Ideas for Vancouver/British Columbia itinerary
 

We are a group of 5 adults looking for a 7-8 day itinerary for a late summer (1st week or so of August) trip. We have visited/hiked Banff/Yoho/Jasper and had an incredible trip. Likewise, we have toured the northwest WA area from Mt. Rainier to the Olympic NP including a day's visit to Victoria only, but never got elsewhere on the island or to Vancouver or surrounds. We are primarily interested in day hiking and wildlife, scenery and fresh air, ocean views and mountain vistas, but are not campers, and need a bed and shower at the end of the day. We were thinking about going to Vancouver I. via the ferries and the "Sunshine Coast", then going either north to Telegraph Cove or south to Tofino, with only 1 day in Victoria, but wonder if that is too much for 1 week. Another thought was Vancouver to Whistler to Lillooet and circling back somehow to Vancouver, but unsure of what is best in that area. Even thought of going as far as Glacier NP, but that may be too much. Help! Has anyone done anything like this or can locals give us some hints as to what is best for 7-8 days. Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

http://vancouverisland.com/
here is a good website with maps etc.
If you come to Nanaimo by ferry you have many wonderful options.
Hiking: some great hikes to research would be Mount washington, Strathcona park, which is a ski hill in winter and hiking trails with a gondola to the top and you can hike down in the summer. It is just outside of Courtenay which is a 1 1/2 hour drive north of Nanaimo. There are many lodges cabins and b and bs on the mountain.
Telegraph cove could be done before or after that. It is quite a ways up though and to do Tofino and Telegraph cove in 7 days is rather rushed but can be done
Otherwise you can consider just heading to Tofino and Ucluelet. That is around a 1 1/2 - 2 hour drive from Nanaimo. You will get both the ocean and forest hiking there.The wild pacific trail in Ucluelet is a fantastic trail that hugs the ocean and also meaners through the forest as well. Ucluelet is 1/2 hour drive from Tofino.From Tofino you can take a float plane or a zodiak to Hot Springs Cove and hike in, really just a boardwalk nothing strenous but a gorgeous trail and hotsprings at the end. Go early in the day if you fly and miss the crowds. WIth five of you the price is about the same to charter a little plane to get there and they will pick you up again when you say. The zodiak will allow you to also see whales if you are lucky. We see whales pretty much every time we are there. THere are other options available for whale bear and sealion watching in both Ucluelet and Tofino. Make sure that you book accomodation before you go to Tofino or Ucluelet as they are alwys booked ahead and many people end up driving the 1 hour trip back to Port Alberni if they dont have reservations. Three days would be probably minimum to see the area.The accomodations range from b and bs to five star hotels. You can get places on McKenzie Beach for quite reasonable. I dont know what your budget is. Tin Wis (Best western) is good as is Ocean village resort for lower costs on the beach. There is also some forest hikes down to the beach on trails and boardwalks. Schooner cove is a wonderful little hike. Gorgeous beach at the bottom. If you plan to go at low tide you can take a right and go for a long ways and see almost no other people. Just make sure you come back before the tide comes in! You can also hike up to Radar Hill and get a wonderful view of the entire area on a clear day. August can have some morning fog in Tofino.
Another great stop is Coombs, on the way to Tofino. A little market with goats on the roof as thier claim to fame. Parksville is a beach town to consider for a nite or two. Rathtreavor park beach has some great accommodations, but for more budget stays there are a few on the beach in Parksville which are nice as well.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks for your suggestions. Can you comment on the topography of Vancouver Island---mountainous vs. hilly vs. ? I noted that the drive from Nanaimo to Tofino is significantly longer time-wise than Nanaimo to Port McNeill, (which was a previously suggested location to base for a few days on north part of the island). We would liek to spend a few days in "the mountains". Would it be possible to spend 2 days in Whistler and then base the rest of the trip in Tofino or Port McNeill? Too much driving?

You could go to Whistler from Vancouver, it takes a couple of hours to drive. Spend the night and then drive to catch the ferry to Nanaimo. Mount Washington is Vancouver islands Whistler, so you would be in the mountains there. Port McNeill area is nice too, that would be near Telegraph cove.
It would be less driving if you just did Mt Washington/Port McNeil area. The drive from Nananimo to PortMcNeill is all flat and highway driving unless you take the ocean side sceanic route, which is still flat but takes longer.
To drive from Nanaimo to Tofino: Nanaimo to Coombs is flat and around 1/2 hour and then you might want to stop for a visit to the market. Another 1/2 hour will get you to McMillian Park (Cathedral Grove) which is old growth forest and good for a 1/2 hour walk about.
Then you are going over hills, small mountain roads to Port Alberni which is your last town before you get to Tofino.
From Port to Tofino is around 1 1/2 hours of easy driving, meaning take your time and stop a couple of places. It is all paved road but windey and goes through the mountains. There are no buildings or towns on this road, only mountains and trees and the roads are very narrow in places. You dont want to take this road too fast and in August there are a lot of campers and trailers on the road and people who have never driven in the mountains so tend to go very slowly. That is why it takes longer. Both are good choices. I am a big fan of all of the places you are thinking about on the island. I have not been to Whistler for a few years, but it is great in the summer time too. If you are spending time in Vancouver you can go up Grouse Mountain for the day by gondola too and hike around there. That is right in the city. Too many choices eh??

Too many choices is right! Thanks for all the suggestions. I think we will just have to decide: spend a short time in Whistler and then go to Vancouver Island vs. spending all our time on the island. If we decide on the first choice, maybe do 3 days in Tofino, one in Victoria, and then back. If we decide on the latter, then we can figure out whether to go up to Port McNeill for 2 days, and then maybe 3 in Tofino or Ucluet, and on to Victoria. Unfortunately, it looks like we will have to fly in and out of Seattle, so we will lose some time in car travel.

Did you know that you can take a ferry from Downtown Victoria to Seattle? The Clipper. It would require reservations though. You can google it. So you can drive one way to Vancouver and then the ferry to Nanaimo and then leave from Victoria to Seattle.

I can't respond unless you use paragraphs.:-&

I looked at the Clipper website, and that is an interesting option but logistically challenging. $80 one-way and $100 RT Seattle to Victoria. It's not for cars, correct? So we would need to make some type of alternate arrangement for dropping off a rental car.

If we rented a car in Seattle to get us to Vancouver-Whistler-Vancouver, we'd have to either drop that off before going to Vancouver Island (and rent in Nanaimo when we get off the ferry) or take the car with and try to leave it in Victoria. If that is possible, there are usually pretty steep charges for dropping at an alternate location.

I'll have to work on this.

sorry, I was thinking of the other ferry that does take cars...It leaves downtown Victoria and goes to Port Angeles which is a drive, albeit lovely drive, to Seattle. That is the Black Ball Ferry. It is around a 2 1/2 - 3 hours drive from Port Angeles to Seattle.

I would not consider dropping the car off. Even if you can do it, which you may not be able to do because of two different countries, the charge would be very steep.

Sorry for confusing things.
I am sure that you know this, but you need passports effective June to travel from Canada to USA .