Sea Plane Adventures

The entire trip to Vancouver and Victoria was just an elaborate birthday present from my dear Adam, but he really outdid himself when he told me that he had booked us a sea plane back to Vancouver. All based on the simple child like comment I made while pointing at the sky: “I wanna fly in one of those”. I doubt that if we hadn’t gotten into a big fight I would have ended up in one, so sometimes anger and storming 45 minutes back to the hotel has positive points. In all, it was a perfect I’m sorry present from a man incapable of apologizing for anything. A thirty minute scenic flight taking off from the water and landing right back in it, excellent!


We had spent the day in Victoria, and had been somewhat anxious all along. Spending the day within viewing distance of the harbour where the crafts were landing and taking off on about one minute intervals did nothing to ease any nerves about the procedure. We were excited though, incredibly excited. Adam had booked the ride with Harbour Air, which is one of a few companies providing air tours in the area. We chose the Victoria- Vancouver leg, but they have a variety of short trips and scenic tours available.

After we had finished sight seeing, we wandered over to their easy-to-find location next to the water on Wharf Street. We had been there already that day seeing if we could drop off our bags. Points to them for being so nice as to ship our bags ahead of us so we wouldn’t have to lug them around all day with us. I was quite nervous as we headed there, as I am not too keen on flying, but I was mostly excited. How could I not be! It’s a water plane (though I think sea plane is the proper term). We did have a bit of a wait, and the process was a bit confusing to me as a newbie to the procedures (keep in mind most things confuse me). After a bit of a wait, we were boarded onto our tiny plane. It is truly cramped in there, but our plane wasn’t even half full so we had a little breathing room. Our pilot (I believe Chris was his name) was very nice and friendly, giving us information about the trip and related matters. We sat in the water, taxi-ing for quite a bit, waiting for other planes to take off and land, but we eventually were kicked into high gear and were soon gliding in the air instead of the water. Just a tad freaky! The views were amazing from the get go, and we were provided of a gorgeous glimpse of the entire city as we circled around. The ride itself was a bit turbulent but not as scary as I imagined. Though I believe that this particular route is mainly for commuters, it provided a very tourist-friendly trip with sights you couldn’t get from a commercial airline.

Landing was smooth, but disappointing to say the least, as I could have spent several hours up in the skies watching families of otters fishing and making myself jealous over the houses spotting the numerous islands. Realizing they cater to people using the Vancouver airport, Harbour air provides a shuttle to the main airport from their location, which is incredibly convenient.
Though it may be a tad expensive (we paid about $80CAN per person) it was well worth the price. I would recommend this company for tours, commutes, and anyone wanting a bird’s eye glimpse of the Vancouver Island area.