Extend Your Journey - The Great Bear Experience

Welcome to the beginning of your bear-viewing adventure. Fly from Vancouver to Port Hardy and board a seaplane flight over Queen Charlotte Strait to Great Bear Lodge. Your floating oasis in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest is just about as remote as they come. With just a handful of guests at any given time, this is one of the few places on Earth where bears actually outnumber humans. Your experience begins in the late afternoon when biologist guides take you by boat to the most densely populated parts of the forest. Survey your surroundings for that tell-tale rustling and learn about the rare ecosystem and grizzly bear body language. Back at the lodge and after dinner, enjoy a presentation about the interaction of grizzly bears within this environment.

As the sun rises in the sky, so do you. Head out early in search of grizzly bears. Although grizzlies are without a doubt the star of the show here, Great Bear Rainforest is also home to other fascinating creatures, including wolves, bald eagles, cougars and ever-adorable pine martens. In the glacier-fed waters, river otters can also be found among the salmon. After lunch, your guide will join you again for further exploration. You might like to set off on the popular interpretive rainforest walk, where bear signs and the ecology of the area are explained in detail. Return to the lodge and enjoy some time to relax. Later on, the group will rejoin, and you’ll head out into the wilderness for some more possible bear sightings together, before being back well and truly in time for dinner.

Make the most of your final day at the lodge today. Spring is when grizzlies stumble out from hibernation for mating season, so activity levels are generally high. And it’s also the perfect time for birdwatching as the estuary is bursting with winged friends. Summer sees seal pups becoming familiar with their home, and grizzlies graze and forage for berries. And in Autumn, wild salmon appear in the tens of thousands. No matter what time of year, you can take it all in with explorations around the islands and long fjords. Otherwise, you might opt to stay ashore, watching for wildlife between mountains and old-growth timber forests. Between your bear viewing sessions, your guides may take you to explore the glacier-carved inlet. Or, you might prefer to just relax at the lodge.

You can’t leave without saying goodbye. Set off on a final bear viewing excursion this morning before a seaplane takes you back to Port Hardy.

Today, you’ll be transferred to the airport to board your flight back to Vancouver, where your tour comes to an end.