--- title: "God's Pocket Resort" kind: "Dive Resorts" region: "North Vancouver Island, British Columbia" canonical: "https://wildernessledger.com/experience/gods-pocket-resort" author: "Ben Taft" reviewed: "2026-09-14" operator: "https://www.godspocket.com" --- # God's Pocket Resort > God's Pocket Resort: no published price, since each week's price is set by its trip leader; a week is 6 nights with 5 dive days of 3 dives a day in 7 to 9°C water, in dive seasons of mid-March to end May and mid-August to end October (read September 2026), and the weeks sell out quickly. - Kind: Dive Resorts - Region: North Vancouver Island, British Columbia (gateway Port Hardy) - Season: not published; visibility is best from late autumn to early spring - Sleeps: 14 guests - Access: Boat, Float plane, Scheduled flight - Rate band: $, Under $500 per person / night - Canonical page: https://wildernessledger.com/experience/gods-pocket-resort - Operator site: https://www.godspocket.com - Record checked: 31 July 2026 by Ben Taft God's Pocket is an off-grid resort on Hurst Island, ten nautical miles from Port Hardy and reachable only by boat or seaplane. It has run as a land-based cold-water diving operation for over twenty-five years, working the walls of Browning Passage and the surrounding sites in Queen Charlotte Strait. The tidal exchange here is what makes the diving, currents drive nutrients up from depth and feed dense invertebrate life on the walls, and it is also what makes it technical, so the crew build a custom plan each day around slack water rather than running a fixed schedule. The dive boat carries a nitrox membrane system and a high-speed lift. Kayaking and rainforest hiking fill the surface intervals and give non-divers something to do. Trips are sold as scheduled multi-day departures rather than nightly rooms. ## From, per person What a dive week at God's Pocket buys, the terms you sign and the practicalities, from the resort's own pages. The resort prints no rates: its weeks are chartered by dive shops and clubs, and the trip leader for each week quotes the price. Ask the leader, or ask us and we will point you to the right week. Read from God's Pocket Resort, Diving at GP on 14 September 2026. ## At a glance - Dive seasons: Mid-Mar to end May (and mid-Aug to end Oct) - Price: Not published (set by each week's trip leader) - A week: 6 nights (5 dive days, 3 dives a day) - Experience: 100 dives (50 of them cold water, drysuit) - Water: 7 to 9°C (drysuit, and current) - Boat: 4 pm out (Port Hardy; back 9 am) - Wifi and cell: Very limited (messages only) - Sells out: Quickly (book the week well ahead) ## Included - Three boat dives a day on each dive day, weather and the captain permitting - One night or evening dive in the bay per week - The boat between the Quarterdeck Marina in Port Hardy and Hurst Island at the set pick-up and drop-off times - Your room, double occupancy by default, with ensuite bathroom (single occupancy at 20% on top of the package price) - Three meals a day plus baked snacks; a meal on arrival, a quick breakfast on departure day - Housekeeping - One LP 85 cubic foot steel tank per guest, with all the lead you need - Nitrox (31%) fills from the boat's membrane system - Use of the kayaks: three singles and two doubles, with gear - The forest trails, the covered sundeck and the marine reference library between dives ## Not included - Gratuities; the resort says the industry norm is 10% to 20% of the trip cost, pooled and shared equally by the crew, cash preferred - Everything but the tank and weights: your own drysuit and full kit, a dive computer and an SMB are required, and there is no rental gear on the island - Alcohol, and snack food beyond the juice, hot drinks, cookies, muffins and fruit the resort puts out - Transfers outside the group pick-up and drop-off: $450 in the Hurst Isle, $350 in the Ratfish, or a local water taxi at market rate, split among the passengers - Lost lead weights at $10 per pound - An in-water guide, which may be arranged with notice at extra cost - Merchandise from the gift shop - Getting to Port Hardy, and the weekly pay parking at the marina ## Deposit and cancellation - Deposit: 25% of the trip balance, due nine months before the trip starts. For the group that books a week there is also a reservation fee, non-refundable and non-transferable. - Balance due: The resort does not print a date for the final payment; ask your trip leader. - Any time after paying: Deposit and final payment are non-refundable - Transfers: Either can be moved to another pre-cleared diver, or to another date in the same season, subject to availability - Border closure or forced shutdown by pandemic regulation: Deposits refunded None, other than the pandemic exception. All invoices are in Canadian dollars and the resort takes no responsibility for shifts in exchange rates. Interac or bank transfer is preferred; Visa and MasterCard by phone, or any major card in the Shopify store or on WeTravel, may carry a surcharge for the card fee. Strongly encouraged, for both trip cancellation and diving; individual circumstances are not covered by the pandemic exception. Read from God's Pocket Resort, Deposit and Cancellation Policy on 14 September 2026. ## When it sells out In the resort's own words, the weeks during the season typically sell out quickly, and a whole-week booking should be made well in advance. The calendar shows most weeks held by a dive shop, club or private group; the resort occasionally pulls together a week of individuals itself. ## Questions people ask **How much does a dive week at God's Pocket cost?** The resort does not print a price. Trip weeks are generally reserved by a dive shop, a club or a group of friends, and to get a spot you contact the trip leader in charge of that week, who gives you both availability and the price. To book an entire week yourself, email team@godspocket.com. What the resort does publish is the shape of the package: six nights, five dive days, three boat dives a day, a night dive, all meals, tank, weights and nitrox, and the boat from Port Hardy. Single occupancy is 20% on top of the package price. **What does a dive week look like?** You are picked up at the Quarterdeck Marina fuel dock in Port Hardy at 4 pm on the first day, eat at the lodge that evening, and dive for five full days: three boat dives a day, each typically 45 minutes to an hour to match slack water, plus one night or evening dive in the bay during the week. The first dive is always a shallow check-out in a protected, soft-bottomed bay. Dives are planned each day by the crew around weather, tide and current rather than a fixed schedule; some sites can only be dived at slack, some are drift dives, and reef hooks are not used. There is no in-water guide: you plan and dive independently after a thorough briefing. A quick breakfast on the last morning, then the boat drops you back in Port Hardy at 9 am. Both times are weather dependent. **How experienced do I need to be?** A minimum of 100 dives, at least 50 of them in cold water in a drysuit, and comfort with current and independent dive planning. Water is 7 to 9°C. Bring certification cards and your log book, a dive computer (required) and an SMB. Cold-water and drysuit experience is, in the resort's words, an absolute must. **What is the boat like?** A 40-foot aluminium hull, the Hurst Isle, with twin engines, air banks that fill tanks between dives, a heated cabin you can sit in wearing your suit, tank racks and gear baskets for each diver, hot water for gloves and hoods, a camera rinse tank, a head, oxygen and first aid, hot drinks and snacks, and a hydraulic lift that brings you aboard without taking anything off. A ladder backs it up. A divemaster on board fills tanks and briefs each site. **What are the rooms like?** Rooms are double occupancy by default with ensuite bathrooms, on a bank of buildings along the boardwalk above the bay; the resort does not publish a room count. Towels, linen and pump hand soap are supplied; bring your own shampoo and toiletries. Rooms have 120-volt outlets, but nothing is left charging while everyone is out on the boat, and hair dryers, curlers and heaters are not allowed because of the off-grid batteries. **How do I get there, and how much can I bring?** Fly or drive to Port Hardy and be at the Quarterdeck Marina fuel dock, 6555 Hardy Bay Road, ready to load your gear onto the dive boat by 4 pm on the first day. Weekly pay parking is on both sides of the marina. The crossing is ten nautical miles. If you miss the group boat, a private run is $450 in the Hurst Isle or $350 in the Ratfish, or a local water taxi at market rate. The resort does not print a weight limit, but you bring all your own dive gear except tank and weights, so pack spares: wrist and neck seals, save-a-dive parts. Buy alcohol and snacks in Port Hardy before 4 pm, and allow time for it. **What is the food?** Three meals a day cooked by the resort's chefs and eaten together in the 1907 cabin that is now the galley and dining hall, with baked snacks, fruit, juice, coffee, tea and hot chocolate between. A meal on arrival day and a quick breakfast on departure day are in the package. Sodas, chips, chocolate bars and alcohol are yours to bring. **Is there anything for a non-diver, or between dives?** Three single and two double kayaks with gear are included, the forest trails on Hurst Island, a covered sundeck, a campfire and the marine species library in the clubhouse. Eagles, herons, mink and coastal wolves share the island; the resort asks that no food be left where animals can reach it. The resort also runs kayak weeks and retreats outside the dive seasons; ask them. **Is there wifi, cell signal or power?** Wifi is free but very limited in speed and data: messages yes, photographs and heavy apps no, because the crew need the bandwidth for weather, food orders and planning. Power is a battery bank charged by generators, wind and solar, so use is managed; water comes from a spring a kilometre away and a desalination unit, and showers and flushes are rationed. **What should I pack?** All personal dive gear including a drysuit, computer, SMB, underwater light and spare parts; certification cards and log book; hiking or rain boots, a rain jacket and warm clothing for between dives; a head lamp; sunglasses and sunblock; your own toiletries; and dive and trip insurance. In-water test anything new before you come: the resort fixes things but is not a dive shop. Open the God's Pocket packing list: https://wildernessledger.com/gods-pocket-packing-list **Do I tip?** Gratuities are not in the price. The resort says 10% to 20% of the trip cost is the industry norm, that every tip is pooled and split equally among the crew who were with you, and that cash is preferred so nothing goes to the card company. **When are the dive seasons, and which is better?** Mid-March to the end of May, and mid-August to the end of October, every year. The resort does not rank them; the diving pages describe the same current-fed walls in both. Water sits at 7 to 9°C year-round. ## Stories - Cold water, bright life: my week at God's Pocket: https://wildernessledger.com/guides/cold-water-gods-pocket (plain text: https://wildernessledger.com/guides/cold-water-gods-pocket.md) ## Sources - God's Pocket Resort, Diving at GP: https://www.godspocket.com/diving/ (read 14 September 2026) - God's Pocket Resort, Know Before You Go (diving edition): https://www.godspocket.com/know-before-you-go/ (read 14 September 2026) - God's Pocket Resort, Deposit and Cancellation Policy: https://www.godspocket.com/deposit-cancellation/ (read 14 September 2026) - God's Pocket Resort, schedule (trip calendar): https://www.godspocket.com/schedule/ (read 14 September 2026) - God's Pocket Resort, About us: https://www.godspocket.com/about-us/ (read 14 September 2026) - God's Pocket Resort, home page: https://www.godspocket.com/ (read 14 September 2026) Canonical page: https://wildernessledger.com/experience/gods-pocket-resort Written by Ben Taft, Photographer and filmmaker, The Wilderness Ledger (https://wildernessledger.com/about). Ben Taft visited and photographed God's Pocket Resort in person; the figures above are from the operator's own published material, read on the dates shown. Every photograph and film is his. Publisher: The Wilderness Ledger. Corrections: hello@wildernessledger.com.