Gulf Islands- worth a stop?
 

I have one extra day in my itinerary where I have flexibility to add a destination. I will be travelling from Tofino to Vancouver-Does anyone have an opinion about the Gulf Islands? Would this make a nice addition to our trip?

* should we plan to spend the day island hopping or is there 1 particular island that we should stay at?

* We enjoy hiking and biking (we'll have bikes) and mild kayaking but can also enjoy a quaint quasi-touristy downtown

Is there any particular island that you recommend? What activities do you suggest?

If you have any other suggestions (outside of the Gulf Islands), I'd love to hear them

Thanks!

You could go to Hornby Island, which reguires two ferry trips, or to Quadra Island, which is further north. To avoid so much time in the car (although I guess you could leave your vehicle at the ferry terminal and cycle around an island), I would probably just stay in the Parksville area, where you could walk the beach, visit Englishman River Falls, and maybe the store at Coombs.

I've been to several of the Gulf Islands and I've been to Tofino a bunch of times and if you have the option of staying another night out there vs going to the Gulf Islands, that's what I'd do.

http://www.vancouverisland.com/regio...s/?townID=4019

There are many Gulf Islands, spread out over a large area. I've got lots of recommendations but your one-day timeframe and starting place of Tofino are difficult. I'd forget about it this trip and add your day to Tofino-Ucluelet.

For something different, you could take the Lady Rose freighter from Ucluelet to Bamfield, have lunch and ferry back. (But check out the steamer's schedules beforehand.)

Or arrange a guided kayak tour out of Sechart Lodge in Barclay Sound.

See http://www.ladyrosemarine.com/ for ideas.

Thank you for the suggestions. After reading your replies and looking at my itinerary, I've decided to stay in Tofino one additional day (THANK YOU for being the voices of reason!!)

One thing I do need help with is activity planning. I'm pregnant (4mos) but pretty active. Are there any moderate hiking trails that you recommend? How about a kinder gentler kayak experience? Everything I read seems to focus on more intense activity, which sounds amazing, BUT...perhaps another trip.

Are there any moderate biking, hiking or kayaking sites that you can recommend in and around Tofino or Ucluelet?

Thanks so much!

Hmm...I personally don't think any of the hikes around Tofino are "intense"--they are all pretty flat and relatively short.

And same with the kayaking--unless you're doing some sort of kayak surfing class, it's going to be pretty gentle. I'd call Tofino Sea Kayaking and see what they'd recommend but I would think that if you're reasonably active, even the Meares Island half day trip should be fine at 4 mos pregnant.

And the biking trail along the road near Tofino is pretty flat.

Oh thank you Wanderer- that's great news. I'm relieved to hear that there will be some options for me. I hate to sit on the sidelines. Do you have any favorites that you can recommend?

I don't know how to make it a link, but if you do a search on "tofino hikes" in the Canada forum, you'll see a thread about Tofino favorite walks/hikes.

Aaaah yes, I see it now- actually your reply to a May post is just what I was looking for. Thank you for all the info. I'm really looking forward to the Tofino portion of our trip...which is interesting considering I had never heard of the place prior to my visit to this forum. Good Stuff!