Victoria vs. Vancouver - Best Whale Watching ?

Wondering if it is better to do whale watching out of Victoria or Vancouver?

Also, is May 12 too early for the whales in that area/

Thank you.

Sherry

You should be good for Orcas, with Grays, Humpbacks & Minkes also as possible finds in May. Best - there's only one company with a significant edge over the others between the sites, and that's Wild Whales out of Vancouver proper (Granville Island). That's because they are the only folks who offer a variable length sailing - up to 7 hours - instead of taking the boat out multiple times. Why does that matter? Simply this - there is no specific feeding spot convenient for either Vic or Van. Orcas, the primary target, roam around a LOT and ignore international boundaries.

Depending where the southern residents are hanging out, a three hour trip from either Vic or Van may simply not be able to cover enough water to get to them and back - if that's the case, unless there's some of the grays or humpbacks still passing through you're hooped (and since most of them are already in Alaska by May, numbers are small). A few of the baleen whales have apparently started to hang around all summer in BC waters - our herring population has been steadily climbing the last few years - but they're not reliable enough to offer 'money back' guarantees from any BC whale-watching company.

While a guarantee is common across all companies I know, it's in the form of 'come back for a free trip as often as needed until you see a whale' - which is great for us locals, less great for tourists unless you are here for several days or are coming back in the future, so you can make use of the free trip! From May through October, all the stats I've seen from all the companies are around 90-95% success rates - doesn't matter if you're talking Victoria or Vancouver. More time on water is all you can do to boost your chances.

If your time is flexible enough to spend up to 8 hours on one activity (getting to/from GI dock may take 15-30 mins depending where your hotel is, and you have to check in before departure) then that Wild Whales cruise is the one you want. If you can only find a morning or afternoon, to do a 3hr trip, then any of the companies should work for you and whether or not you actually see whales will be mostly down to chance - but being on a faster boat helps, so if nobody has back issues a 'Zodiac' type speedy boat can travel further in that same 3 hour block.

Victoria's whalewatching docks are very conveniently located downtown - most trips out of 'Vancouver' are actually from way out in the bottom of Richmond, which is great if you are Oncers and wanted to hang in Storybrooke before or after your boat trip, but a real schlep if you're in a downtown hotel (can easily be a 45min drive). Prince of Whales does have departures from next to the Westin Bayshore - that would likely be your most efficient time spend for a 3hr trip out of Vancouver.

Sorry I couldn't give a simple 'X is always best' to the query!

How long do you have in Victoria? If it’s the 6hour port stop, you won’t have enough time. We’ve done a Zodiac tour out of Victoria when we had a long port stop. Lots of fun.