Great Bear Rainforest & Kitlope Supervoyage |
Trip Planning - Great Bear Rainforest Spring Voyages |
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When you book, we will send you a comprehensive trip planning guide.
In the meantime, please feel free to use this general information in planning your trip. However, before making flight or other arrangements, please contact us to ensure availability on the trip you want, and to ensure that specific details, such as boarding time and location, for your trip are confirmed. Changes may occur from year to year.
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Port of Departure: |
Trip 1: Port Sidney Marina, Sidney, BC (outside Victoria)
Trip 2: Government wharf, Port McNeill, BC
Supervoyage (trip 1 + trip 2): Port Sidney Marina, Sidney, BC (outside Victoria)
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Port of Return: |
Trip 1: Government wharf, Port McNeill, BC
Trip 2: MK Bay Marina, Kitimat, B.C.
Supervoyage (trip 1 + trip 2): MK Bay Marina, Kitimat B.C.
MK Bay Marina is located in Haisla First Nation Traditional Territory at the head of Douglas Channel near the community of Kitimat.
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How to Get to the Ship: |
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By Air or Ferry
(click on map for larger view) |
How to Get to the ShipClose
Getting to Sidney, BC [Trip 1]:
Many airlines fly into Sidney from Vancouver, Seattle and Calgary. There are multiple flights per day.
Air Canada
1-866-584-0380
www.aircanada.com
Pacific Coastal Airlines
1-800-663-2872
www.pacificcoastal.com
Horizon/Alaska Air
1-800-547-9308
www.alaskaair.com
WestJet Airlines
1-877-952-2737
www.westjet.com
Ferries
There are aslo regularly scheduled ferries from Vancouver and Washington State:
B.C. Ferry Corporation
1-888-BCFERRY www.bcferries.bc.ca
Extensive passenger / vehicle ferry system linking mainland B.C. with Vancouver Island. Ferries leave Tswwassen for Schwartz Bay near Sidney every two hours beginning at 7 am with an approximate 1 ½ hour crossing. After exiting the ferry by car you will be on the Pat Bay Highway; exit at Beacon Avenue and travel along it towards the waterfront, turning left at the last cross street, Seaport Place.
Washington State Ferries Address: 2499 Ocean Ave Sidney, BC
Toll Free: 1-800-843 3779 http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries
Passenger / vehicle ferry linking Anacortes, WA and Sidney, BC. During April there is one sailing departing Anacortes at 8 am arriving in Sidney at approximately 11 am, weather permitting. These are international crossings that require preboarding time to clear customs. After exiting the ferry, turn right onto Ocean Avenue which becomes 1rst street, and turn right onto Beacon Avenue and immediately left onto Seaport place. Sidney has free parking about two blocks from the dock (at the Information Center) corner of Ocean and Lochside. There is no overnight parking near the terminal.
Getting to Port McNeill, BC [Trip 2]:
To reach Port McNeill most travelers will use the Vancouver International Airport as their main airport so we have listed travel options below from that starting point. The airport that services Port McNeill is Port Hardy, so you fly to Port Hardy first and then take a taxi to Port McNeill .
By Air: From Vancouver
Pacific Coastal Airlines
1-800-663-2872
www.pacificcoastal.com
Eagle Air
1-866-949-5151
Taxi
North Island Taxi: (250) 949-8800
North Island Trasnportation, Port Hardy: (250) 949-6300
Town Taxi, Port Hardy: (250) 949-7877
Bus Service: Vancouver Island Coach Lines runs one trip per day between southern Vancouver Island and northern Vancouver Island. The bus arrives in Port McNeill around 3:15pm. Tickets can be purchased through Greyhound. Check online at www.greyhound.ca for current fares and detailed schedules.
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How to Get Home: |
From Port McNeill, BC [Trip 1]:
The airport that services Port McNeill is Port Hardy. Pacific Coastal has flights from here that connect to Vancouver. You take a taxi to the airport which can be arranged on the morning of the trip's return, from the ship.
By Air: To Vancouver
Pacific Coastal Airlines
1-800-663-2872
www.pacificcoastal.com
Eagle Air
1-866-949-5151
Taxi
North Island Taxi: (250) 949-8800
North Island Trasnportation, Port Hardy: (250) 949-6300
Town Taxi, Port Hardy: (250) 949-7877
Bus Service: Vancouver Island Coach Lines runs one trip per day between southern Vancouver Island and northern Vancouver Island. Tickets can be purchased through Greyhound. Check online at www.greyhound.ca for current fares and detailed schedules.
From Kitimat/Terrace [Trip 2]
The nearest airport to Kitimat is Terrace BC, about a 45 minute cab ride from the MK Bay Marina.
Pacific Coastal Airlines
Phone: 1-800-663-2872
www.pacificcoastal.com
Air Canada
Phone: 1-866-584-0380
www.aircanada.com
Hawk Air
Phone: 1-800-487-1216
www.hawkair.net
* Kitimat Taxi - we will help make arrangements from the ship for your taxi to the airport; it is likely that guests will share a van/taxi. |
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Where to Stay: |
In Kitimat we recommend:
Channel's Edge Inn
Phone: 1-888-632-8478
www.channelsedge.com
In Sidney we recommend:
Sidney Waterfront Inn & Suites
9775 First Street, Sidney, B.C. Tel. 1-888-656-1131 -
Just down the street from the depature point. Mention you are a guest of the Maple Leaf for a preferred rate. You can also arrange for a courtesy shuttle to take you to the ship ten minutes prior to the posted boarding time.
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Travel Agent
We are happy to recommend the services of our travel agent. He books travel for us and has assisted Maple Leaf guests for many years.
- Contact us at 1.888.599.5323 or +1.250.386.7245 for information
Trip / Medical Insurance
- Due to the remoteness of the areas we travel in we highly recommend travel/medical trip insurance that covers possible emergency medical evacuation.
- We highly recommend trip cancellation insurance. This protects you in case you have to cancel for a variety of reasons (including illness). This must be purchased at the time your booking is confirmed.
Travel Documentation
- If you are entering Canada from another country, you must have a valid passport.
- If the US or Canada require that citizens from your country have other documentation such as a visa in order to enter either country, you are responsible for having it with you. To find out what you need, ask your nearest consulate.
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| Suggested Reading - Great Bear Rainforest Kitlope |
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Author, ISBN |
Subject Area |
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| The Great Bear Rainforest: Canada's Forgotten Coast |
by Ian McAllister and Karen McAllister with Cameron Young. ISBN 1-55017-166-6 |
Overview, natural history |
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| Raven Steals the Light |
By Bill Reid and Robert Bringhurst. ISBN 0295975245 |
First Nations stories |
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| Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form |
By Bill Holm. ISBN 0295951028 |
First Nations art |
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| The Curve of Time: Classic Memoir of A Woman & Her Children Who Explored the Coastal Waters of the Pacific Northwest |
M. Wylie Blanchet. ISBN 1552853519 |
Memoir |
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| The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature |
By David Suzuki. ISBN 1-55054-548-5 |
General nature |
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| The Last Great Sea: A Voyage Through the Human and Natural History of the North Pacific Ocean |
By Terry Glavin ISBN: 1-55054-954-5 |
Natural history, cultural history of the North Pacific Ocean region |
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These and many other books on the natural and cultural history of the Pacific Coast are on board in our library. Some are available for purchase through our office.
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Great Bear Rainforest Kitlope Trip Map 
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