Vancouver Island Travel Forum

We will be traveling to British Columbia for the first time this March. We have only six nights and are hoping to see some beautiful places and some wildlife! Because we are used to Hawai‘i weather, we are kind of wimpy when it comes to cold and wet and are hoping for a bit of sunshine.
Current Plan: We fly in & out of Vancouver

First 3 nights in Victoria-- day trips from there where would be best?
--Sooke, Port Renfrew, or Horne Lake Caves? We would LOVE to see Orca but is that possible in March?

Fourth night--this is up in the air. This trip seems too short for a good stay near Tofino. Is it worth trying to go north to increase our chances of seeing Orca? or should we go to the Gulf or San Juan Islands? anyone have a favorite that would be good for a short trip?

Nights 5 & 6--We are planning on staying in Vancouver so that we can have at least one full day there.

I would appreciate any ideas or suggestions. We have never been to BC and are really looking forward to it!

If you want sunshine, I would recommend that you push your travel dates back at least a couple of months. March is still "rainy season" for the coast. The BC coast gets most of its rain during the winter months. It will be cold (for you) and gray.

There were about 10 Orcas in Nanaimo Harbour in November. It is a bit of a dice roll, I don't crap shoot will come out, on where orcas will be at any given time.
Tofino is a great experience but, alot like the North Shore with cold, grey and wet weather. Port Alberni may be all you need to get to for a great scenic drive. Then take the ferry from Nanaimo to Vancouver and go to Squamish, Brackendale, for the Bald Eagles. Vancouver is worth at least 2 full days.

I agree that if you can postpone your trip until at least later May or June, you'll probably find it less grey, cold, and rainy. But of course, coming from Hawaii, even our summers will feel cold to you - it's all relative, right?

You definitely don't have enough time to get to Tofino. It takes 5 hours to drive there from Victoria and there's no point going there if you can't commit 3 nights there.

With 6 nights I'd either do half the time in Vancouver and half the time in Victoria (and Sooke/Port Renfrew), or I'd do half the time in Vancouver and the other half in Tofino - being aware of travel times - it also takes 5 hours to get to Tofino from Vancouver.

Thanks for the suggestions!
Changing the dates of the trip is not an option because of work.
YVRDave--I had wondered if Tofino might not be a bit like a stormy North Shore and we spend a lot of time out there and know big waves well. You mention driving up to Port Alberni and Squamish--would you recommend that over Port Renfrew or a Gulf Island? is it a better spot to see wildlife? Also you mention seeing Orca near Nanaimo--do I have better odds of seeing Orca from Nanaimo vs from Victoria?
Carmanah--splitting the time sounds like a good plan.

We had thought we might stop at a Gulf Island for one night between the two. Does anyone have any favorites? Would it be simpler to just do it as a day trip out of Victoria?
thanks so much for the help!

The reason to drive to Port Alberni was to drive through the Cathedral Forest. Huge trees.
I really don't know Port Renfrew. Sooke, i only know the Sooke Harbour House. I stop at Pedder Bay and go fishing. Having been born here I see trees and wildlife constantly and don't go looking.
Gulf Island I would recommend is Pender Island. Have a look at otter Bay and Poets Cove. There is a fantastic Frech style Bistro just up the road from Otter Bay and Poets Cove is spectacular on its own.
Re:Orcas, they may be in either spot, or even Campbell River.
Squamish is an hour from where the Nanaimo Ferry lands. Great Eagle viewing in Brackendale.

If you can’t change the dates, I wouldn’t’ fret it. You’re coming to a rainforest zone in early spring – the Japanese cherry blossoms should already be in bloom in places like Victoria. It will certainly be cool (temperatures in the 50s) and while March is a wetter than the summer, you can still easily get sunny days. Either way, I wouldn’t’ let the weather stop you.

Coming from Hawaii, I do think Tofino might seem a bit similar in terms of waves and lush old growth rainforests. Of course, these are temperate rainforests so they’ll offer a different atmosphere than in Hawaii.

March is too early for going on whale watching trips, but there is one pod of orcas that live in the waters all year round. The problem is, the whales swim vast distances over the span of a day, so in the morning they could be swimming around the San Juan Islands. By afternoon they could be over south of Victoria by a mile… and later in the evening they could be up towards Nanaimo. But they might not even be anywhere near the shore. They could also head off to the open ocean for a few days. Seeing them from the shore is not something you can really plan around… it’s a matter of being in the right place at the right time. I would not go anywhere with the sole intent of hoping to see whales from the shore, but if you’re on the ferry going across to Vancouver Island, keep your eyes out just in case.

I have spent a bit of time around Sooke. The town is nothing special but if you drive beyond Sooke to the Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, that’s where you get old growth temperate rainforest along the beach. The last time I was there I saw river otters, snakes, eagles, and seals. I wrote in detail about my experience there, so if you even read the first page, you’ll get a feel for the area:

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/1b080/dcb2f/

I think with 3 days in Vancouver you could use one of the days to drive up to Squamish and back. I would take Marine Drive in West Vancouver to Horseshoe Bay first, and then continue north to Squamish. Of course, if it’s raining, then you really won’t have much of a view – and the view is the reason for driving this.

Victoria itself is a small city and spend one day exploring the city and the next day driving to Sooke, Jordan River, and Port Renfrew. Be sure to visit Juan de Fuca Provincial Park – the large plot of forest between Port Renfrew and Jordan River. It looks like nothing from the side of the road – you’ll have to drive down to Botanical Beach, China Beach, or Sombrio Beach. The second photo on my Home Page gives you a sense of the forests at Sombrio Beach. The drive from the highway down to the parking lot is gravel with a lot of pot holes – just a warning!

For the Gulf Islands – each one has its own personality. I love Galiano Island because it is more rustic and more wild – lots of unique marine life on the shores. Check out my Galiano Island page for photos/ideas of what there is. Saltspring is another popular place – it’s larger, more developed, more pastoral with a huge arts community. I’ve only been to Pender once but it felt very residential to me. You can easily spend 2 nights in Victoria and on the third day take a ferry to one of the Gulf Islands (check the schedules on www.bcferries.bc.ca as there can often only two sailings per day in March). Then the next day take the ferry back to Vancouver.

Keep in mind, taking a ferry from downtown Vancouver to downtown Victoria will eat up at least 3-4 hours of travel because the ferry takes 1.5 hours and both terminals are located a 30-45 minute drive outside of either city… and that doesn’t include the potential wait at the terminal.

Thanks for the great info!
both of you have given me a lot to think about. I had definitely been wanting to drive over to Port Renfrew or somewhere nearby and I will definitely check out your page on that, Carmanah. We do want to see the rainforest there, and I am sure it is VERY different from here.
If we were to drive up north on a day trip should we go up from Victoria to Port Alberni or up from Vancouver up to Sqamish?
I will also look up a bit more about the Pender Island and Galiano. Do either of you have a particular place you like to stay on the islands?
From what I have read, Saturna Island looked great, but I don't see a lot of info about it. Has anyone been there? Is it just too time-consuming to get to?
Thanks for all the suggestions. We are getting all excited for the trip!

I agree, if you can't change your travel dates don't let that stop you from visiting. Just do what the locals do - pack your umbrella and don't let the weather slow you down!

There is a ferry to Saturna from the main Victoria dock, so it is accessible.
By the way I was just assuming you would be driving up the Malahat highway from Victoria to Nanaimo. If you aren't, Squamish is a bit further.