We just got home from the three night orca camp trip. We saw orcas on 3 of the 4 days of the camp…read more We had extraordinary paddles led by expert staff. Ben pushed me to expand my boundaries in the kayak and gain levels of experience I didn't think I would achieve. Anna showed me the flora and fauna of the area that I would not have otherwise noticed. Laura showed me how to slow down and appreciate all that the area has to offer. Bender kept us so full every day of the trip. The food was delicious and so plentiful that I could not have possibly eaten any more. I was completely satisfied with the vegetarian fare that was served at the sit down meals every day. The cabins were cozy and I was never too cold. The sauna and hot tub were always good and hot, so after a paddle I was able to warm up. The staff went out of their way every day to ensure everyone's comfort and safety. All in all it was a great trip. Thank you wild coast for putting on such a great time for me and my crew!

Could not say more good things about the Orca camp experience. We had an incredible holiday - we…read moresaw so many whales and dolphins, the camp was beautiful, we went on some gorgeous hikes, enjoyed gourmet food, had a special sauna, did some sunbathing, swimming and wine drinking and met wonderful people. Such a fun way to get away from technology, unwind and be part of nature. The guides were really wonderful folks who kept us all very safe and who clearly love their jobs.

George gave me a private kayaking lesson on the spit. He is master, and leads expeditions as well…read moreas teaching all levels of paddling classes for certification. Great equipment. Great care. Will definitely return.

Xcellent customer service!!!! They brought the paddle board to our Vrbo rental AND picked them up…read morewhen we were done. VERY fair prices as well. Will definitely use them again.

Great place to rent SUP and kayaks for a little tour around Nanoose Bay! Owners (super nice couple)…read morewere very accommodating of our group and were very flexible in the face of some not ideal weather conditions (water was a little rough). Took care of all our needs to ensure we had a good time. Would definitely rent from them again if we're back in the area!

WOW! Don't miss this adventure! T.J. (it's complicated) and Eric are the BOMB! If they're not…read moredazzling you with their brilliance, they're baffling you with their... well, you know. T.J. knows where to find 'em and Eric knows all about 'em and will guide you right up to 'em in your own two-person sea kayak. We watched bald eagles, bears, seals, starfish, crabs, and a dog. Well, it was T.J.'s dog, Sawyer, who went with us on the boat, but it was a dog and we watched him. What a laid-back, loving boy he is. We watched a sow and her cub forage on the beach for about a half an hour. In the kayaks, we could get closer than any of the boats could. What a treat! Then we watched maybe 20 or 30 harbor seals sunning on an island. So, if you're headed to Tofino, you MUST contact Black Bear Kayaking. Worth every penny and they don't charge extra for Sawyer!

Clayoquot Sound: A Kayaking Trip To Remember…read more Make sure you take a kayaking trip while visiting Tofino. We signed up for a tour with Black Bear Kayaking. Our tour guide Colin was awesome. Kayaking and hiking with him felt like hanging out with an old mate. He was also very knowledgeable about the trees and plants on our hiking trip. We highly recommend this tour. This was my third sea kayaking trip, and it won't be our last. We really enjoyed ourselves and were so proud of ourselves that we were able to paddle through the tidal currents. Our wildlife viewings included bald eagles, seals and crabs on bull kelp. The hiking portion of the trip was fabulous. It was a nice walk on an old boardwalk. This forest had some incredibly old and very large red cedar and western hemlock trees. You could sit there for hours to stare at the trees and plants. A four hour paddle (more like five) on Clayoquot Sound and hike through the ancient Big Tree Trail on Meares Island - magnificent!

We loved our time with Coastal Expression! We rented 2 single kayaks for 3 hours each. The shop…read moreis run by the friendliest husband and wife team and a kind, helpful, small staff. They gave us great recommendations to help us make the most of our rental time, and as a result we saw the rare white raccoon, lounging seals, and stunning coastline, all via cold, clean waters around charming Nanaimo. After returning, Richard (with the kindest blue eyes and friendly smile) shared a little history of the coastline and wildlife and helpfully gave us a few post-kayak lunch recommendations. I would return again and again if I could.

Stuck with a parking ticket outside their facility. We had a…read morefantastic kayaking experience and the staff were very friendly. My only fault is that we had to pay a parking fine at the end. We were told that parking tickets would be handled by coastal expressions but they failed to tell us that this only covered certain areas of the car park and they would not pay the fine. This dampened the experience for me. If you drive there, make sure you clarify where you can park!

We passed this spot multiple times when driving to Tofino. We actually really wanted to do the…read morezipline, but unfortunately we were drained from traveling the day we arrived. Instead we took some photos and chatted with the employees. They were very helpful and offered a lot of information about the kayaking and ziplines. We watched others do the ziplines and saw the area where they take the kayaks out. What gorgeous land! It was exciting just to watch. Recommendation: Make your appointment before you arrive so you have a good time reserved. There's no guarantee if you just show up. We will definitely be back here soon, and when we do the zipline we'll add the photos and our experience on how much fun it is. Can't wait!

Thank you Joel, Sean and Ken ! What a great time we had . I wish i would have recorded all of the…read morerides instead of trying to shoot stills. The views are spectacular and these guy's are the best! Would highly recommend this adventure! Joe and Pam from Cobble Hill

Overall, we had a fun kayak paddle tour. The waters around Tofino are beautiful with lots of sea…read morestars clinging to the rocks. Sam, our guide, is studying oceanography, so was a good resource in showing us the sights as well as explaining about the currents and tidal flow in the area. The boats and gear were all good quality and using the online registration made check in a breeze. Our only negative was in the timing of the outing. The other group in our tour, a family, was late in arriving, then needed time to get organized. We ended up starting our on shore orientation quite late. In addition, we returned to the landing before the scheduled ending time. All in all, we lost probably 30 minutes of the scheduled 2 hour tour, which was a bit of a disappointment. Also, the level of paddling was easier than I would have liked, but that is to be expected in a shorter family - oriented trip like this. Overall, a fun was to enjoy the beautiful coastline around Tofino and learn a few things too.

I had a terrible experience with Paddle West Kayaking in Tofino. On the day of our tour, we…read morereceived an email putting us on a weather watch due to strong winds where our tour might be cancelled, but they would contact us 1-2hrs beforehand and offer options to cancel with a full refund, reschedule or continue the tour if we were experienced kayakers (which we weren't). We lost service while driving into Tofino and couldn't receive any calls. An hour before the tour, we finally got service and received a voicemail offering to reschedule or cancel for a full refund. I called back five times but only reached voicemail, so I left a message requesting to cancel and reschedule. Later, David from paddle west kayaking called, saying the tour guide was waiting and claimed he hadn't received our voicemail. He said he would check with his supervisor about a refund and call back, which he didn't. After multiple follow-ups David said we had to pay full price since the tour guide had shown up. We offered to come down within 15 minutes to complete the kayaking session if we had to pay full price anyway, but David said the tour guide had already left, and rescheduling would require another full payment. After requesting to speak to the supervisor, Alys, the manager called a few days later and apologized and said we would receive a 70% refund as the guide still needed to be paid. We agreed, but later received only a 50% refund. When questioned, she denied the 70% refund offer. This experience was incredibly disappointing. The lack of communication, unresponsiveness, and mismanagement ruined what should have been an enjoyable activity which was intended for a bachelorette party. I would not recommend this company to anyone considering paddle west kayaking in Tofino.