UNESCO Biosphere and Bowen Island Boat Tour with Island Visit
Description
Discover the beauty of Howe Sound Fjord, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, on an unforgettable Vancouver adventure. You'll ride alongside the stunning Tantalus Mountain Range, explore vibrant islands and marine wildlife sanctuaries, and enjoy a complimentary beer, wine, coffee, or ice cream at Bowen Island's Snug Cove during a short stop. This is one of Vancouver’s must-do experiences—perfect for creating memories you'll be excited to share with friends and family!
Tour Options
Itinerary
We will start our journey here. Please Arrive 30 minutes prior to your tour start time. Granville Island is a lively cultural hub known for its public market, artisan shops, theaters, and waterfront views.
We will start and finish our tour in these waters.
We will pass by Downtown while exiting the False Creek and into the English Bay
We will pass by Downtown while exiting the False Creek and into the English Bay
We will see Stanley park from the boat as we leave Vancouver
We will see Kitsilano, UBC, Vancouver, and West Vancouver from the water, and get up close to the freighters waiting for Vancouver's Harbour.
We will stop at Lighthouse Park to take some photos before we enter the Unesco Reserve known as Howe Sound. This is a great stop to spot wildlife and take in some of Vancouver's History. Just around the corner, we will visit a Seal Colony.
Pull up to Bowyer Island where we will stop to talk about the Glaciers, Mountains and watch Horseshoe Bay where the Island ferries come in and out.
We will explore the coast line of this island, enjoying the Coastal Temperate Rain Forest as we look for Sea Lions, Bald Eagles, Porpoises and much more wildlife.
Althought we will not drive on the sea to sky highway, we will boat through the sea to sky corridor which inclues the Tantalus Mountain range, Tantalus Glacier, Howe Sound Unesco world heritage site, Bowen Island, Seal Colonies and much much more.
UNESCO reserve Howe Sound is a stunning fjord located just north of Vancouver, known for its dramatic mountain scenery, clear waters, and outdoor recreational activities. Popular for boating, kayaking, hiking, and wildlife viewing, the area is dotted with islands and framed by rugged coastal mountains, offering breathtaking views and adventure opportunities.
Stop and Get off the boat at Bowen Islands Snug Cove. You will get a chance to visit the shops and restaurants within the cove and your tour includes a free beer, wine, specialty coffee, or ice cream. Snug Cove is a quaint town on the edge of Bowen Island, it will bring you back to a quieter easier time. With many places to visit this town won't disappoint.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Minimum height of 4 ft tall
- Minimum 4 guests required to run a tour. Minimum can be met by multiple parties.
- Not recommended for pregnant guests
Reviews(46)
This was one of the best things we’ve ever done as a family. Our guide Simon was excellent. The scenery is incredible, Bowen island is lovely, and everyone enjoyed the RIB experience. If you have a sense of adventure this is definitely the tour to do. That it leaves from Granville Island is another massive bonus as that’s great for food and families. My kids haven’t stopped talking about this since we got off, they were super happy during the whole thing. This is one of the best things we’ve ever done as a family anywhere on the planet.
Trip was amazing. Beautiful scenery, great tour guide Simon - great bits of speed on the water for the kids (11/8). Easy to find and sort and great communication. A brilliant afternoon was had by all four of us (
Our original tour with another provider was cancelled. As we walked past after hearing our cancellation news we could see Simon and his group getting ready to go out. He offered us the chance to join. The rest of the group were happy to wait. Simon went back into the shop, got everything signed, paid for and dry suits dry arranged. This was amazing customer service. Simon was extremely knowledgeable, was really kind and checked in on us. We can't thank him enough for making our last day in Vancouver, one to remember. We loved the on board music, speed thrill and Bowen Island.
We had such an amazing time! Our guide, Marco, really was so kind, funny, and informative! He very good naturedly answered a zillion questions and even humored us when my sister thought a branch in the water was a whale! Truly, his attitude and genuine excitement to be out with us really made the whole experience that much better. The sound is breathtakingly beautiful, and we lucked out seeing amazing wildlife to include seals, eagles, blue heron, starfish, and orcas. Cannot recommend enough, you won’t be disappointed with the day. Also, Bowen Island is so cute and a great stop. Thank you Marco and company, we will be talking about this trip for a long time!!
Our captain, Simon, was exceptionally knowledgeable and was also very passionate about the area and his job and this was great to see. A fabulous trip and the short stop at Bowen Island was also really great.
Fantastic day out on the water. Captain Alec was fantastic at finding wildlife. 5 bald eagles sighted.
It is super fun, kind of like a Disney ride that does not end. Definitely be prepared to get sprayed a bit by the waves and to go fast. On a three week trip with a number of excursions and date trips, this was my very favorite excursion. If you go and you happen to like distilleries, when you get to the destination, they give you like an hour to walk around, and we went to the distillery that you will see signs as you walk out of the harbor. A truly wonderful experience, extremely local and we purchased some items which we are still sipping on.
Simon was our guide today, and was absolutely wonderful. He made the trip so great, very knowledgeable, a great wealth of info about the area we traveled through. The boat very comfortable, great music, and the scenery and Bowen Island just gorgeous. We saw many bald eagles and sea lions. Just the best, highly recommend this to anyone!
This was a wonderful day exploring Vancouver by boat. The suits you had to wear to stay warm were a little difficult to put on but they did keep us warm.
Victor was our friendly knowledgeable tour guide . It was a beautiful day and Victor found a humpback whale for us ! Los of seals and sea lions to see on this majestic scenery in Howe sound . Highly recommend this 2 hour tour
