Our 3-day Vargas Island paddle trip with PWK was truly the experience of a lifetime! For 3 days we…read moresoaked in countless beautiful sights, lost track of how many eagles and otters we saw, learned new knowledge of the local area, ate incredible food, and enjoyed genuine connection and new friendships over crackling camp fires. We were so privileged to have Andy and Ben as our guides and what they contribute to this world is deeply meaningful. They met our humor, excitement, and passion step for step and this trip was made all the more incredible thanks to them. As Ben and Andy shared with us local history, resiliency of the Tofino community to protect the land, or fun facts about the local plants and animals - they spoke with such an overflowing passion that truly brought everything to life. They love what they do and it made our trip so much more fun and meaningful - all thanks to them. Extra Props: - Our paddle started in some challenging weather, yet Andy + Ben were great at reading our group and we always felt safe and supported in all conditions. - 10/10 shout out for the food. You won't go hungry as PWK plans for teas, coffee, snacks, and each meal was balanced and filling! They did a great job accommodating dietary preferences too. I still dream of the salmon chowder! - We saw: sea otters, seals, bald eagles, a pine marten, so many starfish, fried egg jellies, moon jellies, banana slugs, and a garter snake. - Our paddle was in late June and we had 1 day of heavy rain (which really added to the adventure!), 1 day of sun, and the last day was partly sunny with rain that evening. On our last day as our trip was coming to an end, my heart was as equally full as it was sad to be leaving. I only hope to make it back again sometime soon. If you're even remotely on the fence about taking a trip with Paddle West - DO IT!! I promise you'll love it and then some!

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.

We started with a bear watching tour and had such an amazing experience we came back for a whale…read morewatching tour 2 days later! Caleb is an excellent guide and provided so much local knowledge about the island. I had never even heard of bear tours before coming to Vancouver Island and it didn't disappoint! We saw 4+ black bears along the beautiful shores of the Broken Islands. It was such a peaceful trip and wonderful way to see the island. During the whale watch tour we saw harbour seals, sea lions and then two humpback whales! A mother and cub swimming side by side- it was truly magical! We even saw a breech! I highly recommend both tours - it was the highlight of our time in Ucluelet

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

This is a great compromise between a zodiac tour and a big boat tour. The MV Blackfish is small,…read morenimble, and powerful like a zodiac: it can cover a lot of water quickly and can go in pretty close to shore. But like a big boat, it is covered and has a bathroom (which was a spousal requirement). It has a decent cockpit at the back for sightseeing when the boat is going slow. Captain Cam took us out a couple of days after stormy weather in late October. When I booked the trip, he checked the forecast and told me that there would be 2-meter swells but that we'd be fine. We went from Ucluelet through the Broken Islands to Bamfield, where we watched some Orca for a while. This part of the trip was relatively calm. Then we headed through some rougher water at the outer edge of the group to a big rock covered with sea lions and spray. But the Blackfish was up to it and its experienced skipper read the water well. It was an exhilarating trip. The Broken Group is something else again and I'm glad that he gave us a good tour through it.

We arrived at Tofino just in time for a couple of (much needed) days of rain. We wanted to go whale…read morewatching, but few of the tour operators had covered boats available at times that worked for us. We checked out an ad in a coffee shop for Beachcomber Ocean Tours and I spoke with Cam MacPherson, the tour operator. We had a tour the same day, and it couldn't have been better. Cam is both knowledgable and personable, and not only did we see whales, but eight of us had a whale of a good time.

I cannot express how much I enjoyed doing the 5 day Broken Group tour! We were a large scout group…read moreand Kevin and his team handled everything wonderfully. The put-in and take-out process was so streamlined, and our guides, Jono and Kristine, were PHENOMENAL!! They were so kind and helpful and were very knowledgeable of the area. The trip itself was very nicely laid out and provided a great experience of the islands. I highly recommend Hello nature and could not be more pleased with the quality of this trip.

Great guide and amazingly beautiful trip. The harbor trip was a perfect start to our Ucluelet trip…read more Loved it and highly recommend.

I have been out fishing with James twice and cannot say enough good things about him, his boat, his…read morelocal knowledge, and commitment to providing his clients with an exceptional experience. I've already booked another trip in 2025 and will fish with James every year if I can!

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!

I love trails in Pacific Rim National Park. They all have surprises. The Spruce Fringe Trail starts…read moreoff downhill with a dirt and gravel road during the first 150 or so metres. Don't worry, I didn't encounter anything dangerous like exposed roots, large rocks, or large puddles of water. Just keep a lookout for bears and cougars, because they're out there. After about 150 metres, I was walking on a wooden boardwalk surrounded by tall old growth trees and ferns. Be careful as the old mossy boardwalk was a bit slippery, even though it wasn't raining when I was on the trail. I ended up passing through two swamps too. Not to worry, again, there are bridges that runs across the swamps. Sadly, one section of the trail was closed due to a fallen tree. At the third quarter portion of the trail, I encountered mostly leafless trees which are covered in moss. Nearing the end of the trail, I walked through a really unique tree tunnel which is known as the Krummholz tunnel. The word krummholz is a german word for crooked wood. The trees had crooked branches and the tunnel was actually dark enough to be a bit spooky. This trail was my first encounter with a tree tunnel. That was a surprise for me.