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June 13th 2023 - 1pm Tour - Cowichan Bay After a couple days absent we were lucky to encounter the Bigg's killer whales today on our afternoon t

Updated 11:59pm Tuesday, June 13

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Travel Instructions by Seaplane

Harbour Air and Saltspring Air

In addition to the ferry or larger airplanes, you can also choose to take a sea plane to travel to us! Harbour Air provides services from Vancouver, South Vancouver (YVR), and Sechelt (Sunshine Coast) to Nanaimo. They also provide service from Vancouver, South Vancouver (YVR), Whistler, and Pitt Meadows to Victoria. From Vancouver or South Vancouver (YVR), you can arrive right in Maple Bay via Saltspring Island.  For routes and scheduling information for Harbour Air please click here. Please note that if you are planning a day trip to Cowichan Bay and Ocean Ecoventures, Harbour Air flights do not run late enough for you to return back after our 5:00 pm sunset tours. All flight information provided is for flights between April 30, 2018 and September 30, 2018. Please contact Harbour Air directly if you are curious about flight options past September 30.

To Reach Ocean Ecoventures after flying into Nanaimo:

To be on one of our 9:00am or 10:00am tours passengers would need to arrive in Nanaimo no later than 8:00am. This would require being on the 7:00am flight from Vancouver (Flight #1115). This flight operates Monday through Friday. Weekend travellers can arrive via seaplane for our 10:00am tour on the 8:15am flight from Vancouver (Flight #1123). Unfortunately, there is not an early enough weekend flight to bring passengers in time for our 9:00am Full Day tour. Please plan to arrive on Vancouver Island the evening prior to your tour if you are joining a 9:00am tour on a weekend day.

In order to reach Ocean Ecoventures’ Office in time for our 12:00pm tour, travellers would need to arrive in Nanaimo no later than 10:00 am. For those travelling from Vancouver, this would mean being aboard the 9:15 am departure (Flight #1127) which runs Monday through Friday. On weekends, travellers would need to be on the 8:15 am departure from Vancouver (Flight #1123), which runs daily.

To be on our 1:00 pm tour, travellers would need to leave the Nanaimo Seaplanes Terminal no later than 11:15 am. For those travelling from Vancouver to Nanaimo, this would mean being no later than the 10:45 am departure from Vancouver (Flight #1129) which runs Monday through Friday. Weekend travellers will need to be on the 9:45 am departure (Flight #1127)

To join our 5pm tour, travellers would need to leave the Nanaimo Seaplanes Terminal no later than 3:00 pm. For those travelling from Vancouver, this would mean being aboard the 1:15 pm departure (Flight #1133) which runs daily.

For earlier departure options, return travel options, and routing through other locations, please see Harbour Air’s Flight Schedule. We always recommend budgeting a generous amount of time driving to Cowichan Bay, as Vancouver Island summer traffic can certainly slow you down! Please click here for a map and directions from Harbour Air Nanaimo to Ocean Ecoventures.

To Reach Ocean Ecoventures after flying into Victoria:

Our 9:00am and 10:00am morning departure require passengers to arrive in Victoria on the 7:00am flight from Vancouver (Flight #203). This flight operates Monday through Friday. Weekend passengers can arrive in time for our 10:00am tour on the 8:00am flight from Vancouver (Flight #205). Unfortunately, there is not an early enough weekend flight to bring passengers in time for our 9:00am full day tour. Please plan to arrive on Vancouver Island the evening prior to your tour if you are joining a 9:00am tour on a weekend day.

In order to reach Ocean Ecoventures’ Office in time for our 12:00 pm tour, travellers would need to arrive at Harbour Air Victoria no later than 10:15 am. For those travelling from Vancouver this requires being on the 9:30 am departure (Flight #2070). For those travelling from YVR on Harbour Air, please ensure you are on the 8:20 am departure (Flight #503). Please note this flight travels Monday to Friday. On weekends alternate travel, such as the BC Ferries, would be necessary.

To be on our 1 pm whale watching tour, travellers would need to arrive at Harbour Air Victoria no later than 11:15 am. For those travelling from Vancouver, this requires being on the 10:30 am departure (Flight #2090) which travels daily. For those travelling from YVR on Harbour Air, please ensure that you depart YVR no later than 10:30 am. Please ensure you are on the 10:20 am departure (Flight #505) which flies daily)

To join our 5:00 pm sunset tour Travellers would need to leave the Victoria Harbour Air Terminal no later than 3:15pm. For those travelling from Vancouver, we recommend being on the 1:30 pm departure (Flight #2150). This flight travels Monday to Friday. On weekends the 1:40 pm departure (Flight #217) is a good option, to allow sufficient time to drive to Cowichan Bay and find parking. For those travelling from YVR, please ensure that you are on the 12:20 pm departure (Flight #507), which travels daily.

For earlier departure options, return travel options, and routing through other locations, please see Harbour Air’s Flight Schedule. We always recommend budgeting a generous amount of time driving to Cowichan Bay, as Vancouver Island summer traffic can certainly slow you down! Please click here for a map and directions from Harbour Air Victoria to Ocean Ecoventures.

To Reach Ocean Ecoventures after Flying into Maple Bay

One of the travel options that will get you closest to Ocean Ecoventures, is flying from Vancouver or YVR right into Maple Bay! Please note that the return times will not work to fly out of Maple Bay after one of our wildlife tours, so we only recommend this option for those who are planning to stay overnight on Vancouver Island. If you need recommendations on where to stay overnight in the central Island area, please don’t hesitate to ask us! For those planning on a single day of adventure on Vancouver Island, return travel would need to occur using alternate means, such as the BC Ferries.

If you are planning to join either or 12:00 pm or 1:00 pm wildlife tours, and are travelling from Vancouver, please ensure that you are on the 8:40 am departure from Vancouver (Flight #SA 411 & SA 4010). This flight travels daily. If you are joining us for 12:00 pm or 1:00 pm departures, and travelling from YVR, please ensure you are on the 8:50 am departure (Flight #SA 481 & SA 4010). This flight travels daily.

If you are planning to join us for our 5:00 pm evening tours, and are travelling from Vancouver, please ensure that you are on the 2:20 pm departure (Flight #SA 415 & SA 4050). This flight travels daily. If you are joining our evening tour, and travelling from YVR, please ensure that you are on the 2:30 pm departure (Flight #SA 485 & SA 4050), which travels daily.

The Vancouver to Maple Bay option unfortunately does not work with our 9:00am and 10:00am morning departure times.
For further information on Flight times and routes, please see Harbour Air’s Flight Schedule. For a map and directions from Harbour Air Maple Bay to Ocean Ecoventures, please click here.

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Ocean EcoVentures is the most centrally located Whale Watching company on southern Vancouver Island.

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