Resorts & Cities:
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Driving Times:
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 Whistler |
Vancouver Airport - Whistler |
2 1/2 hrs
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Vancouver |
Whistler - Tofino (via ferry)
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full day
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Tofino - Victoria
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4 1/2 - 5 hrs
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Victoria - Vancouver (via ferry) |
3 - 4 hrs
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Vancouver Island is a great addition to your Whistler holiday - we suggest a minimum of 3 nights or more if possible. You will need to hire a car in Whistler the evening before as you will have to make an early start the following morning.
The first leg is the drive down to Horseshoe to catch the ferry (www.bcferries.com) to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. The ferry journey is really picturesque as it threads its way through wooded islands. From Nanaimo you will drive across Vancouver Island to Tofino - there are lots of opportunities en-route to stop and take in the stunning scenery. There's a great stopping-off point at Cathedral Grove - an area of huge old-growth forest - www.cathedralgrove.se. Although the distance is not great, the drive is fairly slow going – without stops it is about a 3 hour drive.
Tofino, Vancouver Island:
With an early start from Whistler (05.30 – 06.00) you can expect to arrive just after lunch. You will then spend 2 or 3 nights in Tofino – for accommodation options please see below.
Close to Tofino Town is The Pacific Rim National Park Reserve of Canada - www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/bc/pacificrim/ - this link has a list of all the walks and information about the park, and to enter you will need to purchase a Park Pass. Days can be easily filled just wandering along the beaches, staring at the ocean and walking in the National Parks.
Whale Watching:
The area is also famous for its whales - between March and May each spring the entire North American population of Pacific Grey Whales migrate along the west coast of Vancouver Island, B.C.
An estimated 22,000 grey whales make the journey from Mexican Baja Peninsula along the west coast to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi Seas near the Arctic. This makes it the longest migration of any mammal and during this period it is the best time to see groups of whales with their young.
The migration passes very close to the shoreline, and this means that there are excellent viewing opportunities from the rocky headlands along the coast between Ucluelet and Tofino.
Every year there is a festival to celebrate this amazing natural phenomenon - the 23 Annual Pacific Rim Whale Festival - March 14-22, 2009 - http://www.pacificrimwhalefestival.org/index.html
During this festival, free public viewing stations are available at Amphitrite Point Lighthouse in Ucluelet and at the Wickaninnish Centre in the Pacific Rim National Park. To get even closer to these magnificient animals you will need to take a whale watching trip or a floatplane excursuion from Ucluelet or Tofino.
Remote Passages - www.remotepassages.com – offer a wide range to trips out of Tofino, the trips offered depend on the time of year. These take you through the pristine waters of the Clayoquot Sound, revealing sensational scenery, and wildlife such as Gray whales, sea lions, seals, porpoise and Killer whales. The area is also known for its variety of sea birds, including tufted puffins, and the numbers of resident bald eagles.
Hot Springs Cove :
Hot Springs Cove is a natural hot spring located in Maquinna Provincial Park in the remote north end of Clayoquot Sound. The Hot Springs Cove is reached by walking along a 2 kilometre-long wooden boardwalk trail from the dock and is available from March to October.
Bear Watching:
Coastal Bear Watching from a Zodiac speedboat, available from April to October.
Storm Watching:
Tofino is also renowned for storm watching - a wondrous West Coast spectacle, at its best during the fall and winter months. Starting in October, a vast, persistent low-pressure system establishes itself in the Gulf of Alaska and begins to deepen. The turbulent frontal zone between arctic and subtropical air masses shifts southward and the Island finds itself in the path of the storm track. All through November, December, January and February, gale after gale slams into these exposed western shores. Experience the raw power of the mighty Pacific Ocean as ferocious waves roll in from Japan and pound the shores of the rugged west coast - nature in all it's fierce majesty! Storm watching is stirring for children and adults alike, whether snug in a room with a view or out in a ferocious gale. On the west coast of Vancouver Island you can watch as the open Pacific unleashes its wrath against the shore. Waves 8 feet high roll in and pound the rocky headlands, hurling themselves up on the beach.
Accommodation Options in Tofino:
The Wickaninnish Inn
The Wick, as it is known, is a small, stylish property perched on a rocky promontory surveying the Pacific Ocean. The hotel's renowned Pointe restaurant is built on stilts and in stormy weather waves wash beneath it. Rooms all have an ocean view with floor to ceiling picture windows and private balconies. The furnishings are relaxed and tasteful with a book collection, binoculars, private bar, writing desk, microwave and coffee maker as well as a large screen TV and down duvets. Bathrooms have an oversized soaker tub, aromatherapy bath salts and terry bathrobes. You can upgrade to a room on the second or third floors, which have even better views. Ancient Cedars Spa offers a wide range of treatments, but a walk along neighbouring Chesterman Beach is pretty invigorating.
Long Beach Lodge
Slightly more low-key than the Wickaninnish Inn, The Long Beach Lodge gives you first class service but in a relaxed and informal setting. The Lodge comprises a main Lodge building and self contained Cottages. The rooms in the Lodge offer either spectacular ocean views or tranquil forest views. The Cottages are tucked into the forest and offer a tranquil escape. In the Main Lodge room there is a bar and excellent restaurant, it is a great place to relax and watch the ocean below. There's a comfortable, modern rustic feel to the Lodge - wood-burning fireplaces and freshly baked breakfast goodies add to the appeal - and there is easy access to both beaches and woodland.
The rest of the trip:
From Tofino you can either head straight back to the mainland or you can extend your stay and have a night or two in Victoria. You will drive straight past Victoria on the way to the ferry, so it is an easy addition to include.
You catch the ferry from Swartz Bay, near Victoria, to Tsawwassen at the south of Vancouver which is convenient for the airport and the City. This is a different route to the way out, and in fact the scenery on this leg is even more stunning than the outbound leg – keep a look out for wildlife.
The city of Victoria is located at the southern tip of Vancouver Island and is known for its genteel English atmosphere(!), the famous Butchart gardens - www.butchartgardens.com - and its impressive waterfront situation. It is also possible to go whale watching from Victoria between April and October.
Whale watching from Victoria:
During the months of April through to the beginning of October the salmon populations are migrating through the Southern Vancouver Island area on their way to the spawning grounds. During these months, the resident Killer Whales spend much of their time around Victoria and San Juan Island feeding on the natural abundance of salmon, one of their principal diet sources.
Prior to October you can still take a boat based trip – expect to see a diverse selection of wintering birds, seals, sea lions and porpoise and occasionally you will get to see a Southern Killer Whale, Transient Killer Whales (mammal eaters), Gray Whales, Humpbacks, and Minke Whales.
Click here to request a quotation tailored to your requirements, or please call us on
01273 224 060.