Steveston Seabreeze Adventures Vancouver

Highly recommend this company for your whale watching experience. Friendly staff in the office who helped us with parking suggestions and then a complimentary hot drink before our trip. Uwe our guide was fantastic, friendly, informative with all the essential guidance and safety advice first but then full of knowledge and information about all the wildlife. You could tell he loves his job and all the wildlife and it shows with his enthusiasm and chatty friendly personality. We had a perfect day, smooth sea, some sun and of course spent more than an hour with the stunning beautiful humpback whales. Just mind blowing to have the honour to see them and have that experience. Saw bald eagles, many other beautiful birds and the sea lions on 'stinky rock'. Apart from that the views of the snow topped mountains in the distance and forested shorelines of the islands we past was so wonderful. Felt very safe on the boat and the captain and Uwe did their utmost to ensure we saw all that we could and had a fantastic experience. Thanks so much for meeting my expectations and checking a tick on my bucket list. Best regards Charlotte and Dani. ( Spain and UK)

My family and I had the best time on this tour! We saw so many humpback whales as well as sea lions and seals. It was a 5 hour tour and well worth it! Beth (our captain) and Lu (our guide) were absolutely fabulous! You could tell they loved their job and truly cared about marine wildlife. They also made sure that we were taken care of if we started feeling sea sick. 10/10 experience!

A breathtaking day without a dull moment! My first ever whale-watching experience (and my first time in BC, immediately after travel) took place on Wednesday, October 8th, 2025, aboard the open-air vessel. The receptionist was incredibly helpful while I planned the trip from Ontario. Based on my research and other reviews, I knew I’d chosen the right tour group. Naturalists Jade and Uwe were intuitive, passionate, and super knowledgeable. They were able to identify two pods of Northern Resident orcas with the same precision as an ornithologist might use to ID a fleeting silhouette. It didn’t feel like a “tour” so much as an immersive experience in the wild. Every moment was filled with education about marine life, Salish Sea ecology, and sustainability, shared with genuine respect and advocacy for the animals. Life list (of confirmed sightings): We saw two pods of Northern resident orcas, a fish-eating ecotype rarely seen so far south. There were at least two individual humpback whales, including a 20-year-old named Yogi that they had been following. We saw a huge and active group of Steller sea lions, adorable sun-bathing California sea lions, and gorgeous harbour seals! As a birder, I was thrilled by the lineup of birds. Herring and Glaucous-winged Gulls, Eagle (adult male) perched gorgeously for photos, Great Blue Herons, Double-crested Cormorants, a decent sized group of Harlequin Ducks, Black Oystercatchers and Black Turnstones. The captain of this vessel had perfect instincts and timing. It felt as if I was a part of the filming crew for a live nature documentary. The open-air vessel added to the thrill, making you feel like part of the environment. Seabreeze even offers a guarantee sightings policy for voucher, but after a day like this, I can’t imagine anyone needing it. Whether you’re a seasoned naturalist or a first-time adventurer, this unforgettable tour is the one for you!

The whale watching tour was amazing! The crew was very professional, friendly, and made sure everyone felt safe and comfortable. They gave us clear instructions, answered all our questions, and even shared interesting facts about the whales and the ocean. We were lucky enough to see several whales up close, and the staff made sure everyone had a good view without rushing. The whole experience felt well organized and thoughtful. Highly recommend this tour to anyone who wants a memorable and enjoyable whale watching trip!

The whale watching tour in Vancouver was the most exciting and unforgettable experience of our entire trip to Canada! The moment we saw the majestic whales breaching the ocean’s surface, we were filled with awe and excitement. The stunning coastal scenery, the refreshing sea breeze, and the thrill of observing marine wildlife made this adventure absolutely perfect. Witnessing these gentle giants roaming freely in their natural habitat was truly breathtaking. The crew on board were knowledgeable and enthusiastic, sharing fascinating facts and helping us identify various species. We were incredibly lucky to spot humpback whales, seals 🦭, and even a few bald eagles soaring overhead. This once-in-a-lifetime experience left us with unforgettable memories and a deep respect for nature. If you ever have the chance to visit Vancouver, whale watching is an absolute must! Highly, highly, highly recommended! 👍👍👍 👏👏👏 Our whale watching day trip in Vancouver was the most unforgettable and beautiful experience of our entire journey in Canada!

This adventure was the highlight of my holiday honestly 🙂 I was literally so excited to go whale watching with my family and this experience way exceeded my expectations! Our tour guide was Selena and she really made this so informative and exciting. Her enthusiasm and knowledge of the Orcas and Humpbacks was incredible and her joy of working with these beautiful Beings of the Waves over the years just shone through. Richard, our captain for the day was also brilliant and navigates the waters with great skill. I am beyond grateful for this phenomenal day and to say I highly recommend this trip is definitely an understatement 🙏

A wonderful experience! Everything was perfectly prepared: the boat, warm suits, delicious snacks. The crew was fantastic! The captain was incredibly friendly and witty, and the guides were incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about whales. A fantastic experience! And the orcas—words can't express it! An incredible experience.

October 8, 2025 We had an excellent experience and we were very fortunate to have seen three different pods of 🐋, spectacular. Our guide and our captain were very knowledgeable and passionate about the mamals and the preservation of the waters. Thank you Seabreeze for a terrific 5 hours spent in your capable hands.

We specifically picked Seabreeze Adventures for the zodiac style boat. We wanted to be more up close and personal without 50 other people crowding the rails. So glad we did. We can't be happier with our choice. Our Orca pix will need to be downloaded. Ask for Jade and Elliot.

I wish I could say I enjoyed it. Starting off, we got there at 730am ready to board. We didn't board until after 8am because others were late. The captain was nice and a few others were helpful, but unfortunately the overall experience was not very pleasant. Almost everyone else on the boat seemed to know each other and 95% of the time spoke Mandarin to each other. I am not a Mandarin speaker so it really felt like we were being left out a lot. Only managed to get some sort of information or communication because my friend can vaguely translate what they say. As someone paying around $300/person, I expected to learn a lot and have more guidance. The moment we got on the boat one of the other guests lit up a cigarette. Let's just say throughout the entire day, someone was toting a lit cigarette. They probably smoked close to 3 packs while on board. No one from my group smokes, so we were pretty irradiated to say the least. We learned very little and had little guidance. They were helpful when we needed help, but for the most part it felt like they were having a blast and we were the party crashers. I do like that they followed the rules of fishing and what fish they have to release, what can be caught and what needed to be returned. However, they threw their cigarette butts into the ocean which I felt was unacceptable. Since I'm a beginner, I tried to copy what the others did on the boat in terms of releasing the line, but then told we shouldn't do that. I pretty much kept to myself and kept quiet because of the language barrier and honestly wasn't there to criticize people, I was there to learn and have fun . The 3 stars go to the captain and 1 or 2 of his friends. I really appreciate them giving us their catches and some crabs because I wasn't able to catch anything worth keeping and really they were kind and would answer questions if we had them, but I'm really shy, especially when it comes to new things. However, the last 30 mins would be the highlight, the other 8 hrs I felt like the kid that wasn't invited to the party but people were obligated to be nice to. I hope they learn from this review and are able to give other people a better experience than the one I got today.

They cancelled our boat 1 hour and 45 minutes prior to departure time on the pretext of a weather/wind advisory. I checked local weather and no such advisories were out on that day. Our trip was oriented around this event, so all of our vacation time, money and effort were wasted just because Seabreeze Adventures probably didn't have enough clients signed up to make as much as they wanted.

We had an absolutely amazing time! Selena was an amazing guide and we were able to see so many orcas. We even got to see a gray whale! It was an amazing experience!

What an amazing adventure! I really appreciate the service that Paul and Noah gave and all the interesting information we learned. The website has all the information so check it out. Parking is available so DRIVE ON THE DOCK where the headquarters. We didn't realize there was parking and the only available free parking is 3 hours (and Steveston is HEAVILY monitored) so we ended up paying $25 for parking. We arrived 45 minutes early which they recommend and there is a Starbucks and Juice Truck within walking distance so you can easily waste time. We get geared up in their sweet orange jumpsuits and head down to the boat. I highly recommend you try the zodiac as its open and you get the most authentic up close experience. Holy crap these boats go fast! Tons of space to store your belongings (in the bench so it's covered). We brought sandwiches and water but they offer granola bars and water and for a reasonable fee, they offer sandwiches. We saw seals, eagles, and followed a pod of killer whales for over an hour (including watching them jump out of the water and play around). It was an incredible experience and I am so happy we got to experience them in their natural habitat. We didn't get super close but we saw enough! I highly recommend Seabreeze for an incredible once in a lifetime experience.

Amazing trip, crystal blue skies. Great views of mount Baker and Howe sound. Really picturesque sailing around the islands, saw a few glaciers also. Wildlife in all directions, we saw multiple pods of orcas (lots of tail slapping), a few humpbacks, sea lions and lots of birds. The naturalist (Celina) on board was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about all marine wildlife and gave everyone on board some great facts. The captain Rafael was great, speedy and smooth on the zodiac boat.

First off, everyone who works for this company seems great. And I'm adding a bonus point for having a marine biology student on board. That said, our whale watch was mightily frustrating and very disappointing overall. I do understand that they are trying to adhere to regulations about keeping a safe distance from the wildlife. But in all cases, we were always the most distant boat out of a dozen or so in the area. And when the whales did approach us, the captain would specifically drive out of their path (understandably I guess, although no other boats did this) to the point where we were again further from the animals than every other boat. Again, I get it - don't disturb the wildlife - but we remained about three times the distance from the animals than the regulations require (I'd say we were usually 300 yards or more away, often more). It seemed pretty obvious that the captain's number one priority was not getting hit with a ticket. All my photos taken with a huge telephoto lens still look ridiculously distant. Many of my shots look like an advertisement for the other companies, because their boats are in the shot, mesmerizingly close to the animals. If you have a regular camera, be prepared to not come home with a single photo. Additionally, keep in mind that when they say it's a 3-5 hour trip, that means 90 minutes of butt-pounding cruising to the whales (due to the aluminum body single hull boats they use), then 30 minutes with the whales, then 90+ minutes back again. There are several other companies operating out of Vancouver that are accessible from downtown, including a big yellow zodiac type boat that looked very comfy (and whose passengers enjoyed a pod of killer whales swimming within 20 feet of the boat -- which we witnessed from about 300 yards away)

Had an awesome time: saw a few different pods of transient orcas, harbor seals, three bald eagles, and a humpback whale! One giant male orca swam right along our boat. It was awesome. Recommend sitting in the back of the boat cause it's less bumpy, and you can get up to the open area more quickly when there are spottings. The paying process could be expedited a lot with two credit card machines. If you don't want to wait, I would bring cash so you can check out Stevenson while everyone is paying. Super nice crew otherwise.

Had a whale of a time! Thank you for orca-strating such an amazing trip! Whales galore! In all seriousness - great guides, very knowledgeable and respectful of the wildlife. Not too crowded even with a full boat. Highly recommend!

Not the best at all! Saw 2 killer whales, not even in a pod. Better to just go whale watching in Victoria where there are large pods. Very dissapointed and our driver kept letting other boats get in front of us. I didn't even get one single close up shot.

This is awesome.. no matter how many whales or not you see. This is wildlife.. not marineland.. so to the guy complaining about only seeing 2 whales???? Maybe you should go to Florida, where you can see a whale in a fishtank! As for the boats... they have to stay a certain distance from the whales.. if the Whales choose to come up to the boat , thats ok.. but the boat has to stay a certain distance and hope the whales will get curious. Maybe you should buy a whistle like they have at the marinelands of the world.. give it 2 blows and maybe a whale will come at your call LOL LOL All nature in its natural habitat is fantastic to view. Judy

the best fishing charter I've been on! george, the captain, and josh, the assistant, were the best. so informative with all the fishing places, and super helpful. helped us bait everything, untangle the fishing lines, remove the fish from the hooks. totally full-service, and so nice and thoughtful at the same time. we caught rock cod, lingcod, and sole. they also had some crab traps, and prawn traps, and we ate everything fresh on board, sashimi-style and freshly steamed. a wonderful catch that was a fabulous deal. i don't have enough words to say how fantastic the day was. we fit 12 people on board, and everyone had a great time. it was nice to know that everything was legit, with permits and limits, so we felt safe the whole time. even saw seals during our trip, and hit great spots with instant sole. george and josh were really great, and i highly recommend them for fishing charters. so fuuuun!!!

We had a great experience with the Steveston Seabreeze whale watch. We saw a number of Orcas on the second day of the season on an exceptionally gorgeous day. Captain Bobby (an older Asian guy with a great attitude) and Connie (the Naturalist on board who was the 'tour guide') were great hosts and ensured that we got a great view of Orca Whales, Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, and a copule of Bald Eagles. One reviewer mentioned being the furthest boat away, and at one point we were certainly further away... but then two huge male Orcas surfaced near us, and we didn't try drive away from them (unlike the other reviewer). I've been on a number of whale watching trips, mainly on the East Coast of North America... and you're out in open water, rocking and shaking, getting seasick in the blinding sun... but here amongst the small islands, the water was calm, the scenery was stunning, and watching the whales play, feed, and breach (yes, there was a breach... ridiculous, right?), was one of the highlights I've ever experienced in nature. It's about $130/person... but it's worth it! ... I orginally had four stars, but after writing the reivew... it's not going to get much better than what we saw. 5 stars!

I highly recommend whale watching. This company does not have the nicest boats, but they have really great people. Seeing whales up close is amazing. Setting out for 5-6 hours seems like a long time but once you see your first whale, the time starts to fly by and before you know it, you will be back on dry land.

What an incredible time we had. First, the staff were incredible. Rowena (I'm certain that's not her name, or how you spell it, but it's the best I can do and she totally deserves a shout out even if it's incorrect) and Mike were great. We were told we'd be out for 3-5 hours, but were actually out for about 6. We saw humpbacks, orcas, porpoises, seals, and sea lions. It was absolutely amazing. Rowena (I know...) has been doing this for 8 years and she said this is maybe only the twentieth time she's seen all of these varieties. The company works with several other companies throughout the region to share location information, which almost guarantees sightings. (I think it's funny that people on here give the company bad reviews when they don't see anything, as if the charter company has control over the ocean. C'mon people, get a grip!) On our way back, we encountered a tremendous amount of fog, but Mike was a champ and navigated the waters like a real pro. I think he said he'd never seen fog like that, but you never would've known it based on how skillfully he got us back to shore. There's water, coffee, a granola bar, and a map (for a $1 donation), on which they mark the path you took and the locations of your sightings. All in all, this was an amazing experience and, despite the bitterness of some of the other reviewers, I couldn't recommend them more strongly.

Seabreeze is a company that operates with passion and professionalism. I have been out multiple times with their enthusiastic Naturalists - you can tell everyone at this company really cares about the environment and wildlife around them. I have seen transient Orcas and Humpback whales out with them. I can't wait to go again!

Perfect way to spend a summer afternoon. We saw orcas and a hump back whale which was very cool and amazing. Our tour guide Rachel is extremely knowledgable and passionate about the environment and the animals as well as conservation. Our boat driver Billy kept us safe and drove like a race car driver to ensure that we got to see and experience as much as possible. Definitely worth the time and money

amazing experience. our guide was very knowledgeable, and we saw so many animals. we even got to see a baby killer whale, which is extremely rare. the scenery is breathtaking, and all the houses located on the waters edge are beautiful as well. absolutely worth the money, do it. you will not regret.

This is a scam. We were told that there is a 96% rate of seeing whales. We were out looking for 5 hours and the only animal we saw was one eagle. We were told that we could come back and go again for free. Too bad we live 3,000 miles away and will probably never be in Vancouver again. This is he second whale watch I have been on and haven't seen anything. I will never fall for this SCAM again!

My wife, son, and I went on the Seabreeze Whale Watch trip out of Stevenson, B.C. last week. In all it was an OK experience. We were picked up at our hotel at Canada Place on time. Our naturalist, Connie, was very knowledgeable and provided some visual aids of the animals we might encounter. Some caveats: be aware that the trip to the company headquarters where everyone much check in and pay, is a long and bumpy ride...the van needs new shock absorbers and to have the interior remodeled (sharp objects poke out of the seats and very uncomfortable seats) ; the ride out to where the whales are is very long and rough (although better coming back); we saw some humpbacks and after what seemed like hours and some orcas. The whales were a long way off, and seated inside the boat, locking through a plastic "windshield" , made viewing difficult. Our main problem was that this trip was entirely too long - six hours out on the water (rather than the 3 to 5 advertised on their website)...we had to reschedule our dinner reservations. The few minutes of seeing dorsal fins or flippers is not worth that amount of time. From our hotel pickup to drop off was a total of eight hours (10am to 6 pm).

My husband and I went whale watching with Seabreeze Adventures during our first trip to British Columbia! This family-owned company provides a fantastic way to get out on the water to see some of nature's majestic sea creatures!! The captain, Richard, and our onboard naturalist, Maria, made our first whale watching experience terrific!!The semi-enclosed boat provided great vistas both enclosed and outside to enjoy being out on the water!! We were able to see Orcas and two Hump-Backed whales along with sea lions and harbor seals and even a beautiful bald eagle. They picked us up at our hotel in the morning and took us back in the afternoon. The bus driver provided us with a delightful commentary about the city of Vancouver and other nearby cities both on our way to the boat and back to our hotel. This was a wonderful way to spend our last day in Vancouver!! I would totally recommend using this company!!!

My husband and I just took a tour with Seabreeze on Saturday (9/15/12). DO NOT TAKE THIS TOUR!!! The staff are very friendly and nice however the boat is HORRIBLE!!!!! We had just gotten off of an Alaskan cruise and were hoping to see some Orcas as we only saw humpbacks in Alaska. We did not see any orcas (Not the staff's fault, I understand)...we did see 2 humpbacks for about 20 minutes. My problem with this tour is the boat and the distance we had to travel to see the whales. The boat was not made for an enjoyable whale watching experience. The 40 ft boat was not made for a smooth ride across the channel with us slamming into each wave. Plus, the engine is so loud that the staff literally hands out ear plugs to each guest!!!! I used the ear plugs and I still had a headache an hour into the tour. Second, it took us over 3 hours to get to see the whales. Granted we went a little farther south to see the humpbacks that had been spotted, but regardless we still had to travel at least 3 hours to get to anything then of course 3 hours back. The boat was full of guests and on the way back EACH person looked miserable and/or was sleeping. The tour took our ENTIRE day in Vancouver. We were very disappointed.