How we spent five days on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island was the highlight of our trip to Canada. We spent five days here and I feel like we barely scraped the surface of everything there is to do. Getting around Vancouver Island takes a while, as there aren’t that many roads. So a drive between towns can take anywhere between 2-5 hours, or longer.
Two of our friends were living on Vancouver Island at the time of our visit, so we were lucky to benefit from their car, accommodation, and top tips for things to do. Here is our itinerary for a long weekend in Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
Where to stay in Vancouver Island
NOMAD cottage in Ucluelet
The Chalet in Tofino
We were lucky to stay with friends in Victoria
How to get to Vancouver Island
We caught the ferry from Vancouver to Nanaimo. There are various ferry options, including car ferries, which take around an hour and vary in how expensive they are. There is also the option to fly to Victoria airport on Vancouver Island, but since we were beginning our trip in Ucluelet, it made more sense for us to head to Nanaimo which is about an hour closer.
We travelled with Hullo Ferries from Vancouver Bay, which was about a 10 minute walk from the train station and cost $55 per person. The trip with Hullo Ferries was really easy, but it does book up. We chose the best one based on departure times when we were leaving the airport and Hullo was our first choice as it’s easy to get to from the airport using the sky train, and only takes 40minutes to cross to Nanaimo.
There are three options for ferries: Hullo Ferries from Vancouver Bay, BC ferries from Tsawwassen, or BC Ferries from Horseshoe Bay.
Find out more about our Canadian itinerary and how we got around here.
How to get around Vancouver Island
Hire a car! We had friends who live in Vancouver Island who we were travelling with, so we shared their car for the five days we were visiting. But hiring a car from wherever you land, whether that’s Nanaimo ferry port, Victoria airport, or elsewhere, is definitely recommended. It will be very tricky to get around Vancouver Island without a car.
The best things to do in Vancouver Island
I’ll explain the highlights of Vancouver Island in more detail below. But if you want a quick list to skim or use a checklist, these are our must-see sights and activities.
Kayaking from Ucluelet Harbour
Bear watching tour, Tofino
Whale watching tour, Victoria
Tonquin Trail
Cox Bay Lookout
Cameron Lake
Cathedral Grove
Stamp River
Taylor River
Wally Creek
Kennedy River Viewpoint
Goats on Roof
Ucluelet Lighthouse Loop
Wickannish Beach
Rainforest Trail
Fisherman’s Wharf
Oak Bay
Where to eat and drink in Vancouver Island
It’s not possible to eat in that many places in just five days, but everywhere we stopped in Vancouver Island was great.
These were our favourites:
Wolf in the Fog, Tofino
Tacofino, Tofino
Tofitan, Tofino
Adriana’s, Tofino
Sen Zushi, Victoria,
Nourish, Victoria
Della’s Cafe, Sproat Lake for ice cream
Goats on Roof for ice cream
Nanaimo to Ucluelet
After disembarking from the hour-long ferry that brought us into Nanaimo from Vancouver, we started the 2.5 hour drive to Ucluelet. But to break it up, we stopped at some sights along the way.
Goats on Roof
This is a quick stop on the drive out of Nanaimo, and if the name doesn’t give it away… There are goats on the roof. It’s a small cafe and shop that feels traditional and looks like it would be pricey… but it’s actually one of the cheaper places we found to buy groceries in Vancouver Island. There’s also an ice cream shop with an amazing range of flavours here.
Cameron Lake
We only stopped at Cameron Lake for about 15 minutes, but if you have more time this would be a lovely place to stop for a picnic and even a swim or a paddleboard on the beautiful still water.
Cathedral Grove
Cathedral Grove is best experienced while the sun is fairly high, so you catch the amazing lights through the trees. It only took us about 15 minutes to complete the loop walk, but it was peaceful and amazing to see some of the ancient trees here.
Stamp River
Stamp River is famous for its salmon run… But we were a week or so early. We did see salmon, but they weren’t doing their famous leap up the ‘salmon ladder’ that has been built to make their journey easier. Nevertheless, it was a nice place to spend 30 minutes walking through the trees along the riverside.
Taylor River
We stopped at Taylor River Rest Stop for an hour or so on a very hot afternoon and spent a while paddle boarding in the amazing clear (but freezing!) water. Even on a weekday afternoon there were a lot of families here but it was a very peaceful and relaxing way to pass a few hours and break up a long drive.
Wally Creek
Wally Creek is another nice place to stop for a picnic and a swim, but as the sun was starting to set, we just took a 15 minute wander along the rocks to the waterfall here.
Kennedy River Viewpoint
A quick stop on the drive between Nanaimo and Ucluelet is Kennedy Lake. We stopped here just in time to catch an incredible sunset – our first in Canada.
Ucluelet
Ucluelet is a small harbour town south of Tofino on the west shore of Vancouver Island. We only stayed here for one night, but we still managed to fit in some great activities.
Ucluelet Lighthouse Loop
We were up early on our first morning to walk the Ucluelet Lighthouse Loop before our kayaking session at the harbour. This 3km walk is a loop that takes you along the water and past the lighthouse. It’s easy and straightforward, and there’s plenty of opportunity for wildlife spotting here. It can easily be completed in under an hour.
Kayaking from Ucluelet Harbour
We went on a 5-hour kayak tour with Hello Nature from Ucleulet Harbour, which cost $195 per person and lasted from 8:30am to 2:30pm. It was an incredible morning where we saw sea lions, harbour seals, eagles, and wild salmon. We kayaked out of the harbour and into open seas, which was amazing but hard work! You can choose from single or shared kayaks and if you’re not fit or not experienced in kayaking, a shared one would make the experience less strenuous!
Our guide was friendly and informative, a great lunch was provided, which was made locally and was delicious. We stopped to eat it on a tiny beach just on the edge of First Nations territory before kayaking back to the harbour.
I would definitely recommend Hello Nature for kayak tours in Ucluelet. They were friendly, very professional, and very respectful of the nature and wildlife in the area. You can book your own trip with Hello Nature kayaking in Ucluelet here.
Wickannish Beach
We stopped for an hour or so at the stunning Wickannish Beach on our drive between Ucluelet and Tofino. The sprawling bay is a great place to stop and rest, walk along the shore, or surf if the waves are right. There’s also an information centre with lots of First Nations stories from the area.
Rainforest Trail
There are two rainforest trails on opposite sides of the road in Pacific Rim National Park, between Ucluelet and Tofino. We walked the loop on the opposite side to the car park, which took 15-20 minutes. The walk is entirely along a boardwalk so it’s safe and easy to do, and feels very peaceful and relaxing. It’s free, and there are plenty of different kinds of flora and trees in the forest to explore.
Drive to Tofino
From Ucluelet, we drove to Tofino where we watched the sun set over the water and then stopped at Wolf in the Fog for dinner. It’s one of the highest-rated restaurants in town and it’s worthy of its reviews. The food, service, drinks, and atmosphere were all amazing. But you will need to book a table as it gets busy, especially on weekends.
Tofino
We stayed in a chalet overlooking the Tofino mud flats, where we saw bears wandering at sunset and sunrise. It was a little out of town, but the chances are you will be driving everywhere in Tofino anyway so it doesn’t make much of a difference to stay somewhere a little more remote.
Tonquin Trail
On our first morning in Tofino, we walked the Tonquin trail. The quickest way to do this is to park at the entrance to the trail, but the car park is very small so it fills up quickly. There is alternative parking, but it adds 30min or so to the walk. Parking at the trail entrance, the walk took us about 1.5 hours to complete a 4km version of the train from Tonquin Beach to Third Beach and Middle Beach and back, stopping for photos and view points. The trail is beautiful and the beaches are all clean and well-kept. We didn’t stop for long at any of them, but you could easily spend a day here if you have the time.
Cox Bay Beach and Cox Bay Lookout
After lunch at Adriana’s in Tofino, we headed to Cox Bay Beach for the afternoon then a hike up to Cox Bay Lookout for sunset. You can hire surf boards from the hotel at the far right corner of the beach (as you enter it) and the sea was very busy with surfers on the day we visited.
The hike up to the Lookout took about 20 minutes to the top. There are three spots that all look like very similar entrances to the hike. You want to take the middle one. It’s muddy and steep (don’t ignore the reviews that talk about the mud… we visited on a dry week in August and it was still very very muddy on the way up) but overall the walk is not too challenging if you’re able bodied. There are a few small scrambles, but nothing scary or dangerous and it’s an amazing place to watch the sun go down.
Bear watching tour
We spent a morning on a bear and wildlife watching tour with The Whale Centre, Tofino and it was even better than I’d expected. It cost $160 per person for 2.5 hours, we met at 7:30am, set off at 8am, and were back at 10:30am. We embarked on a semi-covered boat with room to stand at the back, and we saw our first bear within 20 minutes and another about 10 minutes later.
We also saw lots of seals, a bald eagle, and even a grey whale and a whole raft of otters as we made our way back to the harbour. Our guide, Riley, was amazing, and as a local who had been working on the water in Tofino for most of his life, he had plenty of knowledge about the local animals.
Victoria
The drive from Tofino to Victoria takes about 5 hours. So after our bear tour, we hit the road stopping at a few places in Pacific Rim National Park on the way (Taylor River, Stamp River salmon ladder, and Cathedral Grove all listed under Ucluelet).
Whale watching tour
On our first morning in Victoria we went on a whale and wildlife cruise with Eagle Wing Tours. We had a 9am start at Fisherman’s Wharf, and quickly saw sea lions, harbour seals, porpoises, humpback whales, and an elephant seal out swimming in the straight, which the guide had never witnessed before.
Later, we spotted an orca following the coastline just outside of Victoria, which was incredible to see. The whole tour took about 3.5 hours and, when you’re out in the open ocean, it gets very cold. So take the coats, trousers, and hats that the tour guides offer you. Even though it was almost 30ºc on land, we were very cold during the middle part of this tour!
We were back at the harbour at 12:30ish and headed to lunch at Nourish, a health food cafe nearby.
You can book a place on the same cruise here.
And find out what you should pack for your trip in our Canada packing list blog here.
Fisherman’s Wharf
Fisherman’s Wharf is where most of the boat tours leave from in Victoria, and it’s a cute little area to wander around before and after. There are plenty of places to eat and drink, and the colourful fisherman’s cabins are a great place to stay if you need an Airbnb in the area.
Oak Bay
On our last evening in Victoria, we went paddle boarding at Willow Beach in Oak Bay. The sea was calm and flat, making it perfect for paddling out to a small island opposite the beach, and we saw seals in the water around us.
We then headed out for dinner at Sen Zushi, which was recommended to us by locals. The sushi in Canada is incredible and amazing value. Considering how much a lot of food and groceries cost here, sushi is the one thing that is very affordable, and very good quality.
Fly to Calgary
A popular way to get around Canada is by car. The drives are stunning… But car hire is expensive, and you can take up entire days just getting from A to B. And if you’re fitting Vancouver Island into your plan, internal flights are definitely the better option as the car ferry to the mainland is far more pricey than a flight ticket (which cost us about £30 per person).
So we flew from Victoria to Calgary. The flight takes about an hour and there are plenty of car rental companies situated within Calgary airport. We picked up our car from National, which cost about £350 for 8 days. From Calgary airport, we drove an hour to Canmore to begin our adventure in the Canadian Rockies.
Find out more about our full Canadian itinerary here.
Note: I chose and paid for my kayaking and wildlife tours independently. This post is not an advertorial and is a true reflection of my experience with Hello Nature and Eagle Wing Tours. However, if you book yours through my Viator link, I might make a little bit of money through affiliation.