! capacity is 12, your group is 16 · $139 a child is over your $10 budget
Cost
$139 a child
$2224 for 16 children
Prices displayed do not include taxes, fees or gratuities for the guides. The booking policy lists 5% GST, a $3.00 Clayoquot Sound Access Fee per person, a $10.00 fuel surcharge per person, and 6% FareHarbor website fees.
Fieldy handles all communication and booking for you.
What it actually looks like
Photos from The Whale Centre's website
Our note
The boat goes out on the low tide, so the departure time moves through the week and you will not know yours until you look at their calendar. That makes it hard to fit around nap times and pickup. Infants and small children cannot go on the open boat, so ask for the heated cabin cruiser when you call.
What the children do
A two and a half hour guided boat tour along the shoreline of Clayoquot Sound looking for black bears, running April to October. Departures follow the low tide and change from day to day, so the times are on the booking calendar rather than published as a schedule. The tour runs on calm, protected waters, on a heated cabin cruiser, an open Boston Whaler or a larger cruiser. Prices are per person and do not include taxes, fees or gratuities.
Ride a boat for two and a half hours close to the shore at low tide, watching the rocks and the forest edge for black bears while a guide talks. On the cabin cruiser they sit inside a heated cabin; on the open boat they wear a full floater suit. Bald eagles and seals are also on the way.
Good to know
The price, the season, the two and a half hour length and the twelve person boat limit are all published, and the water is described as calm and protected. There is no stated minimum age, no group or school rate, and nothing about lunch, strollers or wheelchairs, so those need a call.
Sources disagree. Their pages split children's ages two different ways. The tour pages price children as ages 1 to 12, while the booking policy lists infants under 2 as their own group. Everyone needs a ticket either way, so ask what your youngest will actually be charged.
Sources disagree. Their contact page writes the postal code as V0R 2Z0, but the map link sitting beside it shows V0R 3A0. The street address, 411 Campbell Street, is the same either way. Give the driver the street address rather than the postal code.
Washrooms
Yes, restroom facilities are available at the dock and at the hot springs pools, as well as change rooms.
Lunch space
Needs confirmation
Rain backup
Tours run in the rain and are only cancelled in extreme or unsafe conditions. The cabin cruiser has a heated indoor cabin and seating, with protection from wind and rain.
Strollers
Needs confirmation
Wheelchair access
Needs confirmation
Bus parking
Needs confirmation
Nearby park
Needs confirmation
Restrictions
Infants and small children are not able to go out on the open boat.. All passengers, including infants, require a ticket. Age and size restrictions may apply for safety reasons.. Participants must be 19 years of age or require a parent or guardian to sign on their behalf.. Tours require a minimum number of guests to operate.. No meals or food onboard.
Getting there
411 Campbell Street, Tofino, British Columbia V0R 2Z0
