Whale-Watching Victoria, BC

[newbie2crzn]

For those that have done this on their own, which company did you go with and what time of day? Thank-you.

[dam1050]

A good company you might like to try out in Victoria is the Prince of Whales

 

http://www.princeofwhales.com for whale watching.

 

Check out their site for reservations, video, etc.....

 

Dave

[ralphie]

Prince of Whales is the one that we used. You don't need to really worry about the time of day because the whales a pretty easy to find. There were several pods of them there last year when we went. Take a camera. If you get positioned just right, they may come right up to the boat. The boat cannot go to them. By law they are not allowed to run their motors when the whales are close by. They just position the boat in front of them while they are swimming around and then hope that they come close. Have fun! It is a beautiful area and a fun excursion.

[pacoloveschocolate]

We will be in Victoria on May 7th. Does anyone know if we will see whales that early in the spring? Can we make a reservation when we get into Victoria?

 

Thanks.

[radiofreebc]

I live in Victoria, and the whale watching is pretty reliable. They hire spotters who look for pods, and lots of whales live around here.

 

I was going to say, try "Prince of Whales"...I just like the play on words. They have nice boats, but most any company will probably see some whales.

 

Since they seem to be getting some press here, you may actually want to try someone else. Every company out there is reputable...and they're always really busy (POW)...so you may want to try something a bit more personal and small.

 

Even if you don't see whales (which is a possibility), a run out to Race Rocks is always a great way to spend an afternoon.

 

DON'T FORGET YOUR SUNSCREEN!

 

Cheers!

Jeff Birmingham

http://cruisejournals.com

 

PS: High tea at the Empress is a waste of money. Go to the "Blethering Place" in Oak Bay if you want a real high-tea without breaking the bank.

[pacoloveschocolate]

Thank you radiofreebc!

 

Good info and alot of help. We decided to stay at the Ramada Huntingdon near the inner harbour. I got it on Travelocity.

 

How far is the Blethering Place from the inner harbour? Take the car or walk?

 

Also I will check out the other whale watching companies.

 

Paco

[radiofreebc]

You'll need a car to get there. It's not downtown, but it's in Oak Bay...which is very nice. You'll really enjoy that neighbourhood.

 

Cheers!

Jeff Birmingham

CruiseJournals . com

[Lightsluvr]

Has anyone used this vendor? They were recommended by a friend and seem to offer a fun tour from Victoria. I would love to hear from CCers who have used Orca Spirit...

 

www.orcaspirit.com

 

LL

[Lightsluvr]

We took the Orca Spirit whale watching tour... I guess it was too early in the season, because what we got was a whale "hunting" tour. Only one pod was in the area, contrary to what they state in their website... and that pod could be anywhere in a hundred square mile area... ah, me.

 

What did we see? One lone bald eagle a hundred yards away on a rock, and the dorsal fin of a few Dall's Porpoises...whoopee! :cool:

 

After reading the website (above) we were disappointed that what we got was a grueling three hour boat ride. The naturalist admitted they hadn't spotted whales in days.

 

LL

[Cherade]

On June 14th, 2007, my husband Marc and I headed to Victoria. We spent the day settling in and enjoying the sunshine--the ONLY full day of sun we had on our entire trip. And thank God, because that was the day we planned to go whale watching.

 

So we sped off the ferry in order to get to the hotel, check in and then find the whale watching office. But it took a bit longer than we expected, and then we hit some one way roads and no left turns. Well, needless to say, my husband's French-Canadian background kicked in. I won't translate what he said. :)

 

We reached Five Star Whale Watching Expeditions and sped around the block looking for parking. Not a fun thing to do when you're already 5 minutes late! Finally, Marc let me out while he went to park the car. When I reached Five Star's office, the man behind the counter said we were scheduled for the NEXT trip out...in 2 hours. Yikes! Somehow I was sure the gal had said 2 pm on the phone. And I had that terrible sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach--the kind that says 'oh boy, did you screw up...and Marc is going to be sooo happy to find out he just sped through town, cursing and getting lost.'

 

Then the very nice fellow behind the desk said he could get us on the 2 o'clock tour! YES!!! Marc showed up after finally finding a parking spot and off we went down to the boat dock to board a 45-passenger catamaran. On the way to the dock I let it slip that we had luckily been squeezed onto the 2 pm tour. Jeesh, honesty can be a bitch! hehe I think it's a good thing they did squeeze us in. I have a feeling I would have been swimming in the bay.

 

The cruise was breath-taking. We sat outside at the bow, the wind whipping at my hair, the sun on my face, the smell of the ocean all around us, while glistening diamonds covered the surface. We hit a few choppy patches and the boat bucked, slapping the ocean and sending huge sprays over the back end, uh...stern. In some areas the currents clashed and swirled and it looked like we were speeding over mini-whirlpools.

 

For three hours we looked for whales. We saw sea lions, seals, porpoises, many different species of birds (seagulls, bald eagle, cormorants and more), lots of seaweed...uh, driftwood...a couple of buoys...

 

But no whales. :(

 

I was disappointed, as were many of the people on the trip. In the end, the only whales we saw were the photographs that one of the gals showed us and the whales on my bookmarks, which I left near the coffee and hot chocolate. However, I did enjoy the trip and the time 'off', so it wasn't a complete waste, but it was the whales--in particular, the killer whales--that I wanted so dearly to see.

 

Although I completely understand that Five Star and the other whale watching tours can't really guarantee we'll see whales, I was surprised that with technology these days there wasn't a more reliable way to know where they were hiding. And yes, there was a part of me that thought those darned whales should have stayed where they were that morning and waited for me! :)

 

Oh, well. Now I have an excuse to come back. (Not that I ever really need an excuse to come to Victoria.)

 

My reward that night was a delicious dinner at Vintage Wine Bar & Grill. It's a gem of a restaurant that I think must often be overlooked since it's in the Super 8 Hotel on Douglas Street. And they don't serve your ordinary Super 8 fair.

 

Marc had the grilled 8 oz. AAA New York Steak with a wild mushroom demi-glace, shallot mashed potatoes and seasonal veggies--broccoli, paper-thin onion rings and what I am sure was panfried squash (perhaps spaghetti squash). I had the Pacific Seafood Linguine, which was absolutely heavenly. The linguine was tossed with a delicate white wine sauce, spinach, grape tomatoes and red peppers, and then topped with a generous portion of mussells, clams, halibut and prawns, and sprinkled with shaved parmesan.

 

We also shared one of the best Caesar salads I've ever had. The Vintage Caesar is made with hearts of romaine, shaved fresh parmesan, double-smoked bacon, parmesan crisps and foccacia croutons. The homemade creamy Caesar dressing had an extra bite of anchovy, just the way I like it. In fact, I had it for supper again tonight! :)

 

While we were waiting, our attentive waiter Gordon treated us to some tapas--amuse-bouche, pan-seared tuna 'kissed' with wasabi aiolo on a flatbread croustini. Delicious! We finished our dinner with a dessert that was almost sinful--a coconut & pineapple creme caramel, light and fluffy, served with whip cream, pineapple crisps and presented with flair. I wish I had my camera! Maybe I'll have to go downstairs to the restaurant later and order it again...uh, just so I can get a picture of it, of course...

 

Chef Jamie Martineau has created an awesome taste-inspired menu that compares to some of the fine dining restaurants I've been to, although Vintage is casual dining.

 

Great service, relaxing ambiance, generous portions and concoctions by a talented chef--what more could you ask for? I give Vintage Wine Bar & Grill...5 ankhs! :)

 

My day in a nutshell: I saw more sea creatures at suppertime on my plate than on my whale watching trip. But all in all, it was a divine day!

 

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif