The Whale Centre

It was a great day. The boat captain was knowledgable, and our tour boat was the first to leave in the a.m. So it was initially a small group. It does get busy, but get cozy with people and it is great.

Great day, saw grey whales on the way there and back, the skipper of the boat, Alistair, was a great guide and very was super knowledgeable about the local wildlife and land.

10/10. With Mark at the helm, we were able to see a sea wolf! Grey whales and a large raft of sea otters. His teacher knowledge was perfect to answer all of our questions. A perfect morning with the Whale Centre. Thank you so much.

We enjoyed every moment of our adventure to Hot Springs Cove
The trip was so well organized. We encountered whales, a myriad of birds, sea lions, otters and stunning scenery. We really appreciated our experienced guide, local knowledge, excellent interpretation and sense of fun. Thankyou for the trip of a lifetime!
John and Jackie Cortes island

First rate tour. Riley knows stuff and, if you prompt him just a little, you will learn such things as the mining history of the region and the deviant sexual behaviour of sea otters. You will also see whales and other local critters. Highly recommend.

Great time with JY as our guide. He had a ton of info about the sea life and Tofino. We saw whales, porpoises (swim like dolphins!) sea lions, and a few otters.
The boat ride itself is incredible as well. Some incredible scenery.
The whole experience from start to finish was fantastic. Definitely recommended!

Great experience - saw a grey whale, lots of sea otters, seals and a bald eagle. Our guide was super knowledgeable and fun!

Saw Indigo the grey whale multiple times, lots of sea otters, as well! JY was an amazing tour guide!

Outstanding and breathtaking trek with pilot & educator Mark, who was extremely knowledgeable and a natural communicator. We saw a lot of wildlife including a raft and solo sea otters, a few bird species, and two resident whales for a nice long time. Whales dove and resurfaced every 5 minutes, once swimming past each other. The pilot's naturalist expertise and boatsmanship made for superior sea safari. Safe, new boat, modern nav & comms. Very relaxing and informative. Completely recommend.

Very nice trip with a experience captain that found whales, otters, seals and a lot of other wildlife pretty fast. Was a fun trip!

We went on a whale watching excursion which I am giving two stars. The staff at the centre were extremely friendly and the guide was knowledgeable and kind. It was a rainy grey day and we were switched from an open boat to a closed boat which was appreciated. The experience was otherwise underwhelming. I think guests should be appropriately prepared for what they are actually going to see (or not see) on this tour. We saw 3 seals on rocks, from a distance of roughly 300 meters, they nearly completely blended in. At that distance, in rain, you can barely see anything. We then saw a pod of sea otters, also roughly 300 meters away. After this we went to a grey whale feeding area where we saw the hump of one whale a few times and witnessed it take several breaths. It was so far away you could barely make it out, I would compare it to a rock sticking out of the water in the very far distance. I understand you can’t control the weather and we need to stay a safe distance away from the wildlife. For the price we paid, this was a disappointing experience. Individuals should be provided with binoculars from the centre if this is the reality of these excursions - even then it just isnt totally worth it. Based on my experience today, I would not recommend whale watching in Tofino. You likely have a better chance in Victoria. For that matter, I actually had a better view of two orcas swimming on my sea plane ride over to the island.

Had great fun this morning with Reilly (hope I spelt that right) on the Whale Watching tour! We saw some Grey Whales, otters, seals and more. Even thought it was tipping down with rain everyone was laughing, and I felt super safe and comfortable on the boat at all times! Thankyou!

We went as a family with a toddler and infant on a whale trip and a bear trip and had such a great time. Both skippers we had were so knowledgable and respectful of the animals we saw. It was amazing to see both bears and killer whales in their natural habitats!

We had very good luck on our whale watching tour and saw probably a dozen individual humpback whales. We also saw stellar sea lions, harbour seals, and (if I remember correctly) harbour porpoises. The guide was very knowledgeable and shared lots of info about the animals, their behaviour, and some history of the region. It got very cold out on the water when we were travelling at high speeds, but we were outfitted with warm flotation suits, so I would just wear gloves if I were to go again!

Definitely recommend this place to go on tours to see the wildlife around Tofino. We choose the hot spring tour which was a bit pricey compared to the other tours that they offered but you got to see some sea mammals along the way to the hot spring. Our tour guide Alistair was amazing as he made frequent stops in areas to catch some whales, seals and otters. The staff at the centre were quite helpful as well to prep us before our tour.

Overall a great experience so I recommend that you book at least a couple days earlier to avoid not being able to go on the day you want. Hot spring was nice with a 30 min hike through the forest. Good thing that we got there early since it got a bit crowded in the middle of the day before we needed to head back to the boat.

They should really not run bear tours so late in the season, or warm people before they book that it's likely to be a disappointment.

We did the hot springs tour and had the most amazing day. The skipper/guide was so knowledgeable, pleasant and skillful.

Had a whale of a time! Jean Yves was a welcoming and knowledgeable guide. We saw 3 whales and lots of sea otters, 10/10

Love our trip! Highly recommend this company. Nicely orginized, funny captain, clean and comfortable boat

Had a great hot springs tour experience:) our guide was so nice and super knowledgeable. They were very organized with our training and the boat ride was so smooth.

Fantastic tour. We did a bear and whale afternoon combo tour on a very drizzly day but the show went on with plenty of whales, seals, sea otters and fighting black bears. Yes! They really demonstrated nature in the raw in the way of turf wars that bears encounter but are not so often witnessed. Caught the whole ‘barney’ on video too. Thank you

Great experience, friendly employees and a nice boat. Saw grey whales, orcas, sea otters and sea lions. Decent value for 2.5 hours on the water.

Awesome whale watching experience. The boat ride alone was worth the money, even if we didn’t see whales. Mark was very knowledgeable about which whales we spotted, even knowing them by name!