About Us and Our Small Ship Cruises

Maple Leaf at anchor, Gulf Islands

Maple Leaf Adventures

Maple Leaf Adventures has been offering small ship cruises that feature the natural and cultural history of Alaska and Canada's west coast since 1986. Our "cruise ship" is the 92-foot classing sailing ship, the Maple Leaf, a beautiful, comfortable and strong expedition ship.

We have a reputation as one of Canada’s finest tour operators. A trip on Maple Leaf has been named by Frommer’s travel guide as one of Canada's 6 "Best Travel Experiences".

Our multi-day excursions offer guests the opportunity to experience intimately the most beautiful places on the B.C. and Alaska coast, in the company of expert naturalists or historians, crew and chef.

As a longtime practitioner of ecotourism, Maple Leaf pioneered travel in the Great Bear Rainforest and northwestern Vancouver Island, and has made significant contributions to conservation on the coast.

Our crew-to-guest ratio is second to none, prompting frequent comments like this:

"I will always remember soaking in the Bishop Bay hot springs on my 50th birthday - and the delicious ReBar recipe chocolate cake that Erin made for dinner that night. Many thanks to Kevin, JD, Maureen, Erin, Briony and Deb for taking such excellent care of us."

Recognition

Selected for Canada's "Signature Experiences Collection" by the Canadian Tourism Commission (Haida Gwaii/Queen Charlotte Islands trips)
Rated one of the "50 Tours of a Lifetime" by National Geographic Traveler in 2011 (Great Bear Rainforest trips)
Gold sustainable tourism certification by Canada's rigorous Green Tourism Canada certifying board.
Honorable Mention (tied for second place) at the Virgin Responsible Tourism Awards in 2011 for tourism in a marine environment.
Rated one of the "Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth" by the editors of National Geographic Adventure, with a perfect score of 100 for customer satisfaction and one of the highest rankings of all 192 companies listed from across the globe. The NGA adventure travel rating is here.
Ranked one of the Top 5 Guided Trips in Canada by Explore magazine.
Second place, Better Business Bureau "Torch Award" for Educational Services.
Tourism Victoria's Environment Award winner (corporate)
Nominated for Tourism B.C.’s "Responsible Tourism Award".
Rated one of Canada's "Best Travel Experiences" and the "Trip of a Lifetime" by Frommer’s.
Featured as a leader in green tourism in the federally commissioned "The Greening of Tourism" report.
Featured leader, Wilderness Tourism Association’s "Stewardship of the Environment".
Nominated for the American Sail Training Association’s "Sail Training Program of the Year" Award.

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