Marine Link Tours

08/22/2024

New Adventures with Marine Link Tours!

Is seeing a grizzly bear in the wild on your bucket list?
Looking for a quick getaway with the same great service as on the Aurora Explorer?
Interested in sailing on an 83 year old wooden tug boat?

Marine Link Tours has partnered with Remote West Coast Adventures to trial a new micro-cruise option in Desolation Sound this fall.

Day 1: A maximum of 8 passengers will board the fully restored, 83 year old wooden tugboat, the MV Union Jack, at Menzies Bay in Campbell River. The tour will depart in the morning with lunch being the first of many gourmet meals that will be served onboard.

The Union Jack will sail through the Discovery Passage towards the small islands that make up the Discovery Islands and Desolation Sound. Perhaps an afternoon beach walk is on the cards. Or sit back on deck and watch as the scenery goes by. As the sun sets, it’s time for an amazingdinner served by the ship’s Chef.

Day 2: After and a goodnight’s rest, the Union Jack’s crews will sail her through the remote coastal waters, making recreation stops along the way, where passengers can go ashore and stretch their legs, wander deserted beaches and explore the coastal forests.

That afternoon, the Union Jack will dock in Orford Bay, where the passengers will be met by the team from Homalco Wildlife & Cultural Tours for a 2.5 hour guided grizzly bear tour along the banks of the Orford River via an off-road bus.

After that once in a lifetime experience, passengers will re-board the Union Jack for another amazing supper and a 2nd night’s rest anchored in a quiet cove.

Day 3: The next morning, the Union Jack will slowly make its way home towards Menzies Bay where passengers can expect to dock in the early afternoon.

***Please note that the Union Jack is an 83 year old, converted tug boat. There are very steep stairways and 10” high door combings to step over. Going ashore will be done via a small dinghy when a dock is not available. 2 of the state rooms have bunck beds so ladders are required. ***

There is limited availability with only 8 passengers on each of 2 sailings so get in touch with out office now to book! 250-286-3347.

Sailing 1: September 26 – 28, 2024
Sailing 2: October 3 - 5, 2024

Rates from $2100 - $2400 plus 5% GST. per person based on double occupancy. *all inclusive

06/27/2024

It turns out that one of our recent passengers writes a blog about her travels. She has written about her time with us on the Aurora Explorer and has genourously allowed us to share a link to so that others can read about this experience. You can read all about us here. Thank you Penny, I am so glad that you enjoyed your time on board! I love the quote "the nitty-gritty behind the pretty-pretty"

26 June 2024 – My previous post ended with a tease: having visited the Port Moody Art Shuffle, I announced I was preparing a “shuffle” of my own.

06/07/2024

We would like to extend our sincerest thanks to everyone from our community here in Campbell River who helped us celebrate 30 seasons of tours. As part of festivities, on Monday, June 3rd, over 250 people joined in the celebrations with Guy Adams, owner, and crew. With Marine Link’s donation of $2,500 combined with the public’s donations onboard, $3,960 was raised for the Discovery Passage Aquarium!

06/03/2024

If you are local to us here in Campbell River, come on down to tour the Aurora Explorer as we celebrate 30 seasons! We are offering a selection of some of the yummy treats we offer onboard, including some delicious Stonehouse Teas .

Hope to see you all here!

10am-3pm @ Fisherman's Wharf

06/01/2024

We are all set up for outside the . Come and visit, we will be here until 4pm with a host of other tourism operators from here in Campbell River.

04/05/2024

66 years ago this happened, just across Mezies Bay from our dock. Now we see all kinds vessels, large and small, inuding the Auroa Explorer, safely navigate through Seymour Narrows everyday.

Check out the Campbell River Museum next time you are in town for one of our tours.

02/26/2024

Looking for a last minute Spring Getaway? We have some new availability in March and April for our tours. This might just be your chance to get onboard the Aurora without the long wait. Give us a call at 250-286-3347 for more information.

02/12/2024

Need somewhere to stay on either end our your tour us?

A boutique hotel in Campbell River, BC tucked between ocean views and mountain peaks, home to the Campbell River Golf Club and Velocity Lounge and Driving Range.

09/28/2023

Way back in October of 2022, our friends at Where the Wind Meets the Tide came onboard the Aurora Explorer and filmed an episode of thier documentary series.

They featured Captain Ron Stevenson, owner Guy Adams and the crew as they delivered some complicated freight to a remote location. Also making a cameo are 2 passengers, Anne and John Sillins, who have now sailed with us 10 times!.

Feel free to check out our episode from Season 2 and all the other great stories about folks who work and live on the water around Campbell River, BC.

If you have Telus Optik TV, visit channel 345 and search for Where the Wind Meets the Tide or head to youtube:

Link to all of the episodes of Season 1 & 2:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLat7W8KFGGw_k5cYVbgsRlyg7xk7Kz2bO

Episode 6
From explosives to totem poles, learn from Campbell Rivers' Marine Link Transportation owner Guy Adams & Captain Ron Stevenson about freight delivery with the M.V. Aurora Explorer which also offers a rather unique tourist experience.
https://youtu.be/nyIcLJEWmOg

06/12/2023

A nice write up in the The Vancouver Sun about our tours and some of the other offerings in our area.

https://vancouversun.com/travel/b-c-boutique-cruises

Explore the beauty of B.C. on these boutique cruises

05/31/2023

Last fall, we started working with a documentary crew for their 2nd season of Where the Wind Meets the Tide, a docuseries that follows the stories of those who work on the water on Canada's west coast. . Season 2 premiers in Campbell River, on Thursday June 8 & 9. If you are local to the area and want to check it out, you can get info & tickets here:

Thursday June 8: Where the Wind Meets the Tide -- Opening Night- Second Season Premiere
Friday June 9: Where the Wind Meets the Tide -- Closing Night- Second Season Premiere

We will be there too, so come say hi to us before the show or during intermission.

📷A shot of the crew saying goodby to the passengers after filming all day in October 2022.

05/23/2023

05/15/2023

With these warmer than normal spring temperatures, the snow pack in the mountains is melting quickly. Here is a great shot of Racine Falls on our Discovery Islands Tour last week taken by our Mate, Cole.

03/23/2023

Looking for a last minute getaway? The waterfalls are at thier peak in the spring. We have new availability for this year, 2023 could be your year!

March 28 - April 2
April 4 - 9
May 23 - 28

Give us a call for more info! 250-286-3347

03/22/2023

Its official! Our 2023 Season is underway. For the first time since 2019, we have started our season on time and as scheduled. The first passengers of our 29th season boarded the Aurora yesterday and departed on the evening tide.

If our tour is something you have been thinking about doing, 2023 might be your year. We have had a couple cancelations and new avaiability open up. Trip #3: April 4-9 and Trip #10, May 23-28. Give us a call for more information. 250-286-3347.

01/04/2023

2024 will be our 30th Season. Will 2024 be your year to sail with us? Now taking reservations for the 2024 season, give us a call 250-286-3347 or head to our website for more info: www.marinelinktours.com

11/22/2022

Marine Link Tours and the MV Aurora Explorer are going to be featured in Season Two! But in the mean-time, check out Season One and learn a little about some of the folks who earn a living on the water in and around the North Island.

Break out the popcorn! Season 1 is now available on Optik TV Channel 345
& also available online on our website: www.wherethewindmeetsthetide.com

Our series was made possible because of the funding & support of TELUS & the contributions & encouragement of our community.

Please share!

11/07/2022

Winter came early to Campbell River ❄️. Hard to believe we wrapped our 2022 Passenger Season just 1 short week ago. Thank you to all of our lovely passengers, amazing crew and loyal frieght customers for making our 28th season, another great one.

Our 2023 season is over 90% sold out, but there is still a few opporutunites to sail onboard the Aurora Explorer next year and our 2024 season will open for bookings mid-December 2022.

08/18/2022

Enjoy this Autumn on the water. We have new availability on our October 25 - 30 trip to the Discovery Islands, Contact us for more info or to book. 250-286-3347

06/06/2022

Looking for a last minute getaway? We have one new availability for this summer, August 16 - 21 to the Discovery Islands. Contact us for more information 250-286-3347.

03/24/2022

Which sailing to book?

We get a lot of inquiries about which sailing to book, many folks see online that the Broughton Archipelago tours are "more popular" as they tend to book up faster. Why is that?

• There is a belief that the Broughton is more remote being that it is further north. While this is actually not true, as there are more settlements and small communities in the Broughton Archipelago than the Discovery Islands, especially up Bute and Toba inlets which are on the Discovery tours.
• The Broughton Archipelago is a bit infamous as there have been many well known stories and books written about the area (both fiction and non-fiction) which has folks wanting to visit the areas they have read about. (Kingcome Inlet, Knight Inlet for example), though we haven't actually sailed into either of these inlets for the last few years as there hasn't been any freight work up there.

We have quite a few repeat passengers, 1st timers tend to get off the Aurora after doing 1 tour and then want to book the other and our multi-repeaters swap back and forth. Some of our repeat passengers are doing their 6th, 7th or 8th trip with us this year.

When new passengers are trying to decide, I tend to guide them by saying, pick the dates you want, then the stateroom option you want and then see which sailing it ends up being.

Hope that helps and if you are keen to find out more, give us a call 250-286-3347.

01/05/2022

Happy New Year from a snowy Menzies Bay! Here's to safe and wonderful 2022. Renovations to the passenger accommodation deck are moving along on schedule and our 2023 season is now available for booking so give us a call. 250-286-3347.

In the photo, you can see the MV Aurora Explorer in dock with a snowy background and one of tug boats in the foreground, the MV Risco Warrior.

12/04/2021

Every year, to get in the holiday spirit, the city of Campbell River gets together to celebrate the season with a This is our first year joining in so our parent company Marine Link Transportation teamed up with Campbell River Marine Terminal Ltd and we had a ball. Here's a quick video of our float.

10/28/2021

Well, that's a wrap on our 27th season here at Marine Link Tours and though the last two years haven't been the same, we are grateful for the passengers and crew who have stuck by us and made the best of the situation. We are truly thankful that we were able to keep the Aurora going and carrying passengers safely and successfully, but we are most certainly looking forward to getting back to "normal". And our new normal will be amazing!

The Aurora is heading out next week with one last freight only run and then she will be heading to dock for a major overhaul. The entire accommodations deck will be gutted and 6 brand new passenger staterooms will be created each offering an ensuite washroom.

And though our 2022 season is almost sold out, we still have some rooms available in the spring and fall. And our 2023 season will open for booking in mid-December. Give us a call 250-286-3347 or check us out online www.marinelinktours.com

10/19/2021

Check out our little write up in Northwest Travel & Life Magazine's October 19th newsletter.

Explore the “Working Coast” with Marine Link Tours onboard the MV Aurora Explorer. When passengers board the MV Aurora Explorer each Tuesday afternoon, they aren’t in for Las Vegas-style shows, casinos and spa services with 2,500 other passengers. What they are about to embark on is the chance...

10/14/2021

One of last week's lunch buffets served up in the galley courtesy of one of our 2 amazing Chef's, Laura of As You Like It Products and Catering.

07/27/2021

***New Availability***
Experience Autumn on the Coast onboard the Aurora Explorer.
Our 2021 season was sold out, but we have had a couple of cancellations for:
+ Broughton Archipelago - October 5 - 10 (1 room available)
+ Discovery Islands - October 12 - 17 (1 room available)

Call to get in touch and book - 250-286-3347

07/01/2021

It is Canada Day and while we are celebrating the many great things about our country, we will be taking the time to reflect on the recent discoveries of nearly 1,000 undocumented graves at residential schools and how we can contribute to reconciliation with the First Nations peoples.

Here is a shot of one of the many waterfalls in Toba Inlet on last week's Discovery Islands Tour.

06/14/2021

BC is ready to move onto Step 2 of the Restart Plan which is great news for our tours. So if you are booked to sail with us as of tomorrow, June 15, we are very much looking forward to finally welcoming you onboard the MV Aurora Explorer.

Recreational travel within the province and outdoor gatherings with up to 50 people will soon be allowed in B.C. as it moves ahead to the next step of its reopening plan.