Halifax company brings adventure to the waterfront

A Nova Scotia tour operator helps visitors experience the Halifax Waterfront from a unique vantage point.

There was a vacancy on the Halifax waterfront for adventures, so Omar Hasson decided to fill it.

“Halifax is a coastal city, and it’s right on the harbor,” he said. “The harbour has a lot of history, a lot of great things to see between islands, forests, marine life, you name it.

“So, we thought, you know what? Why don’t we institute together something fun and exciting?”

After visiting Vancouver and experiencing a similar type of attraction, Hassan and his business partner, Ossama Nasrallah, decided to start Harbour Watercraft Tours & Adventure Rentals in 2019.

“Halifax year over year has been having great additions to what people can do. But back in 2018, there wasn’t nearly as much of the activities that you can do now,” said Hassan. “It wasn’t easy by any means, especially rental in the Halifax Harbour. And then two students trying to get that started.

“Our most proud moment is having one employee at the time, one full time employee, and as of now, we have 17 between full time and parttime.”

The pair were roommates at Saint Mary’s University. Hassan moved to the Maritimes from Egypt in 2012.

It started smaller with Sea-Doo rentals and kayaking, and has continued to grow over the years.

“You have cruises, you have kayaks, you have deep-sea fishing. And you have guided tours that people can learn a little bit about the history,” Hassan said.

Hassan focuses on the history of the city when giving guided kayaks tours, as well as a faster speedboat cruise.

“Halifax carries a ton of history and really cool facts. There’s a bunch of Volkswagens at the very bottom of the Bedford Basin. Did you know that?” he said.

“Fishing was introduced back in 2023. And then from there it really boomed. People have been loving it. Rain or shine, which we love actually, because normally when it’s raining, everything else shuts down. But then the fishing kind of keeps going and people love it.”

The deep-sea fishing appeals to tourists and locals alike.

“It’s about 40 per cent to 60 per cent local and verse tourists. It’s very independent of the year,” he said. “We sometimes consider all of the Maritimes locals, including New Brunswick, P.E.I. But if we if we would focus only on Halifax and Halifax customers, those would be more in the 40 per cent of our customers.”

For those looking to rent a Sea-Doo in the harbour, there is an age limit and a 30-minute lesson.

“From there that’s when they always go out with a guide. All the machines are monitored and geofenced,” he said. “With the kayaks, we wanted something more relaxing. Still an adventure that’s kind of the basis of all our offerings, but something more exciting as well.”

They operate mid-May through mid-October in Halifax.

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