After days in the desert, we made our way by taxi from Wadi Rum to Aqaba for some pampering.
I had redeemed 20,000 Hilton points to stay in the 5-star DoubleTree Hotel for two nights. The location was great – right in the center of the city. We experienced a first at this hotel – we had to go thru a metal detector each time we entered. We seemed to set the detector off multiple times but they always waved us thru. We checked in and got our warm cookies.
I inquired about beach access and they told me tickets to the private “The Beach Club” were included with the room, but the next bus didn’t depart for a couple hours. So we walked around town, got a couple treats we hadn’t had after days in the desert and checked out the local’s beach.
Catching the right bus was confusing. The bus driver took the tickets but we wondered if we needed them to get in at the beach. Eventually we stopped at a couple other hotels and they picked up loads of Russians. We learned that the Russians used to go to the Red Sea in Egypt but since they had experienced some terrorism, many of the Russians were now using Aqaba as their base.
The Beach Club at Tala Bay was beautiful, a nice pool, any drink or food you wanted (for extra cost)
The snorkeling was so-so but there were some very colorful sponges under the dock.
One afternoon of lounging was enough for me. I was glad we’d be on a boat trip tomorrow.
At dinner time Cindy wanted a sit down meal and I just wanted a falafel sandwich. I walked around and found an open place opposite the mosque just after their evening call to prayer. An amazingly blue-eyed Jordanian young man made me his recommended sandwich and made it look fancy and I sat near the street with a view of the mosque.
The next day, a big red pick-up truck picked us up for our snorkeling trip off a yacht. The ship was so great. There were only 10 passengers on this big boat.
We stopped at several great snorkeling stops.
And we had a very tasty lunch.
We went back to the hotel and had a swim in the infinity pool overlooking the Sea.
We took a walk around town in the evening and did a little shopping and had one more night at the Doubletree. We enjoyed the luxury of Aqaba.
After 2 days in Petra, we caught the bus to Wadi Rum. This bus is great – cheap and it picked us up at our hotel.
We had booked a full day and night jeep tour of Wadi Rum with Bedouin Directions. We had been told that a couple were arriving the same day and would share the cost of the tour so we drank Bedouin tea and we waited and waited and waited… After a couple hours of waiting we decided to set out without this couple. We stopped at a spring but it was already getting hot and we didn’t have the energy to climb the large boulders to the spring.
We drove to see other rock formations and stopped to climb a large dune. After the climb, we were driven to a shady spot between several large cliffs for lunch. Our driver laid out a straw mat and cooked us a hot lunch. The heat was pretty unbearable and I was so tired I fell asleep. Somehow I slept almost 2 hours!
Eventually he woke us up and we went to feed some camels.
We also stopped for some other rock formations, rock art, and a couple short hikes.
We met two guys that were on a half day tour and the four of us drove up a red sand dune for the magic hour and then on to a rock to watch the sunset.
We drove further to our camp surrounded on all sides by rock. We had a Bedouin BBQ of chicken and vegetables for dinner and then sat out under the stars to talk and drink Bedouin tea.
We put our beds outside of rooms so we could sleep in the cool desert air and watch the stars before we fell asleep. I woke up the next morning and climbed a hill to watch the sunrise, we had breakfast, and then the 4 of us drove back to town. The tour company owner gave us a small discount for the fact that the others hadn’t shown yesterday and compensate for our wait.
Petra, Jordan. Arguably one of the seven wonders of the modern world. For many, it brings back images of Indiana Jones & horses making their way through the narrow passageways to the stone faced Treasury. There is so much to see here so I recommend you purchase at least the Petra 2 day pass. We spent 2 days and 3 nights here on a longer trip to Jordan and Israel.
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Where I stayed
Our taxi driver from Amman called our guesthouse (My House Petra) and took us directly to our spot. He commented on how great our location was and after I told him what he had paid he was shocked how great a deal we found. And he was right. The location was great. We were on the last developed street in town. We could walk down one road and find the entrance to Petra in about 5 minutes. The other road at our intersection headed to Little Petra. Just across the street, was this view of Petra. Book it now at booking.com.
Day 0 of 2-Day Petra Pass
Dinner in the Village of Wadi Musa
It was dinnertime and our guesthouse owner recommended we go into town instead of eat at the overpriced restaurants around the entrance so he drove us into town. I was too scared to order this:
Petra by Night
After dinner, we decided to get our first taste of Petra by attending the Petra by Night show. We paid a bunch of money and then followed candle lit luminaries a couple kilometers down the Siq until we reached the Treasury.
It was aglow with luminaries as well and we got Bedouin tea and were instructed to sit on mats. Some guy told a short story and another guy played a flute. Then they turned on some colorful lights. It was beautiful and great for photos but I had one big complaint – the tourists sat for about 10 seconds before they all started running up to take their selfies – very selfish. It was impossible to get pictures without people or shadows in them. And then after taking their pictures that just stood there talking like it was a bar. So maddening! I was mad after paying all that money and I may have kicked a luminary or three on the walk back to our guesthouse.
Day 1 of 2-Day Petra Pass
The Treasury at Sunrise
We had a two day ticket to Petra so this gave us the chance to visit on a more relaxed pace. It is possible to do all of the things we did in one day but you’d be rushing around and doing some climbing at the hottest points of the day.
we got up early so we could see the sun rise against the famous Treasury building.
Other sites in the Valley
Almost all of the buildings in Petra have names and are tombs. People lived in houses that no longer exist or lived in caves at that time. Some Bedouins still live in caves and you can see evidence of this.
The Monastery
Our main goal of the day was to get up to the Monastery. This involved about an hour walk up hills and stairs. It was already hot by mid-morning so we took several breaks along the way. The Monastery was even more impressive than the Treasury. It was more in the open so there were many vantage points for viewing.
There were also active archeology digs around the area.
After climbing a hit beyond the monastery, there were great views of the valleys beyond. We could see for miles and miles. This hill appeared to be the highest point for many miles. We sat in the shade and enjoyed this view:
I was so glad we made the climb in the morning. As we were heading down by mid afternoon, the people heading up looked unbearably hot. Some people were riding mules. Poor animals.
We visited a few more sites, so interesting mosaics, and more tombs in the afternoon.
I talked to the woman who wrote a book about marrying a Bedouin. She was from New Zealand but now has stayed in Jordan even though her husband passed away years ago. We talked about the tourism reduction since the Syrian war started. From her description it’s amazing how empty the sites are. It’s nice to see the sites without 100’s of people in the way.
We waited until the sun was nice for photos and then made our way out of the park and stopped at the Cave Bar. Supposedly the oldest bar in the world, built in a cave near the park entrance.
Day 2 of 2-Day Petra Pass
The High Place of Sacrifice
Today we did the loop hike that went up to the High Place of Sacrifice. There were some interesting rock patterns on the way up.
There weren’t many ruins at the top but there were great views and the most amazing blue lizards. We didn’t see these lizards anywhere else in Jordan.
The highlight for me was going down the back side of this hike. Here we saw the most striking red rocks and rock patterns and there was no one out here – we only saw a few other tourists in the hour we were there.
We walked out the Siq one more time – this was getting tiresome by now – this was the 6th time we had walked this 2 km stretch. It was possible to get rides by horses and carts but we walked every time.
Little Petra
We arranged to have Issam, our guesthouse owner to give us a ride out to Little Petra and realized we had arrived right at closing, but the guard let us and a couple other people go in and have a quick peek. The most interesting thing here was some frescos that still remained. The print looked almost like gaudy wallpaper – flowers and cupids.
Seven Wonders Bedouin camp
From here we walked to the Seven Wonders Bedouin camp. This is a beautiful camp in the rocks that is an alternative to staying in town. If you want starry nights and a bonfire nightly, consider staying here. The Bedouin camp was hosting some Jordanian families as well as several tour groups so they served quite a few people that night.
After dinner, we sat by the fire and sipped the yummy Bedouin tea. The hill was lit up by electric luminaries – it was magical. The camp workers sang a couple songs and then a few tourists did a contortion act. They invited a couple of the Jordanian kids to participate and it was so cute. After our fill of tea, we headed back to our guesthouse. This was a great way to end our 2 days & 3 nights in Petra.
And thus ended our 2 days and 3 nights in Wadi Musa on our Petra 2 day pass. Check out this other Guide to Petra for even more tips!
In late 2015, Jordan developed a product to boost their fledgling tourism industry – The Jordan Pass. There are 3 variations in price of the Jordan Pass, with the only difference being the number of days you were allowed in Petra (1, 2, or 3 days). In addition to Petra, the pass gives entry into 40 different sites of Jordan plus a visa into Jordan assuming we stayed at least 3 days. Is the Jordan Pass worth it? Yes, this pass was an incredible deal. See some of the sights I visited on the Jordan pass below.
I ordered the pass online and was mailed a pdf document with a UPC code. We printed these so they’d be ready at the border. We chose to cross from Israel at the northern border as this was the one border we could get a visa on arrival. The borders near Jerusalem and Eliat were requiring visas were obtained before the border. We caught the bus in Nazareth and it was super easy to cross over the Jordan river one last time and get to the Jordanian border and eventually on to Amman. We were the only non-Arab passengers on the bus. On the Israeli side, we paid an exit tax and (unfortunately) got an exit stamp. I say unfortunately because there are several countries of the world that don’t recognize Israel as a country and don’t allow entrance to anyone who has an Israeli passport or stamp. We hopped on the bus and headed over to Jordan immigration. We flashed our Jordan Passes and our passports were stamped with a strange sticker placed over the stamp to disguise it.
In Amman, we took advantage of the two sites that were on the Jordan pass. First we stopped at the coliseum.
Next we climbed the hill through some residential streets, stairs, and alleys to the old city of Philadelphia.
On the second day in Jordan, we had arranged a driver from the owner of the Tower Hotel. The driver took my friend, myself, and a solo traveler from Taiwan on a full day ride down to Petra via the scenic and slower King’s Highway. This was an alternative to the much faster, less scenic Queen’s Highway. We first stopped in Madaba to see the mosaics at the greek church. This church was not on the Jordan pass, but only cost $1 JD to enter.
Then we drove farther south to visit the Crusader castle in Karak. This castle was famous for some very brutal crusaders.
Even further south we had some amazing views of the dead sea, valleys, and Bedouins.
Our final stop that day was at Shobak Castle, another castle that accepted the Jordan Pass.
We spent the next 3 nights and 2 days in Petra, as covered by the Jordan Pass.
And then Wadi Rum national park, also covered by the Jordan Pass.
There was little in Aqaba covered by the pass, only a ruined castle.
And finally we caught one bus from Aqaba to Amman, via the Queens highway. The Trabadour bus stop was also the bus stop for buses headed to Jerash, so we easily found a bus that left in a few minutes. After a couple hours, we were dropped in Jerash. As we had quite a few hours before we needed to catch a taxi to the airport, we stored our bags at the hotel that was opposite the Jerash gate. The proprietor there was such a good guy. We offered him money to watch our bags but he wouldn’t accept any. He also let us use the clean restrooms. The hotel was empty. Problems of the world has really taken it’s toll on tourism here.
We decided to head to the Lebanese restaurant listed in the Lonely Planet. It was only a 1 km walk south of the center but before the walk, I had bought a cheap bottle of Diet Pepsi from a shop as we hadn’t had much to drink all day and the sun was scorching. And then the scariest thing that happened after 2 and a half weeks in Israel, Palestine, and Jordan. There were people camping by the side of the road and loads of children came running and tugging on our limbs, clothes, purses, etc. I’m pretty sure they were both panhandling and looking for an easy way to pick-pocket. Some local guys yelled at the kids and they ran away. I did some research on this later and I’m certain that they were Jordanian gypsies, a minority group that is poorly educated and discriminated against. I felt kind of guilty eating at the Lebanese restaurant after that. It was easily the most expensive restaurant we had visited on the whole trip.
Jerash ruins were covered in the Jordan Pass and well worth the effort to get there. The site was quite empty when we visited in the late afternoon – probably only dozens of tourists in a very large complex.
Some of the temples contained interesting mosaics.
There was some wildlife to be found in Jerash – lizards, birds, butterflies and huge millipedes – about 8 inches long.
After closing time, we still had an hour to have some quick dinner – our choices were Classy Chicken, or Cheesy Grill.
Dessert was at an Arab bakery:
The guy at the hotel that kept our bags also called a taxi driver and negotiated a good rate for us. The hospitality was great.
At the airport, there were large groups of refugees checking onto my Ukrainian International Air flight. They also were on my flight from Kyiv to JFK- New York.
After our 5 day car trip, we made it to the Sea of Galilee. Before dropping our car, we made a stop at the Church of Beatitudes.
In Tiberias, we walked around town and saw some of the sites.
This town really started to shut down for Shabbat but the hostel had lots of fun planned for the night. We paid a few dollars and rode in the hostel van to a local’s jam session on the Jordan River.
We returned to the hostel where we had dinner of St. Peter’s fish.
The next day, four of us got a ride one way to the northern shore of the lake to visit the string of churches. First stop was the Greek Orthodox church:
The next stop was Capharnam, the town of Jesus. The ruins were home to another modern church.
We continued to walk towards Tiberias and found the hidden waterfall on the banks of the Sea.
Our last stop was the Church of the Fishes and Loaves.
I really wanted to go on a boat ride on the Sea. There were a number of Jesus ships sailing by but we couldn’t figure out where to go to book a ticket, so we went to the other boat in town – the Lido boats. Every 15 minutes one of these big boats leaves the dock full of Muslims that come into Tiberias on buses. We had one hour of pumping techno and Arabic music and dancing. It was a blast!
After a quick bite to eat, we went back to the shores. This sculpture measures the level of the Sea, which is way below sea limit but not as far as the Dead Sea. The reading of the Sea of Galilee level was -212.475 meters below sea level.
The next day we caught a bus to Nazareth. THE Nazareth… based on research there wasn’t a lot to see there other than a couple churches so we skipped a city visit and caught the bus to Jordan instead.
My friend and I arrived in Tel Aviv airport in the midst of 100’s of birthright kids. It was weird to hear 100’s of kids saying “like” with their American accents as we waited and waited. The queueing was a bit ridiculous just for them to take a few seconds to print out a tourist card. Israel no longer stamps passports but gives you a card since there are countries that deny entry if you have an Israel stamp. We found our shuttle and gave them the printed voucher we bought from Abraham Hostel. This was door to door service.
What can I say about Abraham Hostel? This was probably the largest hostel I’ve ever visited. They really had service figured out. The rate was nice but they really got you with extras – buy a meal, buy some drinks, buy a tour. On our first night, we took a hummus making class. Here is my product:
I made this (except the pita)
The next day was Friday – Shabbat would start this night. We walked to the Israel Museum. This world class museum had many Egyptian and Jewish artifacts. But the ultimate highlight is the scale model of old Jerusalem and the Dead Sea Scrolls, of which only portions are displayed at any time.
Dead Sea Scrolls
We caught the city bus to Damascus gate and headed to the Arab quarter.
Damascus gate
From here there was a nice view of the Dome of the Rock from the Muslim elementary school.
At 3:00 pm, the Franciscan monks do a procession to the Stations of the Cross, the route Jesus took before his crucifixion. Security was tight, protected by the Israeli army.
The walk ended in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In here we visited the site of Calvary
And the spot where Jesus was taken down from the cross after death. Now people bring cloths to soak up the anointed oil and pray.
Finally we stopped at the location of the tomb.
This has to be one of the most beautiful churches in the word.
We got back to the hostel where a Shabbat feast was being made. On Shabbat, there are no restaurants open so it’s great the hostel offers this or we would all go hungry.
On Saturday, since the city is almost completely shut down until sundown, we decided to go to Palestine.
Later that evening we went to the City of David for their multi-media show about the history of Jerusalem.
Sunday was our last day in Jerusalem. We headed to the Dome of the Rock first thing in the morning, as the lines can get very long by mid-day. While standing in line you can spy the Western Wall.
Israelis and Jews are not to enter this site, and we were required to go thru a metal detector before entering.
The Dome is probably the most recognizable building in all of Jerusalem, and entry means we could walk around it but not inside.
By the time we finished it was still morning and getting hotter so we made a last minute decision to catch the trolley out to the Yad Vashem museum. This holocaust museum is incredibly sad and interesting. It was full of Israeli soldier trainees that are required to visit as part of their training.
We caught the trolley back to Jerusalem and headed to the Garden of Gethsemane. We visited the beautiful Church of All Nations
and then headed up the hill through the Jewish Cemetery.
Our entertainment for the night was a classical music concert at the Mormon University, center of Eastern Studies. The view was divine.
Many have heard of Bethlehem but not all people realize it’s not in Israel – but in Palestine instead. The same for Jericho and other sites from the bible. This was my trip to see Palestine for a day… more specifically a West Bank tour.
Since we were on a short-ish trip (9 full days in Israel), we had only had allotted one day for Palestine. On your own, you’d likely only get to visit one city in the West Bank so we thought a tour that let us see many of the highlights was the way to go. We used Abraham Tours, as they were also the owners of the hostel in which we were staying.
Ramallah
This tour was jam packed. The bus picked us up at the Western wall and we drove straight towards Ramallah. Our guide, a Palestinian, was unable to join our group until we had crossed the border. Palestinians are heavily restricted from entering Israel.
Our first stop was “Breakfast”. This was a feast and one of the best meals I had on the trip… the food and tea just kept on coming. Yum!
We then walked thru the city streets and markets…
Eventually arriving at the tomb of Yasser Arafat, the cleanest and most kept up building in the whole city.
Jordan River
We then hopped on the bus and headed east, stopping at the river Jordan. People come here to don white robes to get baptized. What I didn’t realize until I visited is how close this is to Jordan. There’s only about 20 feet of river between Israel and Jordan and both sides of the river are build up with religious sites so people can get baptized in this spot, the reported sight of the baptism of Jesus.
The river make the border between Israel and Jordan. You’re allowed to only go in the marked sections, the one on the opposite side is Jordan and you can talk to the people they’re so close. You don’t want to know what happens if you leave your little section.
Jericho
We stopped in the town of Jericho, the world’s oldest city. I drank some water from Elijah’s spring.
There is a view of the mountain in which Jesus was tempted for 40 days. The Greek Orthodox have built this massive monastery at the base.
Not far away you can visit Zacheas’ tree.
Zacchaeus was a wee little man,
And a wee little man was he.
He climbed up in a sycamore tree
For the Lord he wanted to see.
And as the Savior passed that way
He looked up in the tree and he said,
‘Zacchaeus you come down, For I’m going to your house today!’
For I’m going to your house today!
Zacchaeus was a wee little man,
But a happy man was he,
For he had seen the Lord that day
And a happy man was he;
And a very happy man was he
Bethlehem
There was an accident blocking traffic on the road to Bethlehem so we needed to take a short-cut thru Jerusalem. The guide had to take a taxi on the long way around since Palestinians can’t enter Israel. We were supposed to have an all you can eat lunch but I was too stuffed so we decided to go for a little walk instead to see some of the typical sights of Palestine.
We met the group for our guided tour of Bethlehem, stopping at the Milk Grotto,
Olive Wood carving factory, with a great view from the roof. It’s amazing how similar the buildings are, you can only tell they’re Christian or Muslim from the cross or crescent on the steeples.
Next we were onto the Church of the Nativity. I was disappointed that we weren’t able to visit the nativity site, but apparently the line was too long.
Our afternoon snack was at an Arab Sweet shop. We at this thing that was a huge slice of once-melted white cheese with syrup and nuts.
Our last stop of the day was the wall along Occupation Road. We visited a portion of the wall that had graffiti by Banksy.
Thoughts about the West Bank Tour
If I were to come to Israel again, I’d like to spend more time in Palestine and do it on my own. The Abraham Tour West Bank Tour was a bit expensive and very rigid but we really did get to see so much – it would probably take 3 days to see as much by public transportation.
After my wonderful day with the Grizzly Bears in Bute Inlet, there was one last adventure in Campbell river… Snorkeling with Salmon. I left my parents at the hotel and I went to the office of Destiny River Adventure Tours. I was fitted with a wet suit, hood, booties, and gloves as well as mask and snorkel. I was joined by a family of 4 from Australia and we were driven by bus to an old hydro power plant and got in a raft.
The guide paddled us a short distance up the river and encouraged us to get up on a rock and jump into the river so we wouldn’t be too cold when we started snorkeling but I was too chicken to jump off the rock.
We paddled just a short distance and he dropped us at the first snorkeling site. Here we would see Pink Salmon. He instructed us to jump in the pool, ride the rapids, and get out just down the river. He also told us to look under rocks for crayfish.
The first pass was great so he asked us if we wanted to do it again and of course we all did! So we took a short walking trail and went the same way a second time. Then we all piled into the raft and rode down more rapids as we passed eagles and fly fishermen.
He pulled off to the left of the river and told us this would be our longest pass. He recommended that we get in the water parallel to each other and outstretch our arms and legs “like superman flying”. And that we did. We entered some rapids and were traveling at crazy fast speeds. It was impossible to slow down or control our direction. It was exhilarating and scary at the same time.
At some points the river would slow and we could see huge Chinook Salmons dart by. It was impossible to get a picture they were so fast. At one point I saw something dark on the left bank of the river. It was slow enough to raise my head out of the water and I discovered it was a black bear!
The black dot in the blur is the bear. This was a picture taken without zoom.
How many people can say they snorkeled a salmon packed river with a bear hunting for salmon nearby? Further along, the water got colder. Now we were near the estuary and the water was half fresh and half sea water. The light spot in this photo is a seal that swam by me:
A little later we got into the raft and then back in the bus. I was shivering by the time I got to land so it was great to get on my sweatshirt and onto the heated bus. What an adventure this was!
Where to stay in Campbell River: Anchor Inn. Great views, location, pool, breakfast and value. Book it now at booking.com
My #1 highlight of visiting Vancouver Island was the Campbell River Grizzly Bear Tours with Discovery Marine Safaris. This trip is only possible in September – October each year and it truly is a North American Safari.
Campbell River Rotary Sea Walk
Our tour this day wasn’t leaving until noon so my mom and I went for a walk south a lot the Rotary club’s sea walk. We stopped at the 50th parallel and saw lots of sea birds. We started talking to a guy who pointed out Orca’s swimming on the other side of the passage so we watched them for quite awhile.
Discovery Marine Safaris Grizzly Bear Tour
We drove the short distance to town and found some free parking and registered at Discovery Marine for our Grizzly Bear Safari. I had reserved and paid for this trip a couple months earlier so it was great to finally be here.
We packed into the boat and every seat was full. The captain and naturalist gave us a safety briefing and we were off – headed to the Bute Inlet on the mainland of Canada. This particular inlet is not reachable by road and Campbell river is the closest town. This is why the tours originate on Vancouver Island as opposed to the mainland.
Not far from Campbell river we saw our first wildlife. The orcas we had seen in the morning were now further north so we followed them for a little while.
Grizzly Bear Viewing with the Homalco Tribe
As we motored up the Bute Inlet, we had our late lunch (a sandwich). There was hot water and coffee but we were told to use it sparingly so there would be some left for later, after our time with the bears. After a couple hours we arrived on the first nations Homalco reservation. Local guides picked us up in two buses. We stopped at a small museum and got some more safety tips. We were told to stay within arm’s reach of others. The guides and guards all carried air horns and bear spray. The air horns were our first line of defense.
So we headed out to the first bear balcony. The balcony was on stilts and had a chain line fence with a gate surrounding it. We stood up there for 5-10 minutes with no bears materializing but a call came in that a bear was seen nearby so we got in the bus. We drove about the length of a block or two and the buses stopped. There was no balcony here so I wondered what would happen but we got out of the bus and stood in a line next to the bus. The first group was getting a nice view of 2 male bears sitting on a log next to the river not far away. We didn’t have a great view so eventually they let us switch spots. As we were taking pictures, another young male bear came walking up the river. He tried to catch some salmon and then eventually walked up a log and out of sight. All 3 bears were now hiding so we were told to get back in the bus to head to the next spot.
Campbell River Grizzly Bear ToursGrizzly Bear on a LogSea Gulls flying for their lives
We drove over a bridge and saw a lone bear walking but by the time we got out of the bus, he was gone. We did get to see some huge salmon swimming under the bridge.
Then we headed to our last view point of the trip. According to the guides, this was the best viewing point around. This platform was smaller so our busload got in while the other group got into another platform nearby. This platform was at the confluence of a glacier fed river and a stream. We didn’t notice any bears at first but then they started to appear. The guides pointed to a couple bears hiding in the woods and long grass across the stream. We were taking photograph after photograph as they came out and sat in the grass, making their way to the stream. The other busload of people came over and we were told to stand in front of the platform to make room for the other tourists. Nothing in between us and the bears but a stream.
The grass group was pretty lazy. Look at this bum:
Lazy Bear
Just then, further down the river a mother bear and three two-year old cubs started walking towards us. They walked along the river as the mother grabbed salmon and ate at will. By the time they made it to the confluence, we had discovered there were 4 bears in the grass so we were looking at a total of 8 grizzly bears!
Grizzly Bear Catching SalmonGrizzly Bear and four cubsGrizzly Bear Tug-o-war
The river group was constantly catching salmon and gorging themselves. There are only a couple months when they’re able to catch spawning salmon to build up all the fat they’ll need for hibernation. At one point, these bears walking up the stream were about 20 feet away from us (recall we’re just standing on the ground with nothing in between). But, they were so engrossed in the salmon they really didn’t pay attention to us.
Can you see all 8 grizzly bears in this picture?
All the rotting salmon made food for other animals too. Sea Gulls pecked at the fish and a Bald Eagle pulled at the flesh on a rock not too far away.
In addition to all this wildlife there were incredible views of glacial cut peaks.
As the bears headed up the stream, we were herded back to the bus. Our time with the grizzlies had ended so we headed back to the dock. Despite the lack of sun, the views of the surrounding area were gorgeous. It reminded me of the Norwegian fjords.
Returning to Campbell River via the Inside Passage
Enjoying a hot drink after our successful bear watching tour
The captain had told us for watch out for whales and one point I thought I saw a spout over a mile a way (I’m always been an eagle-eye – maybe because I like carrots). We detoured the boat only to find no sign of whales. We were about to leave when they surfaced again. A pair of humpbacks. They only made a few spouts before they dove again and we saw two whale tails. It was exciting to see bears, but not as good as the Whale Watching we did the day before in Port McNeill.
Bute Inlet Whale Tail
The naturalist came around with cookies and we headed back to Campbell River. As we were in the inside passage, we passed Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam ship at sunset and arrived at port after dark.
Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam in the Inside Passage
The Discovery Tours Grizzly Bear Safari trip was quite expensive (about $280 USD for an 8 hour tour) but it’s a trip that my parents and I will never forget. My dad doesn’t often give his opinion but even he was in awe about this trip and he still brings it up as one of his most memorable travel experiences.
Where to Stay in Campbell River
We had 2 nights at the Anchor Inn in Campbell River. I got an incredible deal online but had read mixed reviews but we loved this hotel – it was our favorite of the whole trip. First there was the pool – the pool room was uniquely painted like an underwater aquarium, with orcas swimming nearby. The hot tub was closed but the pool was good, if not a little cool.
Then there was the room. We had a balcony overlooking the inside passage. It’s possible to see cruise ships cruise by and we did late one night. This was the view from our room:
The next morning I woke up early to watch the sunrise. This was one of the best sunrises ever – lots of great colors. Reflecting pools just under the hill where the hotel was located made some really good photos and I saw a bright red perfect starfish in the tide pools below the hotel. Book this hotel now at booking.com
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Sunrise in Campbell River
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One of the best things to do on the northern part of Vancouver Island is a Port McNeill Whale Watching tour with Mackay Whale Watching.
Driving to Port McNeill
Elk Falls (near Campbell River)
It’s quite a drive from the southern end of Vancouver Island, but you can break up the ride by stopping at stunningly beautiful Elk Falls near Campbell River. Take a short hike over the hydro-power pipes and thru an old growth forest.
The falls were the best falls we saw in all of Vancouver Island.
Elk Falls
You can walk over a suspension bridge for a different vantage point of the falls and the gorge that resulted from the erosion.
Elk Falls Suspension Bridge
From there we had a very long drive and saw millions of trees and not a lot else on our way up to Port McNeill. It was very important to have a full tank of gas – it was miles between stations. We had a little free time so we checked out the shopping mall in Port McNeill. The rain eventually ended and we saw this rainbow over the town.
World’s Largest Burl
We had a lazy morning before the departure of our Port McNeill Whale Watching tour so we got to visit the World’s Largest Burl. A burl is basically a tree tumor and they are popular for carving and furniture. I can’t imagine how big the tree had to be for this burl. I’m 5’10” tall, so this burl is over 10 feet in diameter!
Port McNeill Whale Watching – Mackay’s Whale Watching
We boarded MacKay’s Whale Watching’s Naiad explorer boat. This was a fast, comfortable boat and we had a full crowd today. Most of the people aboard were from Europe and Canada. I’m not sure why Americans don’t find Vancouver Island as an interesting place to visit. We encountered very few Americans on Vancouver Island.
We were out on the water for an hour of a 4-5 hour trip when I started to get worried the whales might not make a showing but then we had some luck. We caught up with a pod of about a dozen Orcas and followed them around for awhile. They seemed really determined to get somewhere so they were pretty much moving without being too playful.
Orcas
We followed them into a thick fog and with the visibility gone, we moved on to the next spot. We had catered lunch of soup and buns along the way. We sped towards another whale watching boat and then watched a very playful humpback whale. The whale was fully breaching – I have been whale watching many times but have never seen such a spectacle.
Humpback Whale Breaching
The ship mate came around with some bars from the IGA and I had a Nanaimo bar for the first time – a choclately, coco-nutty treat – almost a candy bar, named after the Vancouver Island town of Nanaimo.
If all the whale watching wasn’t enough, we sailed thru a picturesque channel watching sea lions (you can see from these pictures why they’re called lions). We also saw a deer, peregrine falcon, and bald eagles on the ride back to Port McNeill.
What a day! We got back to port by mid-afternoon – a successful Port McNeill whale watching tour! I highly recommend taking a whale watching tour with Mackay Whale watching in mid-September.
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Port McNeill Whale Watching – Where to Stay
There are now several places to stay in Port McNeill town and nearby in Alert Bay. Check Rates and Availability.
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