philsbert1

5 people driving from Seattle to Vancouver Island and back in 8 days. We plan to spend the 1st day traveling to Port Angeles, and then the next 7 on the Island. We planned either 3 days in Ucluelet and 2 in Courtenay/Comox or Campbell R. or vice versa.

Questions:

Is it possible to leave Comox/Courtenay in the AM and make it to Seattle by 8 PM (without breaking land/speed records) considering customs and all? Can it be done via the Sunshine Coast?

Is it possible to go leave Port Angeles early AM ferry and make it to Ucluelet in one day and still be able to visit Cathedral Grove? If not, what would be a good place to stop and spend the night/some time if splitting the trip from Victoria to Ucluelet? Sooke? Gulf Islands? Nanaimo? We have been to Victoria previously and are primarily interested in hiking, wildlife, biking, etc.

Better to spend 3 days in Ucluelet and 2 in Comox/Courtenay or vice-versa?

How long to drive from Ucluelet to Comox?

Best kayaking in Ucluelet/Tofino or somewhere on the eastern coast for rookie kayakers? If as mentioned above, we split the trip from Victoria to Ucluelet into 2 days, is there somewhere in-between that would have good kayaking/or hiking with views?

Does it make more sense to travel to Comox/Courtenay first and stay in Ucluelet on the return, vice-versa or does it matter?

Sorry for all the questions. If you didn't have such a wonderful area with so much to see and do, the choices would be easier. Plus driving times are confusing...hard to deduce from maps online.

Thanks!

NWWanderer

I can only answer some of your questions as I have been up the east side of the island a few times, but have spent a lot more time over on the west coast.

I've also been to the Sunshine Coast and would say that it would be very difficult to do the 3 ferries required to do that route from Comox, *and* drive to Seattle in one day. But you can def do Comox to Seattle in a day by taking the Nanaimo to Tsawwassen ferry. It takes me 8-9 hours to get between Seattle and Tofino using that ferry and Comox is closer to Nanaimo, so probably an hour or so less.

You could take the morning ferry from Port Angeles and drive to the Tofino area in one long day. It's a five hour drive from Victoria.

The kayaking near Tofino is fabulous and very easy for rookie kayakers. Do the Meares Island trip for sure, the big trees on the island will amaze you.

3 days is a minimum for the Tofino area IMO. More is better--I've been there multiple times, the most recent for 5 days, and I still felt like it wasn't enough time there.

What are you interested in doing in the Comox/Courtney area, if I may ask?

philsbert1

Thanks for the suggestions.

We wanted to stop and walk around Cathedral Grove on the way up to Tofino/Ucluelet, so we thought we may need to split the trip up, but that means less time on the west coast. What about Port Alberni as a stopover, or Parksville? An alternative would be to visit Sooke and that area after ferrying to Victorai, and drive to Tofino the next day.

We were looking at Comox/Courtenay as a base for some day hiking in Strathcona. I had heard the farther north you go up the east side of the island, there is perhaps more wildlife and less crowded. I'm not sure we have the time to get all the way to Telegraph Cove.

Our main interests are scenery, wildlife viewing, and hopefully a chance to bike/hike/and kayak.

We could not secure lodging in Tofino and will most likely stay in Ucluelet. Is that a big deal?

Sam_Salmon

"<i>Our main interests are scenery, wildlife viewing, and hopefully a chance to bike/hike/and kayak.</i>"

Lots of choices both places some protected kayaking on WCVI so you need not be exposed to open ocean swells.

"<I>We could not secure lodging in Tofino and will most likely stay in Ucluelet. Is that a big deal?</i>"

No not at all.

NWWanderer

Walking around Cathedral Grove is a good leg stretcher on the way but it won't take more than an hour or so at the most--nothing that would require making an overnight stop, in other words.

The only "big deal" with staying in Ucluelet as opposed to Tofino IMO is that your options for restaurants will be limited. But you'll still be close to Pacific Rim National Park and that's the important thing.

Have you looked into staying up at Strathcona Park Lodge? Nothing fancy but you're right there for hiking.

live42day

There are a lot of resteraunts in Ucluelet in the summer time. They all just close down in the winter. Or you can rent a unit with full kitchen and do some meals at home or take picnic lunches.
Some resteraunts that are good choices are Black Rock for lunch, Matterson House on the main drag is very popular, there is a new high end resteraunt on the main drag called 'Norwoods' as well as many others.

There is also a fantastic boat trip that will go out to the broken islands and you will see alot of wildlife on this cruise.
http://www.archipelagocruises.com/

we loved it. Small yaucht and the folks that run it are so knowlegable about the area. The sceanery is breathtaking.

There is also kayaking in Ucluelet harbour as well, and you will most like see bears, seals, eagles while you are kayaking.

You can walk the Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet and there are a few very large eagles nests and plenty of eagles. Be sure to bring binoculars. We more often than not see whales from the trail. You just have to have the patience to look for the spray and then follow them along. They will quite often breech and play not too far off the trail.
There are plenty of black bears and deer all over the place on the west coast as well as the east.
What kind of wildlife are you looking for in particular?

live42day

As there are five of you, have you checked out
http://www.aviawest.com/destinations...et-pacific-rim
They will most likey have space as they have just taken over as new managers. They have two bedroom full kitchen suites on the inlet. If you want quiet ask for the inlet side. There are some suites that face the harbour and you can watch the boats coming and going but IMO it is very noisy and they start at 4AM.