Skip to content
  • Destinations
    • AFRICA
    • BHUTAN
    • BRITAIN
    • CANADA
    • COSTA RICA
    • DUBAI
    • INDIA
    • INDONESIA
    • IRELAND
    • ITALY
    • JAPAN
    • MYANMAR
    • NEPAL
    • PHILIPPINES
    • SRI LANKA
    • THAILAND
    • UNITED STATES
    • VIETNAM
    • UZBEKISTAN
  • Destination Guides
  • India Tours
  • Travel Blog
  • Behind The Dream
  • Resources
BreathedreamgoMobile logo

Breathedreamgo

The transformational travel guide

Flight of fancy over Vancouver’s water world

by Mariellen Ward · August 14, 2014October 3, 2022 This post may contain compensated links. Find more info in my Disclosure Policy.
Harbour Air Seaplanes, float plane, airplane, harbour, Vancouver, water, Gulf Islands, Salt Spring Island
The famous DHC-2 Beaver bush plane landing in Ganges Harbour

Table of Contents

  • On the Harbour Air Seaplane from Vancouver
    • Flying into Ganges, Salt Spring Island
    • A word about the Beaver
    • A Canadian Signature Experience

On the Harbour Air Seaplane from Vancouver

VANCOUVER IS A stunning city, set between the mountains and the sea. Wrapping around Burrard Inlet, and bounded by the Georgia Strait and the Coast Mountains, Vancouver offers sky watchers many spectacular views and vistas. Red streaked sunsets from English Bay beaches, a panorama of skyline and coastline from Grouse Mountain and the thrilling sight of seaplanes taking off and landing in Coal Harbour.

On my first trip to Vancouver, many years ago, my hotel room faced Coal Harbour, which is an inner harbour surrounded on all sides by the urban sprawl of Vancouver. Watching the slender sail boats, whale-like cruise ships and agile seaplanes on the inner harbour delighted me. They spoke of the exotic allure of an ocean seaport and the history of rugged Canadian exploration. When I was in Vancouver this summer, I was thrilled to get a chance to take a flight from Harbour Air Seaplane’s Coal Harbour terminal to Salt Spring Island in the Gulf Islands and back, after a few lazy days on the laid-back island.

Harbour Air Seaplanes, float plane, airplane, harbour, Vancouver, water, Gulf Islands, Salt Spring Island
Harbour Air Seaplane’s Coal Harbour terminal.

Flying into Ganges, Salt Spring Island

From the moment you arrive at the Harbour Air Seaplane terminal in Coal Harbour, in downtown Vancouver, the adventure begins. Check in at the glass-enclosed terminal building and enjoy free coffee and healthy snacks in the comfortable lounge with stunning harbour views. When it’s time to board, you simply walk out onto the dock and hand your luggage to the attendant, who puts it into a very small cargo hold.

Harbour Air Seaplanes, float plane, airplane, harbour, Vancouver, water, Gulf Islands, Salt Spring Island
Harbour Air Seaplane landing in Vancouver Harbour

On my flight out, I was one of about seven passengers aboard a DeHavilland Canada DHC-3 Single Turbine Otter. The small plane can hold about 10-14 passengers. It’s a different experience than flying on your average commercial flight. For one thing, you can’t bring any luggage in the cabin. There’s no food or drinks served. And the safety demonstration was a video shown on a tablet computer. Here’s A passengers guide to seaplanes.

Harbour Air Seaplanes, float plane, airplane, harbour, Vancouver, water, Gulf Islands, Salt Spring Island
View of Vancouver and Coal Harbour from the air.

Once strapped in, we jet-skied across the inner harbour and gently ascended, banking sharply, to fly over the Lion’s Gate Bridge and out towards the open waters of the Georgia Strait towards the Gulf Islands. Views of the city skyline filled the windows on the left and the Coast Mountains filled those on the right. Ahead, the undulating curves of the islands rose out of the shining sea. Flying at speed of about 110-130 miles per hour, and at a low altitude (under 3,000 metres), it takes about 20 minutes to get to Salt Spring Island and the views are non-stop gorgeous.

Harbour Air Seaplanes, float plane, airplane, harbour, Vancouver, water, Gulf Islands, Salt Spring Island
Gulf Islands from the air.

I was lucky, I flew in both directions on sunny, clear days. But if the weather’s really bad, we would have been grounded. From the Harbour Air Seaplane site: “…our seaplane pilots fly by Visual Flight Rules (VFR), which mean that they have to be able to see where they’re going to fly safely. Unlike larger commercial land-based aircraft, these amazing pilots can’t use complex electronic instruments to see in the dark, the fog, or the clouds, in part because they have to land the aircraft on the water. For this reason, our pilots and ground operations teams have a constant eye on the sky. If the weather conditions are not optimal, it may cause us to cancel or re-route our flights for safety reasons.”

Seaplane island
Dolphin shaped island

Arriving by seaplane in Ganges’ picturesque harbour on a sunny Saturday morning in June, just in time for the famous artisan’s and farmer’s market, was the highlight of the trip. Ganges is a village, and the centre of Salt Spring Island. You may be interested to know that Ganges was named after the British naval ship HMS Ganges. The HMS Ganges that visited Salt Spring Island was built in in Bombay, India. Construction was of Malabar teak and she was launched on November 10, 1821.

Gulf Islands, Salt Spring Island, Ganges
Arriving in Ganges, Salt Spring Island, BC

A word about the Beaver

On my flight back from Salt Spring Island, I was lucky to fly aboard a DHC-2 Beaver — and in the co-pilot seat. This small-but-mighty bush plane, which only seats 5-6 passengers, is legendary in Canada. Several years ago when I was in Sault Ste. Marie to discover Algoma, Group of Seven territory, I stopped into the Bush Plane Heritage Centre for a tour and learned about the history and significance of the Beaver, which was in production from 1947-1965.

Harbour Air Seaplanes, float plane, airplane, harbour, Vancouver, water, Gulf Islands, Salt Spring Island, Beaver
Pilot, Beaver aircraft and Ganges Harbour, Salt Spring Island

From the Bush Plane Heritage Centre site: “A true jack-of-all-trades the Beaver flew with floats, wheels or skis. Amongst its many uses were forest patrol, waterbombing, parachute drops, aerial photography, aerial fish stocking, transportation and cargo delivery.  The name Beaver was consistent with de Havilland’s practice of giving their Canadian designs animal names, and like its animal namesake, the Beaver was a hard bush worker.

Harbour Air Seaplanes, float plane, airplane, harbour, Vancouver, water, Gulf Islands, Salt Spring Island, de Havilland, BeaverThe success of the design is well illustrated by the fact that before production ended in 1967, 1,631 standard Beavers had been produced and delivered to 62 countries around the world. In 1978 the Canadian Engineering Centennial Board selected the Beaver as one of Canada’s most outstanding engineering achievements.“

Here’s a fascinating history of bush planes on the CBC site, which says: “The de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver is considered by aviation historians to be the classic Canadian bush plane, a single-engine, short takeoff and landing utility transport aircraft.”

To see the Beaver taking off and landing in Vancouver harbour, check out this video that shows various operators flying, including Harbour Air Seaplanes.

A Canadian Signature Experience

The Harbour Air flight from Vancouver to Salt Spring Island is the company’s Canadian Signature Experience. You can stay for a few days on the island, as I did; or simply go for a tour, there and back. Harbour Air lists their routes and schedules here and some of the tours they offer here. I would say a seaplane tour is a MUST-DO activity when in Vancouver.

If you are interested in visiting some of the other Gulf Islands, check out this post about Bowen Island.

And here are some links to help you plan your trip:

  • Keep Exploring Canada: Official site of the Canadian Tourism Commission
  • Hello BC: Official site for British Columbia Tourism
  • Vancouver Tourism site
  • Harbour Air Seaplanes
  • Salt Spring Island Tourism
Harbour Air Seaplanes, float plane, airplane, harbour, Vancouver, water, Gulf Islands, Salt Spring Island
In the harbour at Ganges, Salt Spring Island

If you enjoyed this post, please sign up to The Travel Newsletter in the sidebar and follow Breathedreamgo on all social media platforms including Instagram, TripAdvisor, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Thank you!

Related Posts
Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Experiencing Canada’s sacred forest in Vancouver

View Post
Grouse Mountain, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Explore Canada, wildlife, birds, bears

Spicy, wild and spectacular: A week in Vancouver

View Post
West Coast Canada

Transformed by the West Coast of Canada

View Post
About Mariellen Ward

Professional travel writer Mariellen Ward is the founder of award-winning Breathedreamgo. Mariellen has a BA in Journalism and has been travel writing and blogging since 2005. She has won many awards, including a National Tourism Award from Incredible India Tourism, and writes for some of the world’s leading publications including BBC Travel and NatGeo Traveller India.

Breathedreamgo is an award-winning travel site published by Canadian travel writer and India travel expert Mariellen Ward. Breathedreamgo was launched in 2009 and focuses on transformative travel, travel in India, travel in Canada, responsible travel, and solo female travel.

Search

Newsletter Form Sidebar

Sign up for BREATHEDREAMGO DISPATCHES and get inspiration to live your travel dreams.

Sign up now and get a free copy of SONG OF INDIA.


Plan your dream trip to India!

Enquire about INDIA FOR BEGINNERS custom tours from BreatheDreamGo

Plan Your Trip

Featured by

Related Posts
Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Experiencing Canada’s sacred forest in Vancouver

View Post
Grouse Mountain, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Explore Canada, wildlife, birds, bears

Spicy, wild and spectacular: A week in Vancouver

View Post
West Coast Canada

Transformed by the West Coast of Canada

View Post
Filed under: CanadaTagged under: tour, flight, Vancouver, British Columbia, Salt Spring Island, bush plane, seaplane, float plane, Harbour Air Seaplane, Coal Harbour, Gulf Islands
About Mariellen Ward

Professional travel writer Mariellen Ward is the founder of award-winning Breathedreamgo. Mariellen has a BA in Journalism and has been travel writing and blogging since 2005. She has won many awards, including a National Tourism Award from Incredible India Tourism, and writes for some of the world’s leading publications including BBC Travel and NatGeo Traveller India.

Sign up for my newsletter and get
inspiration to live your travel dreams

Newsletter Form Page

Work with us

  • Work with us
  • Media kit
  • Testimonials

More information

  • Contact us
  • About Breathedreamgo
  • About Mariellen
  • Disclosure and Privacy Policy

Newsletter

Newsletter Form Footer

Copyright © 2024 Breathedreamgo
Site by Assistant

We use cookies to give you a better web experience and assume you're on board if you continue browsing this site. To find out about our cookie policy, please visit our Disclosure and Privacy Policy page. Accept Reject
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT