all the boats in the area, some naturalists were out too - everyone was checking in to see where the orcas were, identifying them, and most importantly making sure no one was getting too close or disturbing the families. It's great to see that aspect on experiences like this, and I'm so happy that these trips are done appropriately, and with the orcas' welfare the priority. I will definitely seek out Orca Spirit again if/when I'm back in Victoria. Thanks so much to you all.
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Hilarykate
Jun 8, 2024
Knowledgeable and passionate guides - I had a wonderful time whale watching with Orca Spirit Adventures on the zodiac. The weather was gorgeous and our guides, Matt and Liam, were excellent! They were very knowledgeable and clearly passionate about nature & the wildlife we saw. I really appreciated that they took the time to explain how all the whale watching companies work together to increase the chances of everyone getting to find whales. Although we didn’t see any orcas, we did see a female humpback with her calf, harbour porpoises, loads of harbour seals, California sea lions, Steller sea lions, and a bald eagle. Highly recommend!
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Melodyjennifer
Jun 5, 2024
Amazing tour - definitely use this company. - Cal was a great captain - very knowledgeable and friendly. Stopped and told us about the wildlife (not just marine). We ended up getting a bit longer on the trip as we hadn't seen anything but then a pod of orca was spotted and we sat and watched them before heading back inland. We booked this company over the others as they seemed to not be about the large tourist groups and liked to maintain the natural element of these animals. Don't have a negative thing to say
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Donnak55
Jun 3, 2024
Family of whales - We saw a family of whales and had the biologists on the ship tell us all about them, which was so interesting. They had identifying pictures and pointed out the differences to us.
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Brucecu547nb
May 14, 2024
Excellent adventure - We had a wonderful time! Lori, our guide, was friendly, informative and confident. She found an Orca pod and we were able to observe them for quite some time - even saw a calf, and a breeching! She said it was one of her top 5 experiences and we would agree. Thank you very much! Bruce & Rebecca
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445gilli
Jun 1, 2024
J-pod Southern Resident Whale Pod Sighted! - We had a very knowledgeable guide, Jonnie, who was keen to show us as much as he could on the three hour trip. Would recommend taking the tour.
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942shanes
May 16, 2024
Solid Whale Watching outfit, but Orca in name only - We enjoyed ourselves with a very hospitable and knowledgable crew of naturalists (largely marine biology students) who educated us on whales and other marine life. To be clear, this is a whale watching company, not an orca watching company specifically as the name seems to imply. We ended up only seeing humpback whales, as they were more accessible. In having seen whales before we booked this tour with the specific intent of seeing orcas/killer whales which didn't happen--and we were therefore left feeling a bit disappointed and slightly misled.
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