Operating through the end of August to mid-October along the central coast, guests can anticipate fall-like conditions on this itinerary. Cooler mornings and evenings call for warmer layers to be packed. 

We’ve experienced drier, and much wetter, seasons in the Great Bear Rainforest – it is a rainforest after all! We strongly suggest bringing waterproof outerwear and wool layers to stay warm in the event of a wet bear viewing day.

As the landscape is quite fjord-like, with extremely dense forest, this itinerary does not lend itself to as many shore excursions as others. That said, guests will still need to be able to get in and out of the zodiac – both unloading and loading from the boat and unloading/loading from shore.This requires some mobility to swing legs in and out of the zodiac and onto the shore. Crew are always there to support with this.

The vast majority of this itinerary takes place along the Inside Passage, a narrow, sheltered waterway that runs the length of the Great Bear Rainforest. While this channel is not open water, we may still experience some wavy conditions should a storm be forecasted.

Guests can anticipate heading ashore a few select times on this itinerary. When walking ashore, guests may experience terrain ranging from established boardwalk to forest scrambling. Guests may need to be able to navigate over fallen logs, uneven rooted paths, and potentially up a muddy river bank – but we believe that the journey is part of the adventure! As always, your Bluewater crew will be there to assist you should you need support on different excursions.

Bear viewing is facilitated both on water in the zodiac and land based in the forest. While in the zodiac, Bluewater crew will navigate up estuaries where bears may be feeding along the river banks. On land, guests will be with both Bluewater crew and a Gitga’at First Nations bear guide, where viewing is conducted from the rainforest hoping to glance at bears feeding on salmon in the creek below.

With a lot of patience, and a little luck, we hope guests get to witness the elusive spirit bear. While we work closely with expert Gitga’at First Nations bear guides who know these bears best, we cannot guarantee a spirit bear spotting as they call this vast swath of coastal mountainscape their home and range around as they feel. We choose this time of year to visit the Great Bear Rainforest because it gives the best chance at viewing a spirit bear, and with our crew’s local area knowledge, we hope to tip the scales in your favour.