Nanaimo Seaplane tour: Strait of Georgia Experience

I purchased two tickets for the Georgia Strait Seaplane Tour through Viator, one of Harbour Air’s ticketing partners. I booked them two months in advance as a special birthday gift, under the impression that the experience included four hours in Sechelt. A week before the flight, I received a notification from Viator advising that the departure time had changed from 8:45 a.m. to 9:20 a.m. However, upon arriving at the Harbour Air check-in desk, I was informed that our reservation was still for the 8:45 a.m. flight—and that this flight did not include the time in Sechelt. We were further told that the 9:20 a.m. flight did include the Sechelt stop, but it was already sold out. Despite explaining the situation and proposing several possible solutions, we were repeatedly told that nothing could be done because the tickets had been purchased through a third party. Although Viator eventually refunded the fare, the experience itself—and the intended birthday gift—was lost. Harbour Air, for their part, declined to offer any assistance or resolution. So what should have been a special experience turned into a very disappointing day.

This was NOT a tour on a seaplane but just a 12 minute commuter flight. Very dull. Then instead of the advertised 4 hours in Sechelt we had to stay for 8 hours. Quite a difference. The seaplane company no longer offer several flights a day, just the two to accommodate commuters. Do not book with Viator. Find a seaplane operator in Nanaimo who will actually give you a tour.

Brilliant experience. Going from sea to air so quickly and from land to land in a short while, being able to see so much of the views from up high. Take off and landing were smooth.

Excellent quick trip on a seaplane. A must do activity if like me you don't have seaplanes where you live. Little stop off for lunch and a few drinks before going back.

Be aware that this is a Commuter Flight, not a tour. Plane just takes you from Nanaimo to Sechelt and drops you off for hours. It’s a beautiful commute, but no tour guide or flying up the islands. A lot of flying over empty seas.

Worth it! First time flying in a seaplane. Smooth flight - landing was better on sea then on land. Amazing views. Recommend sitting on left on the way from Nanaimo to Sechelt; on the way back sitting on the right in the plane - for the best views of Sunshine Coast. Flight was on time both leaving and returning. .

Offering this as a "tour" is simply wrong and misleading. These are shuttle flights between Nanaimo and Sechelt. The planes are nutshells and are indeed "adventurous"; nothing is said or commented on. The view from above was of course great. But Sechelt is a rather inconspicuous - and in our opinion not very pretty - small town and I wouldn't know what you could do there for four hours. We walked up and down the street once and luckily we were able to fly back after an hour and that was enough.

Beautiful scenic route. 5 seater plane was fun. Not a lot in Sechelt on the side but we enjoyed the flights.

We had booked a 40-minute round trip. This turned out differently. 20 minutes flight to Sechelt and 2 hours later you will be picked up again and 20 minutes back. It was a nice flight but got into trouble because we travel in a camper and arrived late at the Campground in Victoria

It was overall a very enjoyable experience except it was extremely hot and very little air flow! Very smooth take off and landing but a bit of a bumpy landing coming back from Sechelt into Nanaimo!