One of the best deals on the Island is taking a whale watching cruise offered through The Pacific Whale Foundation. A whale watching trip can be booked for $29 US.
The Humpback Whales are most abundant in February and March, but we saw several mothers and their calves in the waters in mid-April. The Pacific Whale Foundation runs several trips a day from at least two different boats.
I soon discovered that a 70-200mm lens with a 1.4x teleconverter would not be adequate for photographing the whales. Most whales were at least 100 yards away and more often at a greater distance. While I took a great number of photos of whales, none were what I'd call "professional" grade images. Given a perfect world, I'd spend a week in March riding these boats and I'd be using a telephoto lens with a longer reach, such as a 100-400 or 200-500mm zoom.