Scenic Flights from Downtown Vancouver

NOTE: Scenic flights have been placed on seasonal hiatus for the winter and will resume in Spring 2025.

Nestled alongside the lofty peaks of the Coast Mountains and the Strait of Georgia, the bustling city of Vancouver is world-renowned for its glimmering skyscrapers, year-round mild climate and stunning natural beauty.

And there’s no better way to soak in the views in all directions than from the air. A scenic floatplane flight out of downtown Vancouver presents an unparalleled opportunity to witness the city’s iconic skyline and its surrounding mountains, forests, and waterways in all their glory. As you take off from the shimmering waters of Vancouver Harbour, you’ll feel a surge of excitement as the cityscape gradually gives way to sprawling vistas of untamed wilderness.

Join us aboard one of our scenic floatplane flights from the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre in Downtown Vancouver for an experience you won’t soon forget. Every seat aboard our iconic De Havilland Beaver seaplanes is a window seat, meaning you’ll enjoy a view of all that Vancouver has to offer throughout your entire flight.

We offer three different options for your next scenic floatplane adventure, ideal for tourists with a packed itinerary or longtime locals looking to see their city like never before.

Short Hopper – 20 minutes

Perfect for those on a tight travel schedule, our Short Hopper flights are a great way to soak in the main sights of Vancouver from the skies.

On this 20-minute trip (10 minutes of flight-time), you’ll soar above popular Vancouver sights like Stanley Park, Kitsilano, False Creek, the Lions Gate Bridge as well as parts of North and West Vancouver. Not requiring a long time commitment, our Short Hopper scenic flights also serve as a wonderful introduction to flying onboard a floatplane – a must for every visitor to the West Coast!

Flight paths are approximate and may vary depending on local weather conditions. Please note that our Short Hopper scenic flights require a minimum of two (2) passengers in order to operate. 

Vancouver Vista – 30 minutes

With views of the city, the Strait of Georgia, the Sunshine Coast and beautiful Bowen Island, our Vancouver Vista tours offer a birds-eye view of some of the very best that the West Coast has to offer.

After takeoff from Vancouver Harbour, you’ll soar above the same views that our Short Hopper scenic flights offer, but with the added sights of Bowen Island, Keats Island, as well as the picturesque ferry harbours of Langdale and Horseshoe Bay. With more time spent in the air than our Short Hopper flights, our 30-minute (20 minutes of flight-time) Vancouver Vista tours are a great way to explore more of the West Coast beyond the city limits.

Flight paths are approximate and may vary depending on local weather conditions. Please note that our Vancouver Vista scenic flights require a minimum of three (3) passengers in order to operate. 

Vancouver Vista Plus – 45 minutes

Our longest seaplane tour, our Vancouver Vista Plus flights are the ultimate experience for those looking to soak in views of majestic coastal mountains, ancient old-growth rainforests and stunning alpine glaciers.

As with our two other scenic tour options, your flight begins and ends at the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre in Downtown Vancouver. Soon after takeoff, you’ll head north across Burrard Inlet following the famous Sea-to-Sky Highway towards the beautifully situated town of Squamish. Turning back in a wide loop, you’ll fly directly over the lofty Coast Mountains, Capilano and the Lion’s Gate Bridge before enjoying a birds-eye tour of Kitsilano, False Creek and downtown. Lasting 45 minutes (35 minutes of flight time) you’ll have plenty of opportunities to make memories that’ll last a lifetime.

Flight paths are approximate and may vary depending on local weather conditions. Please note that our Vancouver Vista Plus scenic flights require a minimum of three (3) passengers in order to operate. 

Booking & Extra Information

Booking your scenic floatplane flight is a breeze – call us at 250-247-9992 or email us at info@gulfislandseaplanes.com today! We will require a credit card to hold your reservation as well as the ID of the prospective passengers in your booking.

When checking in, we require passengers to be present 20 minutes before their tour so that we can send them out on time. Passengers can request specific seats as well like the co-pilot seat or if they feel more comfortable in another seat then they can also request that. Once everyone is checked in we’ll walk you and all other passengers down to the aircraft where you’ll receive a briefing as well as any information on the aircraft and route they’re going on.

Please note: Routes may be modified or cancelled depending on weather conditions.

Depending on local weather conditions, we may have to modify the selected route of your scenic floatplane tour or reschedule it to a later time and/or date.

Please also note that since we book scenic flights based on demand, if there’s space in the day available where there aren’t any regularly scheduled flights going out then we’ll usually insert a scenic flight every hour on the hour. This gives pilots breaks in between flights and allows them to rest before returning to the cockpit.

These scenic tours are operated on a first come, first serve basis which means that whoever books a particular timeslot first gets to choose which scenic flight tour they will be doing. On occasion where the passenger requirement isn’t met (see above disclaimers) we will book them in for the shorter scenic flight option that their party sizes qualifies them for until additional passenger(s) book the flight.

At Gulf Island Seaplanes we offer regularly scheduled and chartered floatplane services to a number of destinations on the beautiful West Coast of British Columbia.

With countless charter destinations to choose from, we are your link to bustling cities, charming towns, remote inlets and picturesque islands across Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and the Lower Mainland.