Great Bears of British Columbia

Depart the UK this morning on your international flight to Canada Downtown skyscrapers framed by leafy parks, snow-capped peaks, and sweeping beaches, welcome to Vancouver. This contemporary and cosmopolitan city on Canada’s west coast is the perfect gateway for your upcoming British Columbia bear adventure. Vancouver is renowned for its thriving culinary scene, from exciting food trucks to Michelin-starred restaurants, to cool craft breweries and some of the best coffee Canada has to offer, spend the evening eating and drinking your way through the city.

Vancouver has a lot to offer its visitors so spend the day at leisure to do what you wish. Take a stroll through leafy Stanley Park, take a cable car up Grouse Mountain and tackle the Capilano Suspension Bridge, a 140-metre long walkway that weaves its way through a river canyon and offers spectacular views of the rainforest or explore Granville Island home to colourful markets and waterfront vistas. Other places of interest include the Botanical Gardens, Vancouver Art Gallery or the well-regarded Museum of Anthropology.

Depart Vancouver this morning. Drive to Horseshoe Bay, where you will take the ferry across the Strait of Georgia to Vancouver Island. On your drive to Campbell Bay, pass the harbour city of Nanaimo and make a stop for lunch at Parksville which is home to beautiful golden sandy beaches which would be perfect for a picnic. After checking in to your accommodation in Campbell River, take a stroll along the pier and watch the anglers reeling for salmon, which the area is famous for.

Leave your car behind this morning and take a short flight over jagged mountain peaks and untouched islands until you reach the wild and remote Glendale Cove, accessible only by plane. You will be staying at Knight Inlet, a floating lodge that is located in the beautiful Great Bear Rainforest which boasts one of the largest concentrations of grizzly bears in British Columbia. Upon arrival, receive a welcome orientation and embark on a scenic river cruise and wildlife viewing tour with the hope of seeing grizzly bears living in their habitat as well as natural wonders such as waterfalls and ancient glaciers. Return to the lodge for dinner and drinks which is included.

• Dinner

You’ll rise early this morning and return to the bear viewing platform for one last chance to enjoy the majestic bears in their natural habitat. After, you will travel by floatplane back to Campbell River where you will collect your car and drive to the northern tip of Vancouver Island to Port Hardy. Spend the afternoon at leisure.

After a leisurely morning, proceed to the air base for your transfer to Great Bear Lodge by seaplane. Great Bear Lodge is a self-contained floating lodge situated in an outstanding wildlife viewing location in the Great Bear Rainforest. After settling into your accommodation upon arrival, take part in the first thrilling wildlife viewing session where your grizzly bear adventure gets underway. The lodge has a range of different sites and each bear viewing trip will be chosen according to where bears have been most active, so this might be by boat or bus. The rainforest is also home to black bears, otters, mink, wolves and bald eagles. Returning to the lodge that evening you will be treated to a wilderness gourmet dinner as well as a presentation on grizzly bears and the unique habitat they live in.

• Dinner

After an early breakfast, head out on a bear viewing that will typically last around three hours. Once back at the lodge you may wish to embark on a guided rainforest walk where you will learn about bear signs and the general ecology of the area. Round of the day with another grizzly bear adventure followed by dinner at the lodge. If it is a clear night, be sure to enjoy some stargazing looking up at the brilliantly beautiful sky.

• Breakfast,
• Lunch,
• Dinner

Enjoy another full day at Great Bear Lodge where you’ll have more opportunities to spot bears in the morning and again later in the afternoon. You may reach an estuary by boat or adventure down a wilderness track by bus to see these majestic creatures in their natural habitat. For an early afternoon activity, you may be able to take a boat excursion to explore a glacier-carved inlet or just to relax at the lodge and admire the spectacular surroundings.

• Breakfast,
• Lunch,
• Dinner

After a final bear viewing, lunch and afternoon activity, you will be transferred back to Port Hardy by seaplane, usually between 16:00-18:00. Enjoy a final evening at the northern tip of Vancouver Island before continuing your journey in the morning.

• Breakfast

Depart Port Hardy this morning and make the drive south to Courtenay. Designated as the first step on the Great Canadian Fossil Trail after dinosaur fossils were unearthed nearby, Courtenay is home to the excellent Courtenay Museum which houses a wealth of geological, natural and human history as well as an 80-million-year-old Elasmosaurus, the largest marine reptile fossil ever discovered in British Columbia. The town also boasts a number of galleries, provincial parks as well as a cidery, distillery and winery. Spend the afternoon and evening at leisure however you wish.

This morning make the hour drive to the port just north of Nanaimo and take the ferry back to Horseshoe Bay and onto Vancouver. Spend the remainder of the day ticking off any sightseeing you missed at the beginning of the trip. Maybe spend the evening in lively Gastown, one of Vancouver’s most vibrant neighbourhoods known for its whistling Steam Clock as well as boutique stores and art galleries, chic cocktail lounges and excellent eateries.

After some final sightseeing and exploring of the city, drive back to Vancouver Airport and board your flight back to the UK.

Today you will arrive back into the UK, where you will continue your journey home.