We spent 13 days at The Artists Point B&B. The lower level apartment is spacious, clean, and…read morecomfortable with beautiful views. It is a short walk to the ocean. You will see wild flowers and deer in the yard. The king size bed is comfortable and the heated bathroom floor are nice on cold mornings. Rolf and his helpers, Lena and Leonard are very friendly and accommodating.

Seasmoke Tours whale watching trip was a lot of fun! We got picked up at Alder Bay Resort since we…read morewere staying in Port Hardy. We knew we were in for a treat when we saw a couple of seals hanging out on the dock as we were waiting for the boat to pick us up. The weather was gorgeous and the sea was calm. We got to see lots of Dall's porpoises running along side our sail boat, and hung out with a humpback whale named KC! We also got to see a major rare find: We spotted 3 Minke whales right out of Alert Bay on our way back. It was amazing. This tour was definitely worth every penny for the great sightings, views, and stories. Maureen & Dave were a lot of fun and have a lot of great information on the area. They're very knowledgeable about the local wildlife. Huge bonus: Maureen baked fresh blueberry muffins in the morning and fresh scones with jam & cream right on the boat! I couldn't have been happier with this tour.

We were really excited about booking a whale watching tour outside the busier Victoria area. We…read morespecifically chose a more intimate experience in Alert Bay because we thought the secluded setting would make the longer drive from Victoria worthwhile and give us a more up-close experience. Unfortunately, that wasn't really the case. Sea Smoke had a friendly, knowledgeable crew, a new and comfortable boat, and the overall process was smooth. Our main criticism was simply how far away we remained from the wildlife. Other whale-watching boats, tour boats, and even research vessels were consistently much closer to the whales than we were. I completely understand the importance of maintaining a respectful distance from wildlife, but the distance we maintained felt excessive compared with the other vessels operating in the same area. In the end, we spent much of the experience watching the whales through binoculars and even then it was too far. What was particularly disappointing was that the photos and videos on TripAdvisor, Google, etc. gave the impression of much closer wildlife encounters. That simply wasn't our experience. We chose Alert Bay specifically because we were willing to make the extra effort for what we hoped would be a more intimate and memorable experience. Had we known beforehand that the viewing would be from such a distance, we likely would have booked elsewhere. Especially since they advertise their new electric motor so much. I hope Sea Smoke takes this feedback constructively.Everyone (12 people on our boat felt the same) The crew was nice and the boat was excellent unfortunately, for us, the distance from the wildlife made the experience fall short of what we were expecting from a whale-watching tour.

If you are looking for a kayaking paradise, or just a relaxing location away from the crowds, this…read moreis the place. Couldn't recommend it more. The almost infinite number of paddling trip options out from this inn are all filled with stunning scenery and wildlife spottings. Paddled right by a black bear foraging on the shoreline. The cabins are very clean, colorful, comfortable, and well stocked for cooking or grilling the food you bring. The innkeepers are great people, helpful, and are very interesting to talk with. If you're driving, you'll need to take a short boat ride to get to it and back from Telegraph Cove. The ride is fun, laced with good conversation, has beautiful scenery all around, will take all of your gear and kayaks, and doubles as an excellent whale watching excursion as it crosses the Johnstone Strait and environs.

Paddler's Inn is absolutely amazing! Such a luxurious way to finish our trip after camping in tents…read morefor nearly a week. I'll begin by stating Bruce and Josee are absolutely wonderful hosts. They were responsive to all our questions as we planned our 7-day kayak trip almost a year in advance of our stay and were kind enough to accommodate us for an extra night at the last minute when we changed our schedule to permit a little more time in the area. Bruce picked us up in his boat promptly along with another couple and dropped us off on an island of our choice to begin our adventure. We spent 4 days paddling the archipelago before our rendezvous at Paddler's Inn for a gorgeous and tranquil finale. We stayed 3 nights in total, two of them in the Cliffside Cabin, which we absolutely loved. Bruce and Josee have spent decades developing their property into the attractive getaway it is. They have a couple trails you can follow to a sizeable lake, a cliffside lookout, and a scenic sunset view with a nearby bench. If you are eager for some creature comforts or souvenirs, you can paddle a short distance around the point to the local store/mail house on your way to Bill Proctor's house/museum. We cannot recommend Paddler's Inn enough! They can accommodate both large and small groups and they recently added a central gathering lounge out on the water with a roof and propane fireplace. We had a chance to get to know some other paddlers as they began their adventures, though those seeking solitude can easily find space to not be disturbed. We will definitely return the next time we are in the area and look forward to visiting with Bruce and Josee again. Don't think twice about planning your stay at Paddler's Inn! - Tyler and Brett

Bere Point Regional Park is beautifully situated along Queen Charlotte Strait about six kilometers…read morefrom Sointula and the ferry to Port McNeill. The park is centered around a primitive campground fronting a long stretch of beach that is a prime location for whale watching. The edge of the campground is also the start of the Beautiful Bay Trail. This review focuses on the campground. The campground has roughly 30 campsites, about half of which are considered waterfront sites. As of 2016 waterfront sites are $20 and non waterfront sites are $16. Non waterfront sites are unremarkable (except for their proximity to the beach) and I'd avoid them because the view from this part of the island is awesome and you want as much of it as possible. I'd also pass on site 12a because it's removed from the beach. (Water view rather than waterfront would be a more appropriate description of 12a.) As you can see in the helpful campground map, sites 1 through 11 have a road between the site and the beach. This isn't a huge deal since the road is pretty quiet, but it's worth keeping in mind and being prepared for, especially if you have little kids who will be going back and forth. (Also note that sites 5 and 8 aren't considered waterfront even though they're along the water; this seems to be because the views are obstructed by trees and brush.) The numbered waterfront sites have a different feel than the lettered waterfront sites, largely because the numbered sites are set in the trees while the lettered sites are a little more open. My preference is for the lettered sites, especially A, B, D and E, although I'd also consider sites 10 or 11. Site 11 is a pull through site with some neat quirks that the other sites don't have (chairs fashioned out of driftwood, etc.) We stayed in site B and loved it. B has an old rickety woodshed that the kids played on and that we stored some of our stuff in to keep it dry. One downside to site B is that the beach access is very unstable and I wouldn't use it if falling made me nervous. A few other things to keep in mind: this is a primitive campground with no potable water (indeed, there was no fresh water at all when we were there) or hookups. There was also no cell service (Rogers/Sprint). The campground itself isn't manicured and has a bit of an untidy feel, with cut brush left where it fell. (This is a plus, in my mind, as I don't love landscaped campgrounds.) Speaking of brush, between the campground and the beach there is 5-10 feet of brush before the sand. If left unchecked it would quickly obstruct the water view from all of the sites; hopefully they stay on top of it. Finally, the campground host was excellent: friendly, helpful and full of good ideas. In short, when staying at Bere Point I'd pick a waterfront site, probably B, E, 10, or 11, although most waterfront sites offered similar views and privacy. Be sure to pack your binoculars and bring a kayak if you have one.

Guest rooms at the motel are equipped with a seating area, a flat-screen TV with cable channels, a…read morekitchenette, a dining area and a private bathroom with free toiletries, a shower and a hairdryer. Room came with a coffee machine complimentary coffee and tea. The cabins are offset from the camping area and RV traffic are not routed by the cabins. The cabin was roomy and private bath, and parking in front of the unit. Nice kitchenette, TV and dependable hot water. Privacy was there, no noise from neighbors or from the highway. Guessing the cabins are 1-3 years old and are in excellent condition, like brand new. Staff is excellent very helpful at check-in and checkout. Laundromat worked great, taking 5 loons for one load wash and dry.

I was here for a business trip, so unfortunately only stayed one night in this super cute cabin. It…read morehad everything I needed and more including wifi. Pamala at the front desk was super friendly to my dogs and I, she even recommended a restaurant for me to get takeout from. I will definitely come back when I'm not working so I can enjoy this area and the beautiful cabins longer

Had dinner tonight at the restaurant. Fish and chips were really crispy. So good. Also the red…read morecurry was really yummy. The view was amazing too. Will be back.

an excellent fresh fish lunch, delightful welcome and conversation, small village vibe. Great…read moreexperience!

Solid B&B with great views and just on edge of town. Great for staying before or after an excursion.read more

We landed at Hidden Cove for the last two nights of our whirlwind Canada vacation. After having…read morestayed two nites in Campbell River in a cramped cabin, then driving to Telegraph Cove and staying two nites there, moving into two different cabins two consecutive nites, parking our tired butts in the little cabin at Hidden Cove was a huge relief. This place is literally in the middle of nowhere....if Nowhere is heaven. Surrounded by forest and berry bushes and bordered on one side by the bay, this lodge was a great getaway relaxation spot. Sigh. If only we'd been allowed to relax there more! We got up at 5 one morning and fished all day and the next day got up early for our trip to see the grizzlies. Luckily, hubby and I had the foresight to buy some wine at Telegraph Cove general store, so each evening, our greatest pleasure was sipping wine on the porch of the cabin as the sun went down (around 9 o'clock). One evening we'd come home after dinner and our neighbors in the next cabin commented how there'd been mama black bear and her cub wandering just outside our cabin. We missed it unfortunately, but Nature is up close and personal here. We did see a black bear walking across the road on our drive in. You are warned when you check in not to leave any food (or fish guts) in your vehicle. In the foggy morning, my sis heard a humpback blowing out in the bay. And in the evening it was so relaxing to hear the sea birds settle on the water for the nite (altho the gnats have no sense of personal space unfortunately and will buzz around your eyes and mouth). The cabin itself was simple and quaint. Two bedrooms, one bath and a futon couch slept 5 of us very comfortably. There's a full kitchen that we only used to nuke breakfast burritos and make hot chocolate and there's a fireplace that we didn't get a chance to fire either. Some books and games are provided as well. I can't speak for the breakfast in the lodge proper as it was not provided for us cross-eyed cabin dwellers, I guess cause you have a kitchen (we could have paid to eat there, but a burrito was cheaper). On our last nite there, hubby and I watched the sun set spectacularly over the bay and I almost shed a tear to leave this place. We swore we'd come back someday, just the two of us, with a much more lazy schedule. Perhaps some fishing....maybe some kayaking....but definitely a lot more communing with nature and each other.