What’s your happy place?
Mine: the West Coast of Canada.
I first visited the West Coast not on a photography trip, but as a high school student out on Vancouver Island on a massive field trip. It’s a trip that changed the course of my life. And, honestly, I could tell you I wouldn’t be in this career – as a travel photographer – without that trip.
Later in life, my first professional assigment was a massive 30 day project photographing the entire west coast of Canada. It reaffirmed my love for this Pacific paradise. There is just something so fresh, vibrant, and refreshing about Canada’s left coast. It’s the rainforest, the wild seas, the islands and islets, the bald eagles and the bears. It’s just so full of life.
In 2027, I’m going to lucky enough to share that west coast love with you guys.
We’re going to be running an epic 13 day photography tour from Vancouver all the way up to Haida Gwaii.
Let’s get into the details
Costs / Info
- Dates: May 28 – June 9, 2027
- Start City: Vancouver, Canada
- End City: Vancouver, Canada
- Days: 13
- Maximum Group Size: 10
- Trip Style: Classic
- Fitness Level: Moderate. Some walking, hiking.
- Price: €5,395 (€900 deposit)
- Optional Single Supplement: €1,600
Book Here
To book a space on this photography tour, please pay a deposit below.
The final payments for this trip will be due 150 days prior to the tour’s start date. All deposits are refundable up to 150 days before the tour’s start date with a 10% cancellation fee.
What’s Included
- Transport within Tour Dates
- Accommodation within Tour Dates
- Breakfast on tour dates
- Park Entrance Fees
- Whale Watching in Alert Bay
- Excursion to Khutzeymateen grizzly bear sanctuary.
- Photography Instruction by Brendan van Son
What’s Not Included
- Transport to/from Canada
- Airport transfers (can be arranged)
- Visas for Canada (if needed)
- Lunch and Dinner
- Snacks and beverages
Itinerary
On this trip, we’ll take 3 different forms of transportation! We’ll be on the BC Ferries, we’ll be driving, and we’ll even catch a float plane! If someone wants to hop the Vancouver Metro we’ll also have trains covered.
This is a fairly fast moving tour, and though it’s not particularily physically demanding, it will be busy!
May 28 – We’ll arrive in Vancouver, go on a city walk, and have a nice welcome dinner / orientation.
May 29 – Today, we’ll leave the city and head for Vancouver Island! We’ll catch a morning ferry and photograph the beautiful city of Victoria for sunset.
May 30 – After sunrise photographing Fisherman’s Wharf, we’ll start our journey north. Tonight we’ll be in Tofino photographing the incredible west side of Vancouver Island.
May 31 – We’ll have a full day to enjoy Tofino and area.
June 1 – In the morning, we’ll photograph Ucluelet. Then, we’ll keep pushing north towards Campbell River.
June 2 – Today we’ll head to Alert Bay, a historical island just off Vancouver Island. Before arriving, we’ll go on a whale watching trip from famous Telegraph Cove.
June 3 – We’ll head back onto Vancouver Island and take a fairly easy day up in Port Hardy.
June 4 – Early in the morning we’ll jump on what might be the most beautiful public transport ferry on the planet. We’ll follow the inside passage – the same route made famous by my Alaskan cruises – all the way up to Prince Rupert.
June 5 – Today, we’ll have an incredible experience as we’ll catch a float plane to the incredible Khutzeymateen grizzly bear sanctuary where really close grizzly bear encounters are basically guaranteeed.
June 6 – We’ll have a full day to enjoy Prince Rupert. Maybe do some bald eagle photography.
June 7 – Today, we’ll sail to Haida Gwaii, one of the most underrated places on the planet for nature lovers.
June 8 – We’ll have the full day to explore Haida Gwaii.
June 9 – After a sunrise photo shoot, we’ll fly back to Vancouver. The tour ends upon arrival at YVR.
Book Now
FAQs For the Canada Photography Tour
If you’re booking solo, you’ll be paired up with a roommate of the same gender as the pricing is based on double occupancy. However, if you’d like your own private single accommodation you can pay the single supplement.
In theory, almost anyone could do this trip. That said, to get the most out of it you’ll want to join for some shorter walks, and be comfortable enough to go on a zodiac to see the whales. But, for the most part, we drive basically everywhere on this trip.
With long days in May and June, not all the days will look the same. But, for the most part, days will look like this:
500-700am: Sunrise Photo Shoot
8am: Breakfast
9-11am: Location scouting / daytime photography / driving
noon-2pm: Lunch
2-8pm: Arrival at hotel, Free/nap time, photo editing, and dinner
10pm: Sunset Photography
11pm: Bedtime
Obviously, most participants won’t be able to do everything (without exhausting themselves) so everything is optional.
Feel free to shoot me an email to brendanvanson at gmail dot com if you have any other questions about the trip.
Can’t Join this One?
If you can’t join us in Canada but would like information on future travel photography workshops around the world, please sign up to the newsletter below.
At the moment we have trips to places like New Zealand and Jordan – among many other amazing photography destinations. We’d love for you to join us out in the world.
