Listening to the locals adds interest to an independent tour of Canada’s Vancouver Island

British Columbia in September 2014.

We arrived on the island by ferry at the charming little port town of Sidney. In beautiful weather, we enjoyed delicious cappuccinos in one of Sidney’s many sidewalk cafés, strolled to the end of the town pier and stopped to chat with locals before heading to our cozy digs in Victoria, British Columbia’s provincial capital.

Victoria

What a beautiful city! Victoria, situated on the water, was sparkling. We were so glad to be spending more than just a day there.

Previously, we had visited Victoria on day trips only, taking in the world-famous Butchart Gardens, but on this visit we had the luxury of three days to explore. 

Our Airbnb.com apartment ($75 per night) in suburban Victoria was among the best in which we have stayed, and this certainly added to our pleasure. Everything was perfect. The location was fantastic, and we were pampered by our hosts. (Note: the apartment has since been sold so is no longer listed online.)

Exploring Vancouver Island’s largest city (about 350,000 people), we ventured into Victoria’s Chinatown, the oldest in Canada; discovered well-manicured suburbs; enjoyed a delightful 45-minute cruise (www.victoriaharbourferry.com) on her Inner Harbour ($24 per adult); saw float planes take off and land; dined on simple, fresh fish straight from the sea at Red Fish Blue Fish (1006 Wharf St.; www.redfish-bluefish.com), located on the waterfront; attended the annual Greek Festival; checked out Craigdarroch Castle (1050 Joan Crescent; www.thecastle.ca), the mansion of coal baron Robert Dunsmuir, and were warmly welcomed by very friendly Canadians everywhere we went. Superb weather added to our enjoyment of the city.

Afternoon tea in Victoria is an old English tradition. While The Empress Hotel is famous for it, we found the prices there had shot through the roof (CAD50, or $41, per person). With some online research, we found a wonderful alternative — just as elegant in atmosphere and serving delicious fare at a fraction of the price (CAD27 per person). The Venus Sophia (540 Fisgard St.; www.venussophia.com) was definitely a hidden gem. 

Now it was time to discover more of Vancouver Island!

Meanderings 

With no particular destination in mind, we left Victoria by car and meandered to the west coast wilderness. We were immediately rewarded with magnificent views along the rugged coastline before we headed inland, back toward the east coast, seeing giant, majestic Western redcedar and Douglas fir trees stretching hundreds of feet into the sky. 

While we could have taken the Trans-Canada Highway and quickly reached the town of Duncan, our lodging stop for the night at the renovated and comfortable Thunderbird Motor Inn (5849 York Rd.; www.thunderbirdmotorinn.ca), we instead took all day on the Pacific Marine Circle Route and loved every minute of it. 

There is something to be said for taking time to explore this region in depth at a “snail’s pace,” stopping for coffee and meeting locals who were amazed that we had come all the way from Florida to check out this very special part of the world. 

There was no better way to end our day than to dine on fresh fish at nearby Maple Bay Marina with Duncan’s yachties.

Vancouver Island (VI) boasts of having Canada’s best climate, particularly in summer, and we have to agree. We experienced perfect sightseeing and touring weather, especially for our explorations as we headed up the east coast. 

Tourist towns

Most of the region once enjoyed prosperity through the coal, logging and shipping industries, but many towns came upon hard times. Today, however, there is a booming tourist season, with many towns cleverly “reinventing” themselves.

Duncan is known as the City of Totems, and its First Nation Quw’utsun’ Cultural & Conference Centre (200 Cowichan Way; www.quwutsun.ca) was fascinating. There is also Chemainus, or Muraltown, with some 42 colorful wall murals documenting the town’s history, and Nanaimo, the revitalized port for ferries and float plane service to the city of Vancouver.

Farther up the east coast of VI are many delightful holiday towns, catering to families and retirees. 

In Parksville we visited charming Morningstar Farm (403 Lowry’s Rd.; www.morningstarfarm.ca) for wine and cheese tasting. We also had an excellent dinner at the highly recommended Kalvas in Parksville (180 Moilliet Street at Island Highway North; www.kalvastheloghouse.com). Entrées averaged CAD20-CAD30.

Then, like the numerous flocks of Canada geese (called “honkers” because of their loud noise) that passed over us everywhere in perfect V formations, we had to continue our journey of exploration and discovery.

To the (wild) west 

We now set our sights on VI’s west, passing through rugged, “wild” mountains and forests to the deepwater inland port of Port Alberni, our base for the region.

It so happened we arrived in time for the annual Salmon Festival, which attracts hundreds of avid fishermen to Canada’s “ultimate fishing town,” each in pursuit of the $15,000 prize for catching the Big One. 

We joined in the festivities — music, dancing and food — and even saw a black bear on the opposite foreshore.

A highlight in this area was a wonderful day excursion from Port Alberni. We cruised 35 miles down Alberni Inlet to Bamfield (CAD37 one way), a cozy hamlet near the Pacific Ocean. Our voyage on the freighter MV Frances Barkley, originally built in Norway for the coastal route there, took us to several waypoints as it dropped off cargo, giving new meaning to the expression door-to-door delivery! (Booking information can be found at www.ladyrosemarine.com.) 

Our sighting of a family of bald eagles, high in a tree, was a delight as well. 

Another great all-day outing took us on a winding but scenic road to Tofino and Ucluelet (“Ukee”) on the Pacific Ocean. These bustling but remote towns are separated by the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and its many surfing beaches. Funky, alternative and quaint, they were packed for the end-of-summer Labor Day weekend.

Comox Valley

The Comox Valley is renowned as a “foodie” region, with estate wines, farm-to-table markets and upscale restaurants. Its principal town, Courte­nay, is home to an eclectic mix of New Age shops, holistic health clinics, yoga studios and a French patisserie to rival anything in Paris. It was all great fun!

Just out of town, the vibe changed at Cumberland. A prosperous coal mining town in the 1880s, it is now just a shadow of its former self, with a handful of heritage facades.

Our favorite was the seaside town of Comox, where we stayed at the well-run, reasonably priced (CAD73-CAD99 per night, breakfast included), well-located and very comfortable Port Augusta Inn & Suites (2082 Comox Ave.; www.portaugustainn.com). Lunch overlooking the busy marina with a flurry of pleasure boats passing by was a delight. 

Of particular interest was the Comox Air Force Museum (19 Wing Military Row; www.comoxairforce museum.ca) on the nearby Canadian Air Base Comox. 

Continuing to listen to the locals, we found a real English-style pub (tucked down a rural road), stopped at a “therapeutic nursery” to buy plants for our kind hostess in Victoria, popped into an estate winery and a farm market and lingered at a hidden BC provincial park on the water, watching birds pick at fresh salmon they had just caught. 

Under clear, blue, sunny fall skies, with the trees changing color and snow-covered mountains on the horizon, we took it all in. What a great experience!

Having had no planned itinerary, we had discovered wonderful hidden gems, thanks to friendly locals who were happy to share their secrets with us.

The adventure of traveling to unfamiliar destinations is exciting, and we are happy that we decided to travel to Vancouver Island. We put over 1,000 miles on our rental car exploring towns, villages, waterways, mountain paths, beaches and the thick evergreen woods of “remote” Vancouver Island.

While the scenery was among the most spectacular in the world, it was the warm and friendly Canadians who made this great adventure so special, from our sweet hostess in Victoria who baked banana bread and fresh muffins just for us to the kind Canadians everywhere who shared their secrets of wonderful places to check out. We listened to the locals and were richly rewarded for doing so!