Adventures By H.I.P. Inc.

What Adventures By H.I.P. Inc. does

Adventures By H.I.P. Inc. is a privately held, founder-owned Canadian marine eco-tourism company that operates chartered whale watching and wildlife expeditions from Esperanza Inlet on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The company was founded in 2017 by co-owners Mike and Sarah and operated for six seasons out of the Sooke region in the Strait of Juan de Fuca before permanently relocating in May 2024 to a remote outpost between Tahsis and Zeballos in the Nootka Sound region, chosen for its proximity to the continental shelf break and productive submarine canyons (Esperanza, Kyuquot, and Crowther).

The business is delivered through a single core asset, the vessel The Mighty Amphitrite, a 28-foot Lifetimer-built Rigid Hull Inflatable powered by 450 horsepower, equipped with electronic navigation systems, capable of 30-35 NM/hr with a 200+ nautical mile range and 150 gallons of fuel capacity. The vessel's bench seating can be selectively or fully removed, allowing the same platform to support both seated passenger tours and open-deck research or survey operations. There is no software product, mobile app, or digital platform; the offering is a purely experiential, on-water service.

Commercially, Adventures By HIP generates revenue through one-time chartered expedition bookings, with pricing quoted on request to a customer base that includes individual eco-tourism clients, photography-led wildlife tourists, research institutions, government-sanctioned researchers, and NGOs. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer and direct-to-researcher, relying on the company website, TripAdvisor and Google review presence, and direct contact via phone, WhatsApp, and email. The company is bootstrapped, with no venture capital, private equity, or parent company involvement indicated.

Name

Adventures By H.I.P. Inc.

Legal name

Adventures By H.I.P. Inc.

Website

https://adventuresbyhip.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Adventures By H.I.P. Inc. is a Vancouver Island-based marine eco-tourism operator offering chartered whale watching and wildlife expeditions from Esperanza Inlet, serving individual tourists, research institutions, NGOs, and government-sanctioned researchers using a single 28-foot rigid hull inflatable vessel.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Eco-Tourism and Wildlife Charter Services

NAICS

Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (48721), Tour Operators (561520)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Whale Watching & Marine Mammal Tours (THAAAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Marine Wildlife & Birding Cruises (dolphins, seals, seabirds) (THAAAIAD), Sightseeing & Scenic Boat Tours (Harbor, Sunset, Dolphin/Whale Watching) (THAJAJAA), Marine Wildlife & Coastal Nature Tours (Whale/Dolphin Watching, Sea Kayaking) (THAAAEAD)

Keywords

• Marine eco-tourism
• Whale watching charters
• Wildlife expeditions
• Ocean wildlife journeys
• Research vessel charters

Headquarters

HQ city

Sooke

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Chartered Wildlife Expeditions: The company generates revenue through chartered wildlife expeditions for whale watching and marine eco-tourism. Expeditions are available to institutions, government researchers, NGOs, and individual customers. Pricing is quote-based and customers contact directly via phone, WhatsApp, or email to arrange charters.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Adventures By H.I.P. Inc. provides chartered wildlife expeditions from Esperanza Inlet on Vancouver Island, focused on whale watching and marine eco-tourism in the Nootka Sound region and Strait of Juan de Fuca. Using a 28-foot rigid hull inflatable vessel equipped with electronic navigation, the company offers customizable charters for individual eco-tourism customers, photography-focused tours, and research/survey applications for institutions, NGOs, and government-sanctioned researchers. Pricing is quote-based and bookings are arranged directly via phone, WhatsApp, or email.

Product overview

Adventures By HIP is a single-service eco-tourism company offering chartered wildlife expeditions centered on whale watching and marine wildlife observation. The company operates from Esperanza Inlet on Vancouver Island's west coast, near productive submarine canyons at the continental shelf break. Operations are conducted using their dedicated vessel, The Mighty Amphitrite, a 28-foot rigid hull inflatable. The company was founded in 2017 and has been providing marine eco-tourism services in the Sooke region for six seasons before relocating to the Nootka Sound region in May 2024.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Chartered Wildlife Expeditions Wildlife expedition charters in the Nootka Sound Region, including whale watching and marine eco-tourism tours in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Esperanza Inlet, and nearby submarine canyons such as Esperanza Canyon, Kyuquot Canyon, and Crowther Canyon. Available to individual eco-tourism customers, research institutions, government-sanctioned researchers, and NGOs. Pricing is quote-based and bookings are arranged via phone, WhatsApp, or email.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Regional players

• Spotlight Whale Watching (Sooke): Sooke-based eco-tourism operator offering zodiac-style whale watching in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Highly comparable as a regional small-operator RHI-style whale watching peer — Adventures By HIP previously operated in the Sooke region for 6 seasons before relocating.
• Sooke Whale Tours: Smaller Sooke-based whale watching and eco-tourism outfit offering charters from the same region where Adventures By HIP operated for its first six seasons. Comparable as a regional peer sharing the prior Sooke operating geography, though with smaller web presence.
• Campbell River Whale Watching: Northern Vancouver Island operator focused on salmon-feeding grounds with frequent orca sightings. Comparable as a regional whale watching charter, though focused on a different waterway and using semi-covered boats; serves a similar tourist demographic from a Vancouver Island gateway.

Direct peers

• Prince of Whales Whale Watching: One of the largest whale watching operators in British Columbia, offering multi-vessel tours from Victoria and Vancouver. Directly comparable as a Pacific Northwest whale watching charter business serving both tourists and (in some cases) research clients, though at significantly larger scale.
• Eagle Wing Tours: Victoria-based, top-rated whale watching operator running a fleet of rigid-hull inflatable boats. Highly comparable as an RHI-based, customer-rated marine wildlife tour business on Vancouver Island, with similar vessel class but more boats and a downtown departure.
• Orca Spirit Adventures: Victoria-based whale watching operator on covered and open boats with both tourism and educational charters. Comparable as a long-established Pacific Northwest marine wildlife tour operator with overlapping customer base and similar whale-watching product mix.
• Wild Whales Vancouver: Granville Island-based whale watching operator offering tours on a 65-foot catamaran. Comparable in that it sells wildlife-focused excursions in the same Salish Sea / Strait of Juan de Fuca region, though it competes via larger vessel capacity rather than the small-boat intimacy Adventures By HIP offers.
• Ocean Ecoventures: Cowichan Bay-based operator offering whale watching and wildlife tours on Vancouver Island using covered vessels. Direct peer for eco-tourism-focused whale watching charters on the island, also targeting tourists seeking a low-volume wildlife experience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/adventures-by-hip

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Adventures By H.I.P. Inc.