Vancouver Island Vacation Recommendations

[Delphinus]

Tofino isn't about sitting on a beach.. But it is rustic - If you're not into seeing the raw rainforest then it might not be for you. I like going there but then that's because it's a very cool destination for kayaking. If you set up base camp in, say, the Parksville area then you can do Tofino/Ucluelet as a day trip (a long day trip, but a day trip nonetheless) and then you can decide whether it's worth returning for a longer stay on a future trip. Accomodations can be sketchy (your choices are limited to some very expensive resorts, or bed & breakfasts, or camping. But forget camping unless you're prepared to pre-book three months in advance!)

If you do, there are some amazing day trips you can make out of Tofino such as Hot Springs Cove.

But if you do, say, make base camp in Parsville or Qualicum, you can also get to Port Alberni. The MV Lady Rose is an old ferry which makes a run to the Broken Group Islands and to Bamfield. Be prepared for an early start though, the boat leaves dock at 8am sharp and P.A. is a bit of a hike from Parksville. I've done it so it can be done just be prepared for an early start to the day. But it's a worthwhile day trip in my opinion. Bamfield is another one of those rustic places that may turn your crank or it may not. It's also way out in the middle of nowhere, and unless you're a marine biologist working at the Station, or a hiker embarking or disembarking the WCT (West Coast Trail), or a hippee, you may not find there's much there for you. But the trip there is something else. Don't drive to Bamfield, you'll only see clear cuts and logging roads, but the boat to Bamfield is just out of this world.

Having hiked the WCT twice in my life I have a strong affinity for the area out there. But it's not necessarily everyone's cup of tea. I suggest you have to do it once and then decide whether there's enough connection for you to figure out where to go next. The west coast of the island is pure raw nature. The east coast is more, for lack of a better term, civilized.

If you are into beaches Hornby Island has an incredible beach that on a sunny day, you will not beleive you're in Canada anymore, but stepped through a portal to the south Pacific. If you're into diving, Hornby Island also offers a rather different experience, you can dive and see six gill sharks. Nowhere else are these guys found outside tropical waters, or so I understand, but off Hornby there's a spot they like to congregate. Weird stuff.

Rathtrevor beach is a very family friendly campground. I've been going to that spot since the early seventies (and I was 3 years old). But if you want to camp there, again, be prepared to book three months in advance. It is, quite literally, the most popular campground in the province. At one time it was, at least. A few years there it suddenly wasn't, when there was fungus discovered growing on trees. However West Nile and SARS have taken over that hysteria these days and people are returning to the spot.

If you're into windsurfing or kitesailing and fancy yourself as better than average, try out the Alberni inlet or Nitinat Lake.

If you're into seeing really big trees, another thing to consider is visiting Carmanah provincial park. A really long day trip from anywhere though, on long dusty bumpy logging roads. It's probably worth doing once though, I think. One thing to bear in mind though, at one time you used to be able to touch the coast from Carmanah, but ever since the WCT invoked a reservation system the network of paths were shutdown being squatters were sneaking onto the trail from there and thereby avoiding the fees and so on. So if people tell you "oh you can get onto the WCT from there" .. no .. no you can't. Not without risking getting in trouble, anyhow. But Carmanah is a fabulous old growth forest. Well worth seeing.

Hiking the WCT is something you should do once in your lifetime. I've done it twice. It ranks right up there with, say, hiking the Machu Pikku trail, as one of those "ultimate backpacking adventures" and it's right out on our doorstep (figuratively). I.e., the Inca trail is somewhat further away.

There is now the Juan de Fuca trail south of Port Renfrew (the other endpoint of the WCT). It's somewhat easier to traverse, you don't quite have to be an extreme granola in order to get to it and hike it (or parts of it). Something I've been meaning to check out.

Oh yeah, there's good mountain biking too on the Island. But maybe I've talked enough for now.

I could just go on and on.

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by TheReefGeek

Thanks Steve for the info, I had read about Horn Lake Caving and was planning to go there, I do enjoy caving and they have some neat 3 and 4 hour tours there.

Most people seem to enjoy the west end of the island around Tofino, what is there to do there? It seems to me that most of the stuff to do is alone the east side.

Im not into sitting on the beach, so maybe Tonfino is not the place for me?

the west side is beautiful, bug waves, windy rainy but what you have is the main road running up the east side then there will be a turn off to tofino, so you go there, now to get to another place say north of tofino you have to go all the way ears again to the main road and go north until you find the next west turn off, that is unless you are into logging roads with no directions depending what time of summer you are looking at you might want to go to long beach over night if there is a festival going on like the sand castle competition, it is pretty amazing.

Steve

[TheReefGeek]

Steve, so you don't think Tofino is worth the driving in your opinion?