Vancouver Island Travel Forum

and I'm looking for some input from you fine people! We are flying into Victoria on the evening of May 14 and leaving again on The morning of May 20. We are a family of 5...3 kids ages 10, 12 and 15. Right now, the rough plan is to stay in the Victoria/Sidney area the first 2 days (and after reading some of this forum already, I think we will get to Witty's Lagoon too!), then on to Nanaimo to visit friends, then to Campbell River,and finally to Ucluelet/Tofino for (again, after reading here!) 2 days. Then back to Victoria on the last night.
Is this too much? Should we bother with Campbell River?
We definitely want to do whale watching, but where would be better this time of year...out of Sidney or Tofino?
We obviously want to do some outdoor exploring, but our daughter is 15...she won't be keen on too much trail walking!!
I've heard the Butchart Gardens and Butterfly Gardens are amazing.
Any suggestions and help would be awesome!!
Thanks!!

For whalewatching: check with this tour group: princeofwhales.com. On their site, they list prices for day-whalewatching tours and where they have seen the whales recently. Very economical and fun! Tofino or even Ucluelet is always the best spot i've heard, but a good starter for your research may very well be this website. Otherwise, your itinerary looks good. I haven't been to Campbell River, but I have visited the other towns you've listed. have fun!

I really wouldn't bother going to Campbell River unless you want to go out fishing in a small boat. Not much of interest there.

You can take some nice tours out to see the whales from the harbor in Victoria. Be sure and dress warm, even in the summer. We haven't been to Nanaimo but we heard that its nice.
Mike

I'm originally from Vancouver Island, so here are my thoughts:

Whale watching - I haven't been whale watching in either Victoria or Tofino, however I've heard good things about the Victoria one. The only one I've been to is way up island, however that's much too long of a drive for you guys. I'd stick with Victoria whale watching if I were you.

Butterfly Gardens - It has butterflies.. not much else.. I think you'd have to REALLY like butterflies to bother going there.

Butchart Gardens - It has flower.. lots and lots and lots of flowers. It's great for taking pictures and for people who love flowers/plants/trees/etc. It's a very beautiful place and has fireworks during the summer on Saturday nights I think.. but I don't think they start until June.. might want to check their website to be sure.

Campbell River - Not too much to say about it.. it's on the ocean so it's nice.. there's a pier you can walk on where people are fishing off. Like someone else said, there are lots of good fishing charters.. Other than that.. your time would be better spent elsewhere.

Tofino/Ucluelet - Lots of walking and nature type stuff to do for this trip. On the way to Tofino/Ucluelet (before you hit Port Alberni) you drive through Cathedral Grove which is some amazing old growth forest that you may want to spend some time walking a bit around. Port Alberni is good if you want fishing charters, but other than that there's not a lot to see and do. On your drive to Ucluelet/Tofino, enjoy the drive (it's windy and very up and down) and watch for bears on the sides of the road. Most times I've driven to Tofino I've seen at least one bear. As for Ucluelet, it's a small town where there are some nice walking/hiking trails to go along. Tofino is bigger and is usually much busier, but not in a crowded way (if that makes any sense). There are a lot of unique shops and places to eat. On your way to Tofino there are also lots of places you can turn off and walk along the beach. One of the most popular is Wickaninnish where there is a resort, restaurant and of course beach. There's also another turnoff that takes you way up a hill where you overlook the forest and the ocean. I think the name of it makes it obvious which one it is, but I just can't remember the name. Either way, there are tons of different places to walk along the beach.

Victoria - Downtown Victoria is where most tourists go. There's an old style downtown area with a beautiful waterfront, which is also where the parliament buildings are and where the Empress Hotel is located. There's also shopping at the Bay Centre as well as lots of stores along Government Street (which will likely make your daughter happy :) Other possibilities would be the Undersea Gardens, Miniature World and the Wax Museum.

Parksville/Qualicum Beach - Other places to consider as these towns would be on your way to Tofino so you could stop there if you like. Parksville is a popular beach where your kids may enjoy, particularly if it is pretty warm out. Qualicum is also a nice beach to walk along and there are beautiful sunsets right on the ocean there.

Coombs Market - Also on your way to Tofino, it's an old market that has all sorts of organic or locally made arts/crafts/food and there are even goats that live on the roof! Lots of people tend to like this place (myself included :)

Nanaimo - As your friends live there they can probably help you out, but here are some attractions to possibly look into: Woodgrove Mall (for your daughter), Piper's Lagoon (for a nice walk) and Swy-a-lana Lagoon (for a walk as well as few interesting shops, ice cream, coffee, etc.).

That's probably a bit of information overload. Hopefully some of it helps. If you have any other questions or want other recommendations, let me know. Also, if you have any info on things that you enjoy doing, I could probably help further as I probably forgot a lot of activities to do and places to see. Have fun!

Butchart Gardens is definitely worth a visit - and plenty of grounds for the kids to run around on. Another enjoying thing we did while in Victoria was have tea at the Empress Hotel - beautiful hotel with amazing view of the harbour. You can also have the staff make up a picnic for you which you can take and eat in one of the nearby parks.

Thanks for all your responses!! You've been very helpful!
I guess we'll cross Campbell River off and just head to the west coast side!