Safari in Vancouver?

Sea Safari why not! Our family decided on an amazing day in Vancouver to get up and rent a boat, something I always recomend for visitors or locals and especially if the weather is nice. There is no better way to see the city than from the outside, waterside. There are many places to rent water crafts, boats, canoes, kyacks, etc. If it is nice, get on the water!

There are several places to rent boats but trust me if you are close to downtown then go to Granville Island and there are a few places. I would encourage you to rent from Bonny Lee Charters, they have the nicest boats and if I dare say, have a smaller chance of breaking down. They also have fishing charters and are really nice folks that run the place. Their boats are always clean and they are closer to the end of the marina than some others.

Not to mention any names, but we rented a boat one beautiful day but the boat was in really rough shape, sure it was cheap but it was also the only place left with boats (another good tip is to reserve ahead if you can, even the night before) only to break down WAY up in Deep Cove. Spent more time on the boat than expected and my wife had the "told you so" look on her face as we slowly ran out of fresh water. This sounds more dramatic than it actually was but it was a great adventure that ended well and is a great story. A boat stopped and towed us to a very small island - right across from Deep Cove Marina - and you can camp on the island. There were tons of canoes and kyacks as people paddled to the island to camp. It was so amazing, we are planning on camping there this summer for sure.

So back to the Safari ... we had 8 people but Sewells Marina only has 17' boats to rent (unless you are going on a guided fishing trip) so our options were 2 boats or go on the Sea Safari which is a largish boat full of seats (see pict) that goes nice and fast but also comes with a guide that has some really great information along the way. Our path was up the right side of the Bay, along the sea to Sky Hyway, stopped every once in a while to see Bald Eagles, Seals and various birds.

Seal island which is easy to locate on a map even if you rent your own boat has more than a few seals. When we went past, there were a ton lying on the beach rocks and a ton more splashing around in the water. Seal island and the surrounding super small islands are protected with some birds that are rare and just amazing. I am not much of a bird person but seeing them from the boat, a good distance from the mainland was really cool and amazing for the kids. From there we went completly around Bowen Island and back to the mouth of Horseshoe Bay with the most spectacular view of the city with Mount Baker in the background. I would highly recomend doing this with your family, my smallest child is almost 4 and she had a blast!

Lighthouse: On the way back the guide past Lighthouse Park, an amazing park that is on the water and massive rocks. We viewed rock climbers, hikers, people having picnics, cliff diving... it is a great park with easy hikes down to the rocky waters. You can stand on the rocks and depending where you are, the views are usually unreal. Some of the trails are a bit steeper than others so I would say it is a bit harder than easy. Great for kids, climbers and people who love panaramic views.

Back in Horseshoe Bay there are a good amount of small shops and places to eat. We were in a tad of a rush and foscued on boating that day but we have been there a few times in the past, it takes about 45min to get there from downtown Vancouver but will depend on the traffic leaving Vancouver at that time.

The bottom line is if it is sunny and warm, getting on the water and enjoying this amazing city is your best bet! Now get out there and enjoy. :)