EXPEDITION KAYAKING
Our expedition kayak tours range from five to fifteen days and allow kayakers to explore a larger area versus our base camp tours. These tours are offered in a number of different locations; northern Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, and the Great Bear Rainforest.
During our expedition style tour, we kayak between different wilderness campsites: some involve camping in the forest, others on pebble or sandy beaches, and on some trips possibly tent platforms on rocky points. The exact locations used on each trip depend upon a number of factors like group size, wildlife viewing opportunities, and weather.
We provide high quality three-season tents. For couples we provide three-person tents and for solo travellers a slightly smaller tent, all with Therm-a-rest sleeping pads and warm mummy-style sleeping bags with liners to ensure a good night’s sleep. A library of natural history books is on every trip. On the water we use stable single and double fibreglass kayaks and lightweight carbon/vinyl paddles. Waterproof kayaking jackets, personal floatation devices, and neoprene kayaking mitts are provided to keep you warm and dry while kayaking.
Explore our different expedition style kayak tours below to find one that is right for you.
WHALES AND WILDLIFE EXPLORER
Expedition Kayaking
6 days / 5 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.
SEA OTTER EXPLORER
Expedition Kayaking
6 days / 5 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..
CENTRAL GWAII HAANAS EXPLORER
Expedition Kayaking
5 days / 4 nights
Highlights of the Central Gwaii Haanas Explorer tour include soaking in the natural pools at Gandll K’in Gwaayaay (Hot Spring Island) and kayaking the wildlife rich waters of Juan Perez Sound. This five day tour has a more relaxed pace than our longer Gwaii Haanas Explorer kayak tours
NORTHERN GWAII HAANAS EXPLORER
Expedition Kayaking
8 days / 7 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.
SOUTHERN GWAII HAANAS EXPLORER
Expedition Kayaking
8 days / 7 nights
The Southern Gwaii Haanas Explorer tour kayaks the southern end of Gwaii Haanas, from K’iid Xyangs K’iidaay 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.
ULTIMATE GWAII HAANAS EXPLORER
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.
GREAT BEAR RAINFOREST
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.
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Amazing six day adventure We went on a six day Whales & Wildlife expedition with four other guests and our two guides - Kyle and Jody. It was a wonderful way to experience the islands and wilderness surrounding Vancouver Island and to disconnect from the city and our daily routine. The food was excellent (great vegetarian options). The campsites chosen along the way were beautiful. All gear was provided. Kyle and Jody were very knowledgeable and told us many interesting stories about the area and about the local wildlife - and we saw a lot of wildlife on our trip. We can't wait to head out again on the water! Highly recommend!
read moreread lessflorencec7268/22/2021 -
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 day, tons of eagles and even …
read moreread lessElizabeth C.7/01/2021 -
Kayaking with Whales July 23 - 26 My husband and I joined Kingfisher Wilderness Adventures for a Kayaking with Whales Adventure last week. Great weather, awesome food & the best kayaking we have experienced. Loved the base camp on Hanson Island, and the nights spent camping in the tents. The accommodations were superb. Special thanks to Alisune and Jes. Not only are they top notch guides, they are also top knotch chefs.
The only thing missing was a campfire each night - that would certainly have enhanced the whole experience. I might suggest re-naming this specific tour, and calling it ‘Kayaking in the Wilderness’ or ‘Kayaking in Johnstone Strait & Blackfish Sound’, instead of ‘Kayaking With Whales’, which leads one to believe that one will actually be kayaking where the whales are. I know one can’t predict where the whales will be at a given time, however we experienced none close by on any day of our kayaking. The whales we did see while in kayaks were a very long way off, & at too great of a distance to kayak to.
All in all a great tour & very memorable.read moreread lesskartonv7/31/2019 -
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, Sea Lions, Seals, Eagles, Porpoises, …
read moreread lessparm08/01/2020 -
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. It was a wonderful experience. Both guides were extremely personable, knowledgeable, organized, gracious and all around competent. We observed minke and humpback whales, orcas, dolphins, porpoises, seals, mink and lots of underwater marine life. The platform tents at the base camp had extremely comfortable beds. We could hear the whales passing in the night as they blew. Clean linen and sleeping bags were provided. The guides prepared fresh meals, knew the territory and where to show us hidden gems. Highly recommended.
read moreread lessMarilyn M.7/31/2019 -
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 during our trip, all of which we'd …
read moreread less347liz10/01/2019 -
Base Camp Kayak With Whales and Grizzly Bears My husband and I participated in a 4-day-3-night base camp Whale and Grizzly Bear trip with Kingfisher and we had an AMAZING time! We are both scientists and have gone on lots of cool outdoor adventures, but this trip was exceptional. We saw so much wildlife that we could hardly believe it; humpbacks, orca (both transient and resident), Dall's porpoise, pacific white-sided dolphin, Steller sea lions, harbor seals, grizzly bears, and black bears to name the highlights. Our guides, Allie and Tessa, were very friendly and knowledgeable. The food was EXCELLENT and there was plenty of it. The tents and beds were cozy and a hot water bottle was offered for those who wanted to warm up their sleeping bag (although the sleeping bags were plenty warm themselves). The kayaks were sturdy and in great shape and all of the equipment was well maintained. We woke up to the sounds of feeding humpback whales right outside our tent each morning and we watched them feed in the straight as the sun set each evening (all from camp). Overall, it was an amazing trip that we will never forget and we highly recommend it anyone interested in a wonderful wildlife adventure!
read moreread lessKreaver9/18/2019 -
Base Camp Kayak With Whales and Grizzly Bears My husband and I participated in a 4-day-3-night base camp Whale and Grizzly Bear trip with Kingfisher and we had an AMAZING time! We are both scientists and have gone on lots of cool outdoor adventures, but this trip was exceptional. We saw so much wildlife that we could hardly believe it; humpbacks, orca (both transient and resident), Dall's porpoise, pacific white-sided dolphin, Steller sea lions, harbor seals, grizzly bears, and black bears to name the highlights. Our guides, Allie and Tessa, were very friendly and knowledgeable. The food was EXCELLENT and there was plenty of it. The tents and beds were cozy and a hot water bottle was offered for those who wanted to warm up their sleeping bag (although the sleeping bags were plenty warm themselves). The kayaks were sturdy and in great shape and all of the equipment was well maintained. We woke up to the sounds of feeding humpback whales right outside our tent each morning and we watched them feed in the straight as the sun set each evening (all from camp). Overall, it was an amazing trip that we will never forget and we highly recommend it anyone interested in a wonderful wildlife adventure!
read moreread lessKreaver9/18/2019 -
SO much wildlife, incredible food, and awesome people!!!!! We had such an awesome time on our trip. We had exceptional luck seeing wildlife, we saw humpback whales, orcas, porpoises, dolphins, sea lions, seals, and more!!! It was such a great time. The food was UNREAL and the accommodations were really nice. I feel as though we really did get our moneys worth. Our guides (Kelsey and Connor) were awesome, they cooked, they cleaned, and they put up with our groups obsession with finding orcas.
Overall, I would highly recommend this experience to anyone who is interested in seeing marine life in the wild and respects wildlife/nature.read moreread lessP6420ZHsabrinac8/27/2021