KAYAK WITH ORCAS

Johnstone Strait Kayak Tours

EXPEDITION TOUR
6 days/5 nights | $1450/person

If you want to kayak with orcas, this is your trip. Sea kayaking with orcas is up close and personal. While some people are content to simply watch killer whales, sea kayakers have a yen to experience them. Maximize your orca kayaking experience with 6 days of paddling and 5 nights camping in the splendid atmosphere of Johnstone Strait. Depart right from Telegraph Cove in Port McNeill through the heart of orca territory while our expert guides showcase the beauty and wildlife of the area.  Kayaking with orcas may steal the show, but the Strait holds an entire ecosystem to explore. After a clear morning sunrise, enjoy hot coffee or tea and walk shoreline tidepools, looking for hidden treasures while your guides prepare a savory breakfast. Peer at sea stars and anemones through crystal clear waters from your kayak, paddling glassy calm coastal inlets and channels in this sheltered wilderness. Learn about orcas from the guides' nature talks and the on-board library while friendly sea lions lounge on outcrops or take to the waves to get a closer look at you. Pass playful dolphins and curious porpoises, whose acrobatic water antics are mirrored by the aerial displays of eagles and sea birds. Set up a comfortable camp at our favorite sites (including our remarkable Orca Base Camp, described below). On this expedition tour, we will explore a maze-like group of islands, hidden coves and narrow passages near Compton Island. You can observe First Nations pictographs, and hike through forests filled with Old Growth Cedars. Blackfish Sound also hosts breaching humpback whales and a rich diversity of wildlife.

You will kayak about four hours per day, broken up by lunch and orca sightings, with plenty of time to relax and revel in the thrills of this natural wonderland. Suitable for novices and paddlers with prior experience. Most people in good health and active lifestyles are well-suited for the tour. See a Sample Pack List. Read our FAQ for kayaking with orcas.

ORCA BASECAMP TOURS
4 days/3 nights | $1195/person

Imagine sipping a glass of wine on a sunset beach, where a gently receding tide reveals untold marvels of starfish and colorful invertebrates. The smell of dinner cooked hot in a dutch oven mixes with the fresh scent of cedar from the forest. As the lapping waves lull you into the serenity of the sunset mirroring rosy hues on the water, a great “WHOOSH” draws your attention to the coast. As you rush to the ocean’s edge, a pearly black orca fin lifts elegantly from the ocean’s smooth surface, followed by half a dozen others. Welcome to the Sea Kayak Adventures orca basecamp tour.

Spend 4 days kayaking and 3 nights camping at this magical site, sleeping with your head on a pillow just METERS from passing orcas. While orcas will pass by most beaches in Johnstone Strait at some point or another, this beach has been a central point for orca encounters for decades because a steep pebble dropoff creates an ideal belly-rubbing site for killer whales. We have witnessed this VERY special orca behavior right from camp (nearby Robson Bight became a preserve because of the rubbing beaches within)! Moreover, this unique landscape also forms a “corral” which the orcas use to herd their salmon dinners. View these spectacular behaviors from a rocky outcrop on the water and to see orcas up close – without disturbing them.

Don't just wait around for orcas! Your time in Johnstone Strait will be filled with a variety of activities. On our basecamp trip, you will still kayak for about 4 hours per day to different areas of the strait, allowing for hiking, tidepooling, natural history talks, and a wide variety of wildlife viewing. Enjoy longer mornings without breaking camp or setting up your tent every day. Perfect for families with teens and novice paddlers who want to experience the magic of close orca encounters.

Click to view our Johnstone Strait Orca Kayak Tour Photo Gallery

Click here to view a video journal of this trip.

“We had a fantastic time and couldn’t even have imagined that we would see so much wildlife and amazing scenery!”
--Larry & Andrea Berarducci

Our Johnstone Strait kayak and orca trips meet in Port McNeill. Port McNeill is located on northeastern Vancouver Island and is accessible by road from the south or by scheduled air service from Vancouver, British Columbia (Port Hardy is the closest airport to Port McNeill). Please call our office if you need assistance on deciding how to get to Port McNeill. We are familiar with traveling to Vancouver Island and we'll be happy to help you select the best way there.

Click here for a detailed guide [.pdf download] about travel to Port McNeill for your Johnstone Strait tour to kayak with orcas.

Accommodations in Port McNeill: Haida-Way Motor Inn (800) 956-3373/(250) 956-3373. Let the Haida-Way know you are on a Sea Kayak Adventures tour. We will meet here for our pre-trip meeting the day before your tour begins.

Extra things to do in the Port McNeill/Telegraph Cove area:  For extra days in the area, we recommend side trips to Alert Bay and the U'mista Cultural Center on Cormorant Island, or Sointula - both reached by short ferry ride from Port McNeill. Or an orca watching cruise with Mackay out of Port McNeill or Stubbs Island out of Telegraph Cove.

Please review our FAQ section for general questions and details about our BC kayak tours. See below for specific questions relating to this particular tour.

When is the best time to see whales?
The northern resident pods of orca (killer whales) currently number over 220 individually identified whales in 17 separate pods. They are generally found in Johnstone Strait between June and October when salmon, their primary prey, come from the ocean to spawn in the rivers of mainland British Columbia. July through mid-September are the best months for seeing these magnificent creatures.

Is there a danger while kayaking near killer whales?
To our knowledge a killer whale has never bumped a kayak or shown any aggression toward kayakers. All whales are acutely aware of their surroundings.  From our many years in Johnstone Strait and hundreds of close encounters with killer whales, we feel very safe being in their presence.

Six-Day Orca Waters Expedition Itinerary

Day 0: Arrival in Port McNeill by vehicle or by air via Port Hardy & taxi to Port McNeill. Proceed to the hotel HaidaWay Motor Inn. There is an evening orientation meeting in the hotel lobby where you will meet your guides.

Day 1: In the morning, we'll take a taxi to the launch site, listen to an orientation on kayaking and safety, and begin paddling to our first camp.

Days 2-5: We will be kayaking throughout Orca territory and exploring the adjacent channels and islands. We will have three different camps, so we may not move camp every day, but we will kayak every day. On an average day, we will be kayaking for two hours in the morning after breakfast, stop for lunch and short hike or natural history talk on a beach, and spend another two hours kayaking and exploring before arriving at camp by the afternoon. Evenings and dinner in camp. Orcas can come by us at any time.

Day 6: After breakfast and breaking camp, we will spend the day kayaking to our take-out at Telegraph Cove, stopping for lunch along the way. We'll take a taxi to Port McNeill in the afternoon after unpacking the kayaks. We recommend that you overnight in Port McNeill and join us for a farewell dinner with your group.

*Our 4-day basecamp itinerary follows the same outline, but instead of breaking camp each morning, we will leave our basecamp set up and paddle from this central location. We will kayak every day.

"At the end of each kayaking day, our group relaxed on the beached logs and sipped wine from cups while the guides cooked our gourmet meals".
-- Elle Andra-Warner, Johnstone Strait

Note on Itinerary: We will do our best to adhere to the schedule listed above. However, the itinerary may change due to reasons beyond our control such as wind, waves or inclement weather.

Please Note: This is the best place on earth to see Orcas, and June through September are the prime Orca viewing months. Although there is a very good chance we'll see Orcas throughout the week, the frequency and proximity of sightings will ultimately be determined by the Orcas' travel patterns. Our guides know the best places to see these magnificent creatures. Orcas have never bumped a kayak or attacked a swimmer.