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Vancouver Island ToursBritish Columbia, Canada

22 bookable tours, starting on the island

Kayaking & Paddling

Sheltered harbours in the south, orca waters in the north and the Broken Group Islands on the Pacific side: the island covers the whole range of paddling, from an hour on flat water to a guided day trip in open ocean.

Typical season

  1. JJan: usually not
  2. FFeb: usually not
  3. MMar: usually not
  4. AApr: runs
  5. MMay: runs
  6. JJun: runs
  7. JJul: runs
  8. AAug: runs
  9. SSep: runs
  10. OOct: runs
  11. NNov: usually not
  12. DDec: usually not

22 tours

Victoria Harbour Kayak Tour
Photo from the Viator listing for Victoria Harbour Kayak Tour.

Kayaking & Paddling on Vancouver Island

Beginners are well served in Victoria, where the harbour and the Gorge waterway are calm and the outfitters launch from downtown docks, and at Thetis Lake, Cowichan Lake and Brentwood Bay, where stand-up paddleboard and kayak sessions run on flat water. Nanaimo's Saysutshun (Newcastle Island) paddle is a step up: a circuit of a marine park just off the city's harbour.

The trips that people travel for are further out. Telegraph Cove's kayak tours paddle Johnstone Strait in the same season and waters as the northern resident orcas — half-day, full-day and evening trips with the whale interpretive centre at the end of the boardwalk. Ucluelet's day trips explore Barkley Sound and the fringes of the Broken Group Islands in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, with the multi-day expeditions listed separately.

Guided means guided here: the coast has real tides, currents, fog and cold water, and the difference between a Gulf Islands paddle and a Pacific one is bigger than the maps suggest. Choose by your experience honestly and let the operator match you to the trip.