Spirit of the West Adventures

We had previously booked two double kayaks through a different business, but the boats that they had were too small for the 5 day trip that we had planned. Spirit of the West really saved the day! Our two touring style, fiberglass boats fit all of our gear and then some. They also handled amazing in the wind and waves. Gasbar delivered our boats right to Rebecca spit. They had great customer care and we were met punctually after our trip too! We saw humpback whales and seals daily, sea otters, dolphins and orcas. Definitely a trip that our family will cherish the memories from, for a lifetime ♥️

My wife and I did the 4 days/3 nights Whales & Wilderness Glamping tour in early July, 2019. We thoroughly enjoyed everything about this adventure. We are in our mid-60’s and had only kayaked a couple of times previously, yet found ourselves well able to kayak with the rest of the group. We did find that using a double kayak made things much easier as one paddler can take a break periodically while the other keeps you moving. We greatly enjoyed the company of our fellow glampers. We heard (from our bed in the morning!) and saw humpback whales every day and saw orcas the one day when on the boat tour that was part of the package. The scenery is outstanding, and we are BC residents who you might think are used to it. Neil the chef did a great job of keeping us more than we’ll fed with delicious food and a glass of wine. Our tour guides were extremely helpful and worked very hard the entire day to take care of us. The beds were very comfortable, my wife particularly enjoyed the hot water bottle made up each night that kept our bed toasty warm. It was nice to enjoy a hot shower in the outdoors. We took our showers in late afternoon to avoid the morning rush. A highlight each day was a soak in the hot tub right at water’s edge. We highly recommend this tour for anyone who wants a true adventure in the Canadian wilderness.

Spirit of the West Adventures is an outstanding tour operator. Their slogan 'Kayak the Realm of the Whales' truly represents what you'd expect to experience while being a part of the adventures. It's an extremely professionally guided sea kayaking company in an unique and remote region. You are not only a guest of a group, you are involved in planning the route, finding the most beautiful campsites and where to paddle next. Endless exploring, relaxing and wildlife watching. To kayak in the natural habitat of British Columbia's marine and land wildlife is an once in a lifetime experience. Local, creative and delicious food, so much fun and happenings every single day. Falling asleep on all these little islands and waking up with the sounds of the whales made my trip with Spirit of the West Adventures an unforgettable trip. Thanks so much!

My siblings and I, 5 in total, had an amazing time on the BC glamping kayak and whale watch trip. They thought of everything. The staff were amazing, both the guides and the chef. Your safety was always their first concern. The food and service was the best.Limiting the group to 10 people made it easy to get to know the other travels in the group and a controllable size for the guides and chef.

I cannot recommend Spirit of the West highly enough. I did the Orca Lite tour with my girlfriend. This is a tour best suited for those with some outdoor experience/skills (eg setting up a tent). Group size was not too big (10 people plus guides). Our guides were friendly and knowledgeable. The food was excellent, they offer a range of dietary options. We ordered vegan food and received really excellent food the whole trip (often better than what I could get in most cafes!). We spent a good amount of time on the water and saw a great variety of wildlife. It was worth every dollar we spent on it and more.

As usual, totally professional and friendly. Thoroughly planned and equipped wilderness adventure. I cannot speak highly enough of the attention to detail. I also cannot speak highly enough of the competence and personableness of the guides. They make McGyver look like a novice!

My family and I recently did the Johnstone straight ultimate adventure. The trip was amazing and we'd definitely go again. We saw an enormous amount of wildlife, Humpback wales, Orka, Dall's porpoise, Pacific White-Sided dolphins, Eagles, Black bears, Grizzly bears Harlequin ducks, Seals, Sea lions and lots of inter-tidal species. Our guides Brad, Kevin and Savana prepared amazing food for every meal and they were extremely knowledgeable about kayaking, the area and the wildlife. The kayaking was a lot of fun, and they kept the trips manageable for everyone.

My sister and I had an amazing trip with Spirit of the West. We went on the 5 night Nuchatlitz expedition.Every part of this trip was top notch. Booking the trip was easy and the office staff were fast to answer questions. The pre-trip video and information was excellent. Our guides Marty and Robyn were fabulous. They were friendly, fun, kind and so knowledgeable. You can tell that they love what they do. The equipment was great. New tents, pillows and chairs to sit on were amazing! The food was so yummy and really healthy. I cannot say enough about how awesome this family run business owned by Rick and Breanne is. I highly recommend Spirit of the West. This was my 4th trip with them and I hope to go on a few more.

My wife and I (and friends) booked the Johnstone Strait Ultimate kayak tour in mid/late August of 2022.Our entire experience with Spirit of the West Adventures was exemplary: from initial inquiries into the most suitable tour, followed by the booking process, the actual trip, and the follow-up. Everybody we ever dealt with (on the phone, on-line, or in person) was courteous, helpful, and always willing the answer a question not only once but twice if needed.This wasn’t our first guided kayak trip, but our first one where we enjoyed the luxuries of a base camp. We are in our early sixties, and there is something to be said about the ability to have a hot shower after a day of kayaking, of sleeping in a real bed and even having your very own toilet!The trip itself was absolutely amazing. The location is spectacular, right at the water’s edge on a cliff of sorts, overlooking the Strait. Our group was well matched, and our interests well aligned – we got along very well. Our three guides were fun and very knowledgeable. The food was very good and varied, and my wife’s yeast intolerance had been considered from the moment we made the booking.Having said all of this, a four-day kayaking tour can be tedious if the weather doesn’t cooperate, but fortunately, this wasn’t a problem at all. Northern Vancouver Island can be foggy in the summertime, and so it was on this trip as well. Personally, I do like the fog as the looks of the landscape constantly shifts and never is static. The fog however did burn off every day by around 10:00am, and then the sun came out! I feel we had the best of “both” worlds.The kayaking itself was fairly easy and certainly suitable for less experienced paddlers. The full-day trip along the coastline was great fun, as was the hike through the forest to Eagles Eye, the orca observatory just opposite Robson Bight where we were treated to a very informative talk about orcas. The next day saw us paddling in the opposite direction but, unfortunately, we had to turn around as it started to rain and as our guides were informed by radio of lightning strikes relatively close by.The weather cleared up though, and most of our group decided to give it another go in the afternoon. I had brought my camera gear and decided to stay in the camp, photographing my surroundings as I like to do, while my wife took a single kayak joining the rest of the group. And to come straight to the point: navigating around a corner, they unexpectantly encountered a pod of orcas (joined by at least one white-sided dolphin). My wife had been in the lead, and she saw them first when a large bull (male) surfaced maybe 30m in front of her! And while this was as close as they came to the orcas, they were able to observe them for quite a while longer as the pod continued to travel.I would have been very upset but fortunately the pod swam towards our base camp, and as I had my camera on me, I was able to take some rather amazing pictures of the orcas from the land. Nevertheless, I still envy my wife and our group for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And for the record: we also saw sea lions, dolphins, porpoises, seals, and a couple of humpback whales.All in all, we had an outstanding experience, and we will likely join Spirit of the West Adventures on one of their other trips.

What an amazing experience! We did the 5-night JSE and saw an incredible variety of marine wildlife. Our guides Bev and Kate were wonderful and so was the food! I highly recommend Spirit of the West.