Arbutus Island
Dive site · Canada
Advanced divers and up
Is it worth the trip?
64Good out of 100 for your dates
3 days tie for best
Mon 2 · 65 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.0 mflat
- Wind
- 1 kn
- Gusts
- 3kn
- Air
- 9°C
Tue 3 · 65 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.0 mflat
- Wind
- 1 kn
- Gusts
- 3kn
- Air
- 10°C
Wed 4 · 65 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.0 mflat
- Wind
- 1 kn
- Gusts
- 4kn
- Air
- 10°C
Thu 5 · 64 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.1 mflat
- Wind
- 2 kn
- Gusts
- 5kn
- Air
- 11°C
Fri 6 · 62 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.1 mflat
- Wind
- 9 kn
- Gusts
- 16kn
- Air
- 12°C
Sat 7 · 64 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.0 mflat
- Wind
- 3 kn
- Gusts
- 7kn
- Air
- 10°C
Sun 8 · 64 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.1 mflat
- Wind
- 4 kn
- Gusts
- 9kn
- Air
- 12°C
Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Mon 265, good
- Tue 365, good
- Wed 465, good
- Thu 564, good
- Fri 662, good
- Sat 764, good
- Sun 864, good
- Mon 964, good
- Tue 1059, fair
- Wed 1156, fair
The site in five facts
- Down to 18 mits deepest
- From a boathow you get in
- Advancedand up
- Water 9 °Cdrysuit
- Faces Nswell from there reaches it
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.
Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.
| Day | Score | Sea | Wind | Gusts | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 65, good | 0.0 mflat | 1 kn | 3kn | 9°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 65, good | 0.0 mflat | 1 kn | 3kn | 10°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 65, good | 0.0 mflat | 1 kn | 4kn | 10°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 64, good | 0.1 mflat | 2 kn | 5kn | 11°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 62, good | 0.1 mflat | 9 kn | 16kn | 12°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 64, good | 0.0 mflat | 3 kn | 7kn | 10°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 64, good | 0.1 mflat | 4 kn | 9kn | 12°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 64, good | 0.0 mflat | 3 kn | 6kn | 10°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 59, fair | 0.2 mflat | 5 kn | 14kn | 11°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 56, fair | 0.2 mflat | 13 kn | 19kn | 10°C |
Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More
Tide
- Mon 2 NovLow 00:37 −1.4 mHigh 07:24 +0.6 mLow 13:22 −0.2 mHigh 18:25 +0.7 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 01:48 −1.2 mHigh 08:24 +0.8 mLow 14:43 −0.5 mHigh 20:04 +0.6 m
- Wed 4 NovLow 02:52 −1.0 mHigh 09:11 +0.9 mLow 15:45 −0.9 mHigh 21:32 +0.6 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Map
the site and its town
Arbutus Island on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.
One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
More diving near here
5 places
- Shute Reef 0.4 km away
- Peck Reef 2.1 km away
- Wain Rock 4.4 km away
- Louisa Rock 5.5 km away
- Patey Rock 6.3 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Arbutus Island
A reef dive. It goes down to 18 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces N: swell from the N reaches it, and wind from the S blows out to sea. No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 29 km away. The sea is about 8°C in January, its coldest month (drysuit), and 14°C in August, its warmest (7 mm semi-dry or a drysuit). The town to stay in is North Saanich. Within 5 km we also list 2 wind sports spots and 5 dive sites.
- What it is Reef.
- How deep Down to 18 m.
- Getting in From a boat.
- Who it suits Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
- Dive centres No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 29 km away.
Water about 9°C: drysuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
Visibility under 5 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct and Nov (under 5 m).
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$966–US$1,780 each
about US$966–US$1,780 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to YVR, estimated from distance and season, 3 airlines on the route, with a hold bag | about US$248–US$523 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$134–US$228 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$275–US$456 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$309–US$577 |
| Total | about US$966–US$1,780 |
Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: North Saanich
Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn
about 10 min by car · 4 places to stay
about US$101/nightcountry average
About North Saanich its beds, food and every spot near it
About US$101 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.
Getting there: about 9h 20m
About 9h 20m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → YVR, direct, then 1h 30m by road
Flights ORD → YVR on your dates · AviasalesAdeSIM for your phone · Search on AiraloAd
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Dives and courses in North Saanich · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in North Saanich · GetYourGuide
Dive centres nearby
No dive centre mapped within 25 km.
Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits
What you might see
Too few records at this site itself, so these are the animals divers and surveys have recorded at other sites within 25 km in the last 15 years. A record says someone saw it there, not that you will.
Orca Orcinus orcaWhale or dolphin
Seen in 129 records.
Megaptera novaeangliaeWhale or dolphin
Seen in 43 records, mostly Jul to Dec.
Common Porpoise Phocoena phocoenaWhale or dolphin
Seen in 8 records.
Common seal Phoca vitulinaSeal or sea lion
Seen in 83 records, mostly Aug to Oct.
Red Rock Crab Cancer productus
Seen in 480 records, mostly Jun to Oct.
Slender Crab Metacarcinus gracilis
Seen in 457 records, mostly Jun to Oct.
Dungeness Crab Metacarcinus magister
Seen in 51 records, mostly May to Aug.
Pisaster ochraceus
Seen in 38 records, mostly Apr to Jun.
Kelp crab Pugettia producta
Seen in 26 records, mostly Jun to Oct.
Dermasterias imbricata
Seen in 22 records, mostly Mar to Jun.
Apostichopus californicus
Seen in 14 records, mostly May to Jul.
Red sea urchin Mesocentrotus franciscanus
Seen in 14 records, mostly Mar to Jun.
Records: OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System, IOC-UNESCO) and GBIF.org (1 November 2026, doi:10.15468/dl.jeesns), from the datasets named here, CC0 and CC BY records only. Names: WoRMS and GBIF; common names from the Catalogue of Life, the GBIF Backbone and Wikidata. Largest datasets here: 5061d21c-6161-4ea2-a8d4-38f8285dfc47; Mortality, Movements, and Migration Timing of Age-0 Cowichan Chinook Salmon Tagged in the Southern Gulf Islands in Fall 2017; 28621175-b49c-4fbf-9f60-9b82d78b7b0c; 5de439e1-5fc1-4570-8c36-ac3e3b2c20fd; Harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) counts and haulout locations in the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia coast. Credits
This week's visibility and the current no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.
Saved: this link opens the same trip
The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.