Float Planes

Fly over for a Day Trip Boat Tour

Float Planes from Vancouver & Seattle

✈️🛥️ Gulf Islands – Vancouver Fly-Boat Day Trip

Experience any one of our marine tours from Vancouver, or Seattle by flying over for the day.

Harbour Air flies from Vancouver to Salt Spring where we’ll pick you up.

Kenmore Air flies from Seattle to Victoria inner harbour.

Perfect for:

🚢 Cruise passengers with just one day to spare.
⏱️ Visitors with only a couple of nights in Vancouver, unable to stay overnight in Victoria.

⚓ Dock-to-Dock Convenience: Vancouver to Salt Spring Island

We generally recommend the Salt Spring Island itinerary because this will land you right in the heart of the sothern Gulf Islands where all of our tours are based, We can can also arrange to ick you up in the Victoria Harbour if you prefer; time and fuel costs added.

✈️ Float Plane Journey

Fly with Harbour Air on a scenic 35-40 minute float plane trip from Vancouver Harbour to Ganges on Salt Spring Island. Enjoy breathtaking aerial views of the islands and waterways you’ll soon be cruising!

🛥️ Private Boat Tour Adventure

We’ll meet you right at the float plane docks in Ganges. Before setting sail, you might want to explore Salt Spring Island, famous for its local arts 🎨, crafts, wineries 🍷, and the vibrant open-air market on Saturdays 🛍️.

Choose one of our tours. Popular routes may include:

Cruising south to Saturna Island reefs, seeing shipwrecks, and passing through scenic channels like Mortimer Spit between the Pender Islands.
Exploring towards Cowichan Bay, navigating the mountainous channel between Salt Spring and Vancouver islands, passing Mt. Maxwell Provincial Park, and spotting seals 🐾 near Ganges.
Heading south into the US San Juan Islands (passports required!) to potentially see Orca (Killer Whales) 🐳, often found in this area, possibly sailing past Friday Harbour.

Your boat trip can conclude back at Ganges (Salt Spring Island) or in Victoria’s Inner Harbour, conveniently located near the Harbour Air float plane docks for your return flight to Vancouver.

NB. You are responsible to book and pay for your flights but we will assist you if requested.

From Seattle? A similar experience can be arranged using Kenmore Air for round-trip flights to Victoria.

🗓️ Sample Itineraries (Vancouver – Salt Spring Island)

📅 Saturday Itinerary (Includes Market Time)

~8:30 am: Depart Vancouver Harbour via Harbour Air float plane.
~9:10 am: Arrive Ganges, Salt Spring Island. Enjoy the famous Saturday market.
10:30 am or 11:30 am: Depart on your private Marine Tour (choose your start time).
~3:30 pm: Arrive back at Salt Spring Island docks.
~4:10 pm: Depart Salt Spring Island via Harbour Air float plane.
~4:45 pm: Arrive Vancouver Harbour.

📅 Weekday Itinerary

(Similar to Saturday, but without the market. Ganges village still offers shops and cafes. Alternatively, consider a later start):

~11:20 am: Depart Vancouver Harbour via Harbour Air float plane.
~11:50 am: Arrive Ganges, Salt Spring Island.
~11:50 am: Depart immediately on your private Marine EcoTour.
~3:50 pm: Arrive back at Salt Spring Island docks.
~4:10 pm: Depart Salt Spring Island via Harbour Air float plane.
~4:45 pm: Arrive Vancouver Harbour.

Note: Float plane schedules vary seasonally and daily. The times above are examples based on past schedules and need to be confirmed when booking.

💲 Current Estimated Costs

(Subject to Change & Taxes)

✈️ Float Plane (Harbour Air): One-way fares between Vancouver Harbour and Salt Spring (Ganges) typically range from $79 to $175 CAD per person + taxes and fees. Prices vary based on date, time, and availability. Please check Harbour Air’s website for exact pricing and booking.

✈️ Float Plane (Kenmore Air): One-way fares between Seattle and Victoria Harbor typically range from $179 to $189 USD per person + taxes and fees. Prices vary based on date, time, and availability. Please check Kenmore Air’s website for exact pricing and booking.

All prices are estimates based on research conducted on May 2, 2025, are subject to change without notice, and do not include applicable taxes (e.g., GST). Please confirm all schedules and final costs directly with Harbour Air

Hundreds of 5 Star Reviews from our B&B and Marine

    
 
 
         
   Chris B 
 
 
 
 Verified Best B&B on the island!
What an amazing piece of property, stayed 2 days and can’t speak highly enough Of Dieter and his wife, from the delicious homemade breakfasts, too the island hoping boat tour. Highly recommended! If you go, make sure to order some of his wife’s homemade muffins to go, they will change what you think a muffin is supposed to be!! 😁
  
 
        
   Codi H 
 
 
 
 Verified Amazing stay and chartered tour!
Had an amazing stay for our friends birthday weekend! Dieter and Paphada are awesome hosts and maintain a beautiful property. Breakfasts were fantastic, Paphada's muffins are 10/10! We also did the private boat charter and Dieter took us to Saltspring and Pender for some exploring, we had an amazing day on the water and shopping/eating on the islands. Thank you so much for the laughs and the stories, and the memories that we'll hold dear forever! Can't wait till next time!
  
 
        
   Jo G 
 
 
 
 Verified Magical Getaway!
This was the perfect getaway. The location is so serene with such tranquil grounds. The breakfasts were so special. Birds of a Feather is so clean and our room was so special. We can't say enough about our wonderful hosts. All recommendation were spot on. We can't wait to return again. In fact we booked our next stay before leaving!
  
 
        
   Resort57384523341 
 
 
 
 Verified Boat Charter September 2024
We booked Dieter for a boat charter. We were very impressed with Dieter's professionalism, courtesy and kindness. We were spreading our mother's ashes at sea and he ensured the entire experience was special and memorable. The marina was lovely and his boat was impeccable and felt luxurious. Thank you so much Dieter!
  
 
        
   Thomas G 
 
 
 
 Verified Bucket list to beautiful Vancouver island
Superb,comfortable room- Suite #1.Private outside deck(where we ate many of our meals)overlooking huge lagoon and Pacific Ocean.Could see all the way to Victoria.Wildlife everywhere-geese,ducks,otters,raccoons,deer- even a cougar.Sat out on end of 50 ft pier and watched sun come up daily.In a quiet residential neighborhood with multimillion Redburn estate next door.Hosts warm and friendly- fresh baked muffins daily.Could recommend more strongly.
  
 
        
   Susann P 
 
 
 
 Verified Beautiful BB
We were allowed to enjoy for 5 days the hospitality, prudence, the comprehensive service, the warm-hearted friendliness, the cleanliness throughout the house, the beautiful room overlooking the lagoon and the large terrace dsvor. With a delicious breakfast every day started perfectly, 2 times Dieter and Phapada even gave us the great joy of a German breakfast with everything that goes with it. Dieters have tips on beautiful trails in the wonderful surroundings our time at Birds of a Feather made perfect. Thank you again for the wonderful time with you, stay healthy and be greeted warmly by us. TS
  
 
        
   kyla w 
 
 
 
 Verified Really nice time
Lovely space! The owners were responsive and friendly. The location was great and having the ability to use boats to explore the lagoon made for a really nice afternoon. It was also quite and restful. I would recommend for anyone looking for a nice place to stay outside of Victoria
  
 
        
   Stephanie W 
 
 
 
 Verified Awesome day trip to the wineries!
We just finished our wine tour with Dieter and I must say that we were very impressed! Dieter went out of his way to make our day perfect even when the weather didn't cooperate. He took us out for a delicious lunch and made excellent suggestions on what to do and where to eat for the remainder of our holidays. He was professional, personable and you could tell he genuinely cared for our experience on the island. All in all, we highly recommend! Dieter.... We'll see you in Thailand!
  
 
        
   Jeri C 
 
 
 
 Verified Lovely respite
We are so very appreciative to Peter for being so accommodating! Our stay was beautiful and peaceful. We loved watching the storm roll in over the Juan de Fuca Strait from his lagoon side seating. A truly beautiful place and a beautiful stay!
  
 
        
   Erik A 
 
 
 
 Verified Private Boat Charter
Today I had a private boat tour booked with Birds of a Feather Marine Tours. I wanted to go back to an Island I hadn't been to for 30 yrs and wanted to take my family to the place I had so many fond memories of. The whole experience was a pleasure from booking, the actual boat (new Axopar) and the trip itself. Dieter made us feel welcome, he Captained his boat well and was even telling us about some of the wildlife we encountered along the way. He had to wait while we toured the Island and had lunch which I'm sure wasn't overly exciting for him for the couple hours we were there but he never rushed us or made us feel like we needed to go. My boys got bored early as expected so I asked Dieter to show us some wildlife on the way back. We were able to spot porpoises, a sea lion, plenty of seals basking on rocks, bird life, we went through some neat passages, past some beautiful scenery and enjoyed some fun times on the water. My wife usually gets motion sick (my biggest concern was her not really enjoying the day because of it) but on the Axopar, that boat is so smooth it cuts through the water that well. We did spend quite some time fighting the wind and waves, crossing other boats wakes and she said she never felt nautious once. Unfortunately the whales eluded us today, that wasn't the purpose of the journey, but would have been the icing on the cake. Thank you Dieter for a great trip and helping make new memories while bringing back plenty of old ones.