Family Activities:

Jamie’s Whaling Station and Adventure Center

Attraction

Jamie’s Whaling Station and Adventure Center

Offering tours since 1982, Jamie’s offers a variety of wildlife boat tours including whale or bear watching, hot springs tours or kayaking tours. Each wildlife tour also offers a variety of boat options from the more adventurous zodiac-style boats to the covered boats with heat and restrooms onboard. The boat captain and experienced guide onboard are ready to impart their knowledge of Tofino, its waterways and its wildlife. Learn about the habits of the gray whale as you watch them feed in the water. Check out the sea lions lounging on rocks and oh and aw at the sea otters holding paws and floating along the waters surface.

Watch for black bear as they roam the shores looking for rock crab to eat and keep an eye on the sky for bald eagles. The kayaking tours explore the Clayoquot Sound, small surrounding islands, wildlife and rainforest and can be a few hours long or multi-day and overnight! The hot springs tours take families by boat to the natural geothermal hot springs where they can soak and enjoy and return by boat or seaplane.

If you don’t see a bear on the bear watching tour or a whale on the whale watching tour, Jamie’s will provide a raincheck voucher (that never expires and can even be used the same day) to go on another tour, free of charge. It’s rare but also not guaranteed to see the wildlife so that’s a nice insurance policy.

Hours: Tours run at scheduled times daily. Reservations are strongly encouraged. Tours typically sell out during high season between June and mid-September.

Age or Height Restrictions: The kayaking tours have a two person minimum per boat and children must be at least 5 years old for the kayaking tours.

Things to Know/Bring: The length of the tours varies between two to three hours for whale or bear watching to more than six hours for the hot springs or kayaking tour. The tours also vary by season (bear watching runs from April through October, whale watching is March through October and hot springs run year round). Life jackets are provided. Bring a camera and binoculars and be prepared for colder temperatures on the water, even in the summer months. Water resistant jackets are recommended as well.

Parking: A large parking lot is available and dogs can be kenneled here while you enjoy your tour.