Kayaking Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii,
Kayaking Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, and The Great Bear Rainforest
Kingfisher Wilderness Adventures
British Columbia offers a sea kayaking experience like none other – stunning vistas, lush temperate rain forests, long sandy beaches, incredible wildlife sightings, and vast wilderness areas. British Columbia is one of the premiere destinations for sea kayaking in the world as everything comes together here; an extensive maze of islands, rich First Nations culture, extraordinary wildlife encounters with orcas, humpback whales, bears, eagles and much, much more.
Kingfisher Wilderness Adventures has been running fully outfitted guided kayak tours on the coast of British Columbia since 1999. We have chosen Vancouver Island as our home, and offer various sea kayak tours of northern Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, and the Great Bear Rainforest for paddlers who are just learning to kayak to those with expedition experience.
We pride ourselves on small group sizes, allowing close personal attention and minimal impact on the environment and the wildlife we view from our kayaks. Kingfisher’s kayak guides are passionate about kayaking and the wilderness and will eagerly share their knowledge with you, ensuring a trip full of memories you will never forget.
As we enter our 23rd year of operation, we hope you will join us on a kayaking trip of a lifetime.
Kayak Tours of Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, and The Great Bear Rainforest
Base Camp Kayaking 4 days / 3 nights
Imagine waking one morning to the sound of a humpback whale’s blow as it swims past your ocean-side tent. Later that same day watch in awe as a pod of killer whales, also known as orcas, swim past your kayak as a bald eagle swoops down to catch a salmon.
Base Camp Kayaking 4 days / 3 nights
Seeing a humpback whale lunging through a school of bait fish, a grizzly bear chasing a salmon through a shallow river, or a pod of killer whales surfacing in unison are often considered once in a lifetime experiences and all three are possible on this tour.
Base Camp Kayaking 4 days / 3 nights
Searching under rocks for crabs, watching humpback whales feed on a school of small fish, or being surprised as a harbour seal pops up right next to their kayak are all memories children cherish for a lifetime. This kayak tour is designed for families with children aged six to fourteen.
Expedition Kayaking
5 days / 4 nights
Watching a sea otter crack open a sea urchin on its chest, waking up to find wolf tracks on the beach in front of your camp, or quietly sitting in your kayak observing a black bear forage for seafood at low tide are truly special experiences—experiences you can have on a Sea Otter Explorer Tour.
Expedition Kayaking
6 days / 5 nights
Imagine kayaking along narrow passages lined with clam beaches, as we kayak around a corner a black bear is seen flipping rocks in the morning sun looking for a tasty morsel. Later that afternoon as we kayak toward a new campsite we watch a pod of orcas foraging for salmon.
Expedition Kayaking
5 days / 4 nights
The Northern Gwaii Hannas Explorer tours travel between Tanu Island and Burnaby Island in the northern half of Gwaii Haanas. Paddle sheltered channels, secluded bays, and exposed coastline, visit Haida cultural sites T’aanuu Llnagaay (Tanu) and Hlk’yah GaawGa (Windy Bay) and soak in natural hot springs.
Expedition Kayaking
8 days / 7 nights
Imagine waking one morning to the sound of a humpback whale’s blow as it swims past your ocean-side tent. Later that same day watch in awe as a pod of killer whales, also known as orcas, swim past your kayak as a bald eagle swoops down to catch a salmon.
Expedition Kayaking
8 days / 7 nights
The Southern Gwaii Haanas Explorer tour kayaks the southern end of Gwaii Haanas, from Burnaby Narrows along the rugged coastline to Rose Harbour. Fantastic wildlife viewing opportunities, colourful inter-tidal life, wonderful campsite locations, and a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of SGang Gwaay.
Expedition Kayaking
15 days / 14 nights
This trip is our longest offering, and provides visitors the opportunity to explore almost the entire Gwaii Haanas National Park and Haida Heritage Site. This experience starts near the northern boundary of Gwaii Haanas, and culminates near the south end after a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of SGang Gwaay.
Expedition Kayaking
10 days / 9 nights
Stretching for 400 kilometres along British Columbia’s central coast, the Great Bear Rainforest is the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world. This beautifully rugged coast offers the adventurous traveller with diverse kayaking routes, abundant wildlife, and a rich First Nations culture.
Base Camp Kayaking
Expedition Kayaking
We offer two types of tours for those wanting to organize a private tour for their own group of family, friends, colleagues, or paddling club.
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Kingfisher Whales four-day Kayaking trip We went on Kingfisher's four day (3 night) kayaking trip off Port McNeil staying at a base camp on Hansen Island. We were a small group--four young German tourists and my husband and me (both of us over 60 Americans) plus the two (Canadian) guides. ... read more 
Marilyn M.7/31/2019 - What a trip Wonderfull Kayak trip around basecamp.
On our 1st day we already saw orcas and humpback whales from basecamp, sitting whit a beer watching the sun go down
We kayaked every day and met whales and sealions.
Last day they picked us early, and we went... read more Ivar197010/24/2018 - Outstanding company with focus on safety and enjoyment - loved it We nearly booked a tour with another company but so glad we went with Kingfisher. We also booked our accommodation (Black bear resort) and the separate grizzly tour through Kingfisher and more than happy with both of those. Kingfisher is very profess... read more NewcastleKiwigirl10/06/2018
- Two sea kayaking trips I have never sea kayaked before but did two back to back with them in August - one base camp and one wild camping. All the equipment was first class and the tour guides/leaders were excellent giving someone who was very nervous the confidence to hap... read more Yvonne R.9/01/2019
- AMAZING - MAGICAL - POWERFUL Adventure Myself and 5 friends just returned from an AMAZING 4-day base camp "Kayak with Whales" adventure. The adventure was sooo much more than kayaking with whales. We saw and heard lots of different marine and wild life (Orca and Humpback whales,... read more parm08/01/2020
- Amazing! I am well traveled and done many different types of adventures and trips. I have only wrote one review on trip advisor before and that was giving a 5/5 rating cage shark diving with Great Whites in New Zealand. This trip deserves my 2nd 5/5 review!... read more Brent A.8/03/2019
- Best way to experience Vancouver Island's wild west coast My husband and I just returned from our second trip with Kingfisher - an expedition trip in the Nutchatlitz area: Kayaking with Sea Otters. It was even more fabulous than our first base camp trip in the Broughton Archipelago. We saw sea otters every ... read more Elizabeth C.7/01/2021
- Whales and Wilderness Expedition I recently participated in the June 2019 whales and wilderness kayak expedition with Kingfisher in the Broughton Archipelago. I attended as a solo, It was a great group of people who all had a background of outdoor adventure experience.
Our guid... read more kezsherwood6/23/2019 - Wow, just wow! We did the 6 day Whales and Wilderness Explorer trip very near the end of a 7 week long trip to Canada. We expected to like and enjoy the trip, but we didn't expect to be absolutely blown away by it! We had done lots of other outdoor adventures d... read more 347liz10/01/2019
- Excellent guiding company! I participated in an 8-day Haida Gwaii tour with Kingfisher and was impressed with their customer service, the quality of the gear provided, the well trained and friendly guides, and the FOOD was amazing as well. Highly recommended. Mary Y.9/08/2019
