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WasanthaSamarasekera
We arrived at floating Blue River Safari Office to see Wild Bears with no guarantee. Skilled boat driver navigated the river where depth is less than a meter at some places. With two way communication they pin point the Bear locations. We were so fortunate to see not only Wild Bears feeding them selves but also all of a sudden one jump to the river and swam across, making every one to switch their cameras to video mode. That was a very rare scene according to boat driver who works there more than 3 years. After the Bear viewing we enjoyed the scenic surroundings including the spectacular water fall.At the Restaurant we enjoyed the supper and amazed by the finely crafted wooden chairs and tables at the man made wooden floating restaurant done by the owner and his father. This is a must when you visit Canada.
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SolihullBob
I support what Essjay9 writes. We also booked at the Mount Robson Visitor Centre during a trip out from Jasper. The extra distance to Blue River and back makes for a long drive. The guides on the river craft seem to know where to spot the bears, although the bears do not necessarily appear on demand. we were lucky and saw a mum and cub at close quarters. Interestingly, we saw, and photographed bears at two different road side spots on the way back from Blue River to Mount Robson.
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34alang
We were on our way to Jasper and decided to take a rest by going on the advertised safari, it was a good idea as it was relaxing and we saw bears too. When we booked in we were going to go on the jeep safari as we had been on a boat safari in Tofino and seen lots of bears but were advised at the desk that we were more likely to see bears by going on the boat so we took their advice and saw bears. The guide we had was an Aussie, he entertained and educated us brilliantly. I would definitely recommend this experience.
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Off2SeeItAll
The folks here were incredible. We booked at a visitor center and didn't realize we had to check in when we got to the River Safari as well. When we stood in line to board the boat, the staff was alarmed because all the boats on the loading dock were full. They rushed us through signing up and even called another boat back to pick us up. What amazing service !! The different boats work together via radios and report what they find so that they have a wide reach of bear tracking. People who give bad reviews because they find no bears are silly...these are wild bear. Who knows what the bears will do?We were lucky to see one and for an extended period of time at that.Even if we had not seen a bear, the river was beautiful and we got to hike to a gorgeous waterfall.
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Essjay9
We had been travelling in the rockies for 10 nights and although we had seen fleeting glimpses of bears on our travels we were desperate to see more of them.I had done extensive research before leaving the UK and had in mind the trips that I wanted to do and this was one on my list. However, in view of the unusual snowfall we had had at the beginning of our trip in Calgary and Banff I did not prebook and waited until we were travelling to see how the weather was. En route from Jasper to Clearwater we stopped at an Information Centre at Mt Robson and they prebooked us in for later that afternoon.Yes it was cold on the lake but the 'gear' they provide you with helps keep you warm. I tend to agree with other reviewers in lots of respects - it is expensive, cruising around the lake permimeters looking for bears can be monotonous but when your guide finds one it is magical and they go as close to the shore as they can without scaring the bear away, so you do get a great opportunity to just sit and watch the bear go about his daily business.I enjoyed the trip but would have been very disappointed in view of the cost if we had not had a bear sighting. There are much more scenic lakes to visit than this one if all you want is a boat trip. Our guide,Raul, was very nice and had plenty of knowledge about the wildlife and area. In fact, we were out on the boat longer than was scheduled so that Raul could find us a bear, so I think that they do their utmost to achieve what everybody has gone on the trip for - to see a bear!!
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lammy1952
as many other reviews state, the main purpose (and indeed advertising) is to see bears. We were relatively fortunate in that we were able to observe one bear feeding by the lakeside for almost ten minutes, however even with this I would question whether it was value for money,The remainder of the one hour - exactly- was spent moving around the lake where no other wildlife was visible, it felt as though we should have continued with watching the one bear though we probably moved on to allow their other boat to move in. They only had two boats operating and were clearly bringing them back in quickly, as we heard radio transmissions to that effect.Can $200 was a bit pricey for what was delivered.
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733Lorraine_C
Jet Boat trip up the river was great. Viewing of black bears was a highlight. Lunch served at the restaurant was unbelievable.
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MagicianManchesterUK
As the title explains, the sole purpose of this boat ride is to see bears and if you don't then it's a complete waste of time.I was expecting a pleasant and scenic boat ride along the Blue River with the opportunity to see a bear, but was not expecting to see any wildlife, just hoping that we would.The river ride lasted just a couple of minutes before you come out into a lake area at which point the boat is slowed and follows round the banks as you 'bear spot'. After about 40mins of our 1hr trip we hadn't seen anything and I was becoming very dispondant as the actual boat ride was really quite boring - the guide started off whilst docked with a little chat about wildlife and the area but once we started out voyage he said virtually nothing, which in part would have been down to engine noise and once the engine was throttled back partly due to keeping the noise down so as not to scare wildlife away. The scenery was not that special and with you simply driving round the lake was always the same, and as I said it was becoming extremely boring.Despite the 'boring' boat ride, we did spot 3 bears - 2 adults and a baby. You can't ask for more than that on a bear spotting trip and we got some excellent photos.My reservations on this attraction is that you can't bank on seeing wildlife, and if you don't see the bears then you have an hour long boat ride that you will probably wish was much shorter and for which you pay a small fortune about $90 Canadian with tax per adult - that's far too much for what they provide.Can I recommend this trip - difficult - if you see bears then I guess it's worth every penny. If you don't then you've been ripped off. I feel they should offer some sort of bear guarantee - if you don't see one then they refund you a portion of your ticket, that way you may be able to call it value for money whatever happens.
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sweephasaspottyface
This was an amazing experience for two newly weds from England travelling from Kamloops to Jasper. After a few hours of driving we saw the sign and thought we'd check it out. Initially I was concerned that we might not see any bears, but a minute into the boat ride and I didn't even care; the boat ride on that beautiful blue lake was amazing! We were lucky though and did see two bears, fairly close up too. However, I can honestly say I would have been happy with the experience regardless because to see that scenery 360 degrees around you is just one of the most breathtaking things I've ever known.The best part of our Canadian adventure honeymoon so far, absolutely wonderful. Thank you to Aden our guide and all at River Safari for a brilliant (even if a little cold!) experience x
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Doggus
On our way to Kamloops and thinking we would never see a bear we spotted the River Safari sign and decided to give it a go and we were not disappointed the scenery was great and the young man who took use out in the boat told us so much about bears and their way of life after much searching he spotted a bear shortly to be followed by another, our trip ended with a short walk to the waterfall, fantastic
