Bird Island Boat Tours, Big Bras d'Or

We decided to try the boat tour while we were in the area visiting family. I've been thinking about this review for a few days and wanted to post this information for other families planning to take their kids on this tour, as it wasn't what we were expecting at all. The tour started out nice and it was a sunny morning, but it quickly turned rough. The waves from the swell caused the boat to really bump around, and the waves were so high that they were crashing over the boat and we were being bumped around quite hard. My 8 year old son was getting scared, and it was so rough that it was difficult to get up to move to him to try to comfort him. At one point he was so nervous that he asked the captain of the boat if the waves were normal. The captain looked at him and said "no". He then followed up by saying it's okay this boat has been in rougher conditions before. At one point after about 45 minutes of being in really rough conditions, the captain said he was turning the boat around and going back and would provide refunds to everyone. We were relieved until a minute later he changed his mind and said we were 3/4 of the way there so he was going to keep going. By the time we made it to the bird islands my 8 year old was so scared he didn't even stand to look at anything. I felt so seasick from being bounced around so hard for the last hour that I couldn't stand to look at anything either, and I ended up vomiting on the way back. I'm sure if it was a day with better conditions it would have been a nice experience. I'm just writing this review so that other's are aware that they will take you out in extremely rough conditions. For the amount of money we spent for three people to do this tour, it was extremely disappointing. I only gave it 3 stars because one of the crew members did her very best to comfort us while we felt nervous and ill.

The father and son duo are AMAZING! We highly recommend the bird island tour to anyone who has an appreciation for nature and would love to see the beautiful shoreline. Saw countless birds and seals and the captain and son duo are extremely knowledgeable and their passion for conservation is inspiring and contagious. Unlike some other tours who use unethical means to bait birds closer the Captain and Son duo use their knowledge of animal patterns and great steering to get you picture perfect close. Boat is also covered with seating outside on the back should you wish and even has a bathroom which is perfect for the 2:45 minutes tour. Cannot believe the value as tickets are only 40ish dollars. Also has a super cute gift shop where the affordable merchandise has a way of inspiring gifts for your friends and family you feel sad for not attending. Wish I could give more stars! Also has great cottages on site with shoreline views for anyone looking for a quiet nature cabin lodging.