Vancouver Island Travel Forum

we are going to van island in may 07, with a view of emigrating. Where do we stay thats not only beautiful and suitable for two young kids, but also central enough in order for us to see as much of the island as poss. We really like the look of sooke but could anyone tell us if this is out on a limb, we dont fancy being in the car for hours. Can anyone give us some tips?? it all looks lovely!! help us, its hard to choose on the internet!!

Sooke is an hour's drive from Victoria and is beautiful. You can do an easy hike along the Juan de Fuca trail, and see sea lions basking in the sun. Also, there is Alyard Farm, near one of the trailheads, and it is an abandoned apple farm, so there's still apple trees there ripe for the picking.

Here's a handy website:

http://www.sooke.org/

Sooke is more south of the island. If you want to be more central to sights on the Island, Parksville and Qualicum Beach are two other very nice little communities. You could do Tofino as a day trip from Parksville and Q. Beach, but it will be a pretty long day. The highway there is quite winding, so a short distance is actually pretty long.

Unfortunately, there's really no one place on Vancouver Island where you can be central to absolutely everywhere on the island. For example, it takes 7-8 hours of driving just to get from Sooke (in the extreme south-western point of the island) to the extreme northern tip of the island.

If you don't want to be driving for hours on end, I'd suggest having several overnight stays in various parts of the island. On one night I might recommend Sooke or Victoria (there's a lot more going on in Victoria, but Sooke has more wilderness). Another area to consider might be Parksville or Nanaimo, which is about a 2 hour drive north of Victoria. From Nanaimo/Parksville to the west coast of Vancouver Island takes another 3 hours. The west coast of Vancouver Island, between Tofino and Ucluelet is often argued to be the most beautiful spot on Vancouver Island because of its lust old growth rainforests and endless sandy beaches. However, it makes a great place to visit and vacation but might not be ideal for living, unless you don't mind living in very small towns.

and that should have said *lush* old growth rainforests!!

That's very funny Carmanah . . . Vancouver Island does have it's attractions.

Briandeacle, do you intend to work here, and if so, in what sort of area would you need to live?

On this trip, do you primarily want to find out what area you want to move to, or do you want to see as much as possible of all the varied areas?

Do you want to do some wilderness exploration, backpacking, kayaking etc or do you want to drive around the cities and small towns?


Also, do you have any special interests, hobbies or clubs you belong to, that might lead to opportunities for you to meet like-minded people?

I agree that it would be difficult to see the Island from one base of operations. Better to stay in a few different areas.

BillJx
Nanaimo
http://www.vancouverisland.com/regions/towns/?townID=58

This has been so helpful for me as well.
This is my first trip into Canada.
I was going to make VI the 2nd leg of my journey, beginning in Seattle.
Now I'm rethinking that.

If you have any more words of wisdom, please share.
My trip will be around the 1st of March 07.

PilotGal, if you haven't already, I'd post a new question on the forum so that more people will be able to see your questions and answer them. Since we don't know how much time you have, what budget you have, what kinds of things interest you, and how you're planning to travel around, it's hard to know exactly how to give you more suggestions on Vancouver Island. :)

Although a great website, if you haven't seen it already, is www.vancouverisland.com. My favourite part about that site is the link titled "Regions and Towns", because it breaks down the different regions of Vancouver Island quite nicely, and gives a lot of information on all the cities and towns (and parks and attractions, etc) that exist there. The site is a wealth of information!

Another suggestion is to browse through the Vancouver Island pages here on Virtual Tourist, particularly the pages that people have built on Vancouver Island, and its destinations (ie: Victoria, Pacific Rim National Park, Tofino, etc).