mayne tours and charters

It was a wonderful morning for an eco-tour on the water with Toby! We saw birds, including eagles seals, sea lions and wild sheep! It was fabulous.Toby is so knowledgable and entertianing. What a hoot!

We had special visitors (three generations) and decided to book a tour with Toby. What a great decision that was! All of us thoroughly enjoyed our hour and a half on Toby’s boat. Our family group was large enough that Toby was able to accommodate us on an off-schedule visit. His approach is very warm and friendly, and he imparts his knowledge and love of the area, and the critters that live around here, so easily… we all soaked it up! We saw lots of birds of every description, seals and Steller and California sea lions. Smelly, and noisy, and very impressive creatures. So close to the big city of Vancouver, it blows you away!Some of us had never been on a smaller boat in the Gulf Islands area, and Toby made it a very comfortable experience. We all came off that boat with a big smile on our faces. An experience not to be missed.

Spent this morning with Toby on a fantastic boat ride to the Belle Chain Islands. He is knowledgeable and informative. We saw all sorts of neat things, including free range sheep! We had a great time and Toby is funny as hell! For sure we will do it again.

Highly recommend the charter. We saw lots of sea lions and wild life. Well worth the trip. It's a 1.5 trip and Toby the owner is so amazing. If you go to Mayne island this I a must do.

Had a wonderful tour with Toby along the Belle Chain Islets. Took over 500 pictures of seals, sea lions, and a selection of birds as well. Toby is very knowledgeable of the area and the wildlife that it is well worth the trip. Would definitely go again in a heartbeat.

awesome tour, boat and tour guide, Toby was friendly and casual, very knowledgeable and professional, we saw lots of seals and birds. learned about tides and geology, it was a great way to spend the morning, highly recommended.

I took my 87-year-old father, my sister and two nephews on Toby Snelgrove's Mayne Tours. I was super, super impressed by how kind and personable he was with my father, who needed much patience and help getting onto and off the boat . Not only did Toby go way above and beyond what was required physically with helping my dad, but he was so thoughtful in how he put my dad at ease, made him feel he wasn't a burden on anyone, kept praising him for his adventurous spirit and telling him he was an inspiration to all of us. He also knew exactly how to entertain and win over the hearts of my 11-year-old nephews, no small feat. He made the trip a super success, finding us wildlife to see and photograph, keeping everyone safe and comfortable, and imparting his impressive knowledge of local history and wildlife. He even took time to encourage one of my nephews in his photographic interests, which meant a huge deal to the boy. All in all, this is a trip leader with all the skills it takes to make a wonderful memory of a trip.

We had a great outing with Toby. He took us into Campbell Bay and dropped the anchor so the brave folks in our group could go for a swim--cold, but fun. Then he took us out to the Belle Chain islets to see seals and birds, and then on to Saturna, then home to Mayne. We had our two grandkids along; at the end of the day, our granddaughter said it had been "the BEST day ever!" We agreed. Thanks Toby.

I took one of the first tours of the season with Toby, and was absolutely amazed by the number, and variety of wildlife we saw. One of the outer islands was covered with sea lions, the next one had nothing but seals. Toby is very knowledgeable about the area and will gladly deviate from his tour to take you anywhere you want to go. A must do if you are anywhere near Mayne Island.

Toby SNELGROVE is a very knowledgable guide to the birds and other wild life in the area. His boat was comfortable, he is very personable and our hour and a half tour of the nearby small islands was a delightful "not to be missed" experience.

Toby treated us to a 2-hour loop tour that began in Horton Bay on Mayne Island. We motored through Georgeson Passage to Winter Cove on Saturna Island and then through Boat Passage into the Strait of Georgia. From there we went south to explore the Cabbage Island marine park anchorage and then north along the Belle Chain Islets. We also explored Campbell and Bennett bays on Mayne before returning to Horton Bay. It was a great circuit, affording us beautiful close-up views of rocky coastlines and etched sandstone as well as silhouettes of more distant islands and snow-capped mountains on the mainland. We had excellent, unhurried opportunities to watch and photograph harbour seals, several species of gulls, black oyster catchers, pigeon guillemots, black turnstones, sandpipers, cormorants and bald eagles. Toby's boat is comfortable with good visibility, and he handles it skillfully and with care. He knows the area well and can provide information about geology, birds, marine mammals and island history. We highly recommend Toby's Mayne Island Tours and Charters as a wonderful way to appreciate the beauty and wildlife of the Gulf Islands and Strait of Georgia.

For a birthday treat we decided to give Toby's tour a try. Having grown up around here I wasn't expecting to be blown away but was really looking forward to just getting out on the water. The tour caught me off guard and I was in fact blown away after all. The time we spent watching the sea lions is something I'll never forget! Not to mention all the birds, including many eagles both juvenile and mature, and seals we saw. Oh and of course the goats on the beach! Toby was so knowledgable about pretty much everything. It was truly an awesome day. We took our moms along and we all walked away feeling very blessed!! Thanks so much!