Katy has her degree in marine biology. Her knowledge of the history of the Whales and sea lions was amazing. The captain found many sightings. I will so that tour again. They care about the Eco system. read more

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Amazing experience! Our guide, Tyson, was so great! Super informative, educational, we had a whaley great time! Rode the zodiac boats. Saw a gang of orcas along the coast, we stopped our boat & a big guy even came up to us on his own! Wild! Even caught humpbacks on our way back to the port. Sea lions & seals galore. Would come back again! *do wear warm clothes even on a warm day, it's cold out on the boat* read more

My husband and I went for a whale watching tour during thanksgiving long weekend and we had a marvelous time! We managed to catch whale watching before the season ended (mid October is usually when it ends) As is expected with island weather, it can be sunny or drizzly at a moment's notice and usually dressing in layers is recommended. Overall, the service was amazing! Everyone on board was very knowledgeable and strived to ensure we had a great time. We met up with our group at the springtide office which is about a 5 to 10 minute walk to the harbour, where our covered vessel was waiting for us. The crew brought aboard plenty of hot chocolate and coffee to last us the entire trip. There was plenty of seating on board as well as an indoor area that is sheltered for guests to warm up. My husband and I were in awe of all the amazing ocean life we had the opportunity to see! We saw orcas, humpbacks, and sea lions and there were numerous sightings. It was an incredible tour and well worth the 94.50 per person that it cost us. I would highly recommend springtide to others! read more

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*Admittedly my review is going to be colored because we saw several several whales and an orca. We took a zodiac out in the afternoon and had some great success. The guide was cordial, informative, and funny. He explained where we were going, why he was taking us to certain spots, and what the whales were doing when we saw them. He always tried to keep a respectful distance away from the wildlife but had to turn off the motor when an orca got too close (which was awesome for us). Overall, it was what we wanted - an informative and fun time watching some amazing animals in a respectful manner. Final note: rumor that I read was to take the afternoon tours as the guides work together to find where the wildlife is located and can are truly guessing in the morning. Dunno how true that is but our experience turned out great. read more

I decided that I was going Whale watching for my birthday. There are so many whale watching tours to choose from that I pretty much ennie-meenie-minie-moed one. I landed on a good choice. The staff was friendly. They were very informative and very attentive. There was a marine biologist on board to answer questions and give out informative lectures on the Orca and other whales in the area. After cruising out of the bay on to the wide open ocean we saw Orcas! There were four of them and they were beautiful. After being there for awhile the captain steered us to a different location. We were lucky enough to see Humpback Whales! They got pretty close to the boat and they were just beautiful. I choose well. read more

Just amazing. The staff is so passionated and friendly. It's not only a journey to see whale, it's a journey to learn, they teach you some new things. They deal incredibly well with COVID, so I recommended this whale watching so much. read more

It's been a few weeks since I have been on a tour with these guys. It was such a great experience. We went with them twice in 2 days. They really looked after me and my partner. The first day we hung out with a couple of Humpbacks and the 2nd day we saw Orca's. The owner of the company was our skipper for the first trip and a guy called Ian was the skipper for our 2nd trip. Very funny guy. The big boat is great with toilets and tea and coffee and a 360 view, but the 2nd boat is smaller and in my opinion more intimate with the whales as its close to the water. Fiona looked after us at the office. She is brilliant and really friendly! If you can't decide on which whale tour to pick in Victoria, go with these guys. They went above and beyond for us and we enjoyed both trips. :) read more

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What an incredibly great experience!! My boyfriend surprised me with a whale watching excursion and as I stood in the lobby trying not to cry with excitement the woman behind the desk with the beautiful Irish accent seemed just as excited as I was. She was incredibly friendly and nice and helped other guests that were unsure about the boat. Our Captain (the British man) was very knowledgeable. We got to see two transient Killer Whales (the twins) and followed them for a while through the beautiful coast line. Loved seeing the harbor seals and sea lions at Race Rocks. I couldn't believe how loud they are. Saw 8-10 humpback rolling around and diving for food. Drove through a swarm of feasting seagulls (surprisingly fun!). Saw beautiful mountains and Mount Baker. Our captain was happy to stay out on the water longer since it was such a beautiful day for late October. I loved the speed of the boat and catching some air on the waves... so much fun!!! Seeing the whales in nature is mind-boggling and beautiful and I was so emotional. A must do life experience. Tips: It is way colder out there than you think it is going to be. Dress so warm to the point that you are hot while on the docks. Also, use the restroom 5 times before you leave, no joke. P.S. Dear Irish woman at the front desk- you were right, the boyfriend did have more surprises in store that day... he proposed later that night! Of course I said yes. =) read more

I live in Victoria, and if I have to recommend a whalewatching company to guests, this is where I'll send them, no doubt about it. It was comfortable and excellent and fun. We took the Marauder IV, and now that I know and trust the company, I look forward to trying one of the zodiac tours, too. I just wanted to extend thanks on behalf of my husband and myself to Dan K. of SpringTide. My dad (Eric C.) stepmum, husband and myself spent a few hours aboard the Marauder IV today. My stepmum is an oxygen user. The crew let us go down to the boat ahead of other guests to get her situated easily and comfortably. The boarding pass procedure was easy. Once aboard, the crew were among the most friendly and knowledgeable people I've encountered. We spent a lot of time below with a woman named Calli, who was so friendly and fantastic, and the bearded gentleman who gave the mammal talk - I think his name was Frank? - was just fantastic. Everyone, really, made it a great and comfortable and fun experience. And as an added bonus - we saw several members of J-pod several times, including a mum and calf. Not an experience I'll forget soon. I'd recommend to anyone. Thanks to Dan and the whole company for having us aboard! read more

We had a great trip aboard one of their zodiac boats, with our skipper Jeff. Jeff was very knowledgable about whales and did a very good job of identifying were there was a group of whales. He took us to an area where there were very few boats and we were able to see a family of whales in the water. Riding on the Zodiac was a lot of fun; if you're looking for an adventurous whale watching trip this is the one! And for those of you interested in timeliness we departed on time and arrived right on time. read more

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The whales were majestic but the company is outstanding. Small business, family owned and operated. The staff on the. Pay was just as excited as I was to see the marine life, it wasn't just another day at work for them. We took 3 hour sunset tour on the big boat, brought our windbreakers and scarves and had a wonderful trip enhanced with the knowledge of the whales from each staff member. Highly recommend. read more

We had reservations for tomorrow , but the weather looked ominous. We had no problem switching to this morning at 10 am. The boat is very comfortable. The staff is very knowledgeable and fun. We saw LOTS of orcas and a couple humpbacks. Wonderful time!! read more

Loved this - what an experience - I was nervous about being in the Zodiac boat - which is crazy because it was the best ever. There were so many whales to be seen. I was so lucky. We saw at least 12 humpbacks and then 2 killer whales in a different area. It was so much fun. The people at Springtide were Fun and I would recommend this to everyone. My only regret was my kids weren't with me today read more

Was on board this past weekend and thought the experience was just alright - not the 5 star quality that I was expecting from all the raving reviews. Keep in mind that this was not my first time whale-watching. Our skipper was Greg and even though he was great, I thought the other skipper Ian might have been better as he was more chatty when he led us to the dock from the store, he drove out further to hunt down the whales, and he also went back to the dock much later than us, even though his boat left earlier. I thought that they probably had a more thorough experience in comparison. What I liked about Greg was that he was mindful of all the photographers on the boat and was trying to steer the boat in such a way so that we'd have nice pictures. He was also responsive if you had requests. What I think could have been better was for him to watch the orcas. There are different pods of them. Some will surface often. The ones we followed took a long time to surface. We should have abandoned them and found another pod to follow. He also sped back to the lighthouse on the way back but then dwindled there for quite some time before going back to dock. We had already stopped at the lighthouse on the way there so didn't need the additional stop. That was a real waste of time (aprox 20 mins?) and we all would have rather spent more time out with the whales. Lastly, if you buy this on Travelzoo, unlike Five Star, if you don't see the whales, they won't give you a free chance to re-do the trip. You have to add another $40+ dollars (so that it comes back to the full value) to get that guarantee, which is totally lame. I also received a different colour ticket than another group and I wondered if the colours separated the full-value paying people vs the Travelzoo payers and that determined the tour guide you got. read more

The staff and my experience with SpringTide were incredible. I was on the Norwegian Jewel and had lots of questions about little things like getting from the ship to their office, timing, etc. They never got tired of my questions and were always gracious. Then comes the Zodiac tour itself! It will be a day I'll never forget...a dream come true! We saw Orcas, Humpbacks, etc. Our captain/tour guide was so skilled that when the Humpbacks went under for about three minutes, he sped up the zodiac. We were right beside these beautiful animals when they emerged again! Thanks SpringTide for an unforgettable day!! :) Visited September 2016 read more

I went out last summer with Springtide and had an absolute blast! The staff were all incredibly welcoming and knowledgeable! Their love for the ocean rubbed off on me, as I couldn't wipe the grin off my face for a week straight afterwards! Thank you to all the staff at Springtide for showing me a WHALE of a time... Can't wait for the next! read more

Great tour - definitely take the zodiac. It was a fun ride, the whale watching was awesome and the staff was super helpful.

We were able to book an hour before the tour and were the final 4 seats on the boats for the day. We had Mark as our tour guide and everything was great! Mark was very knowledgeable and was able to find us orcas and humpback whales. Was a big check off the life list. Would definitely recommend for out of town guest if they want to see some whales. read more

Great Company!!!! Great Staff!!! Fiona was wonderful!!! They took our family of 11 last minute when another company screwed up our reservation. Plus Fiona was even willing to go above and beyond to drop us off at the wharf, so we wouldn't miss our kayak tour.. (If the harbor master would allow).. Since the times were now so close due to the first company's fault. Our guide John was very knowledgeable and had a great personality. He answered every question we had. Non stop laughing at his jokes!!! The zodiac boat was perfect for my family. The boys 13 & 15 loved it!!! Along with myself and my brothers family!! Can't wait to go back!!! Will book with Springtime Tours again!!! read more

My husband surprised me with this trip for my birthday! It was an amazing! Captain Mark, and the staff were so helpful and fun. Best birthday present ever! We got to see so many animals including a sea otter, Alaskan and Californian sealions, orcas and even humpback!! I will never forget my experience! read more

Great boat, great staff, we have used them twice and have loved it. We took the Marauder IV.

We got to see Orcas, so mission accomplished. Okay but it took a LONG time to get out there. Not to mention the guides weren't TOO knowledgeable about the orcas themselves. The guy kept repeating himself. It is sort of a hit and miss in my opinion. Sometimes you might see orcas, sometimes you might not. THE WORST PART is that the boat was OVERCROWDED. wow!! there must have been at least 30 people on a 30 foot boat with a viewing deck of about 20 feet? It was ridiculous! People were cutting each other off or blocking other's view. Even the other boat was jam packed! I would have gladly paid an extra $25 to not have that many people on the same trip. If i go next time I might find a company that does not fill their boats up. Most of the boats viewing orcas where full, shoulder to shoulder and then some. Not pleasant at all... read more

Great tour. The booking agents were very pleasant. The boat was clean. On our tour was a large group of school kids. The tour operator put the adults on the upper level away from the kids which made all the difference. The captain and first mate were very nice. They maintained radio contact with other boats and planes and within an hour they had us within site of the K pod. The next 45 minutes were filled with jumping whales. The captain explained the whale's habits and feeding patterns. After we returned I discovered after a bit of reading that the captain was spot on. Would go again. read more