Captain's Tour - Gulf Islands

Our Captain’s tour of the Gulf lslands is akin to a “friends & family” experience in the Salish Sea.

Gulf Islands like a Local

The “Captain’s Tour” provides an authentic insider’s local experience of the region that mass-market tours cannot replicate with their scripted presentations. Think of this as if you’re visiting friends or family living here on the west coast and they are taking you out on their boat to show you their backyard.

Our deep local knowledge and “friends and family” approach creates intimate, personalized experiences where you’re treated as a guest rather than a customer, resulting in more meaningful connections to the places you visit.

While we have a general plan for the day we first talk to you and discuss your interests, and anything in particular you’d like to see, or do along the way and are happy to customize this tour so it’s bespoke to you.

We depart from Sidney (25 minutes north of Victoria) at 11:00 am and are typically out on tour for 4+ hours depending on stops along the way. Boating time is approximately 3 hours of that. Additional time is allowing for stops. There is no set agenda but to enjoy the beauty of the Gulf Islands and the San Juan Islands.

Upon departure we monitor whale activity. If the whales are within reasonable proximity we will include whale watching as part of the tour. If whale watching is, however, your primary purpose of going out we would instead guide you to our private and public whale watching tours.

While we routinely come across all manner of wildlife on our tours – sea lions, porpoise, seals, dolphins, pelagic birds, otters and whales – our primary focus is sightseeing and coastal exploration.

For customs and immigration security reasons we will not pull in to port in to any of the San Juan Islands, however, we will pass through the San Juans.

There will be options to stop at any number of the Canadian Gulf Islands to explore, eat, and experience island culture.

All of our Captain’s Tours are customizable to your preferences. One example is a marriage proposal at sea.