spinsker

We're off to Canada! My husband and I and another couple are planning a trip to Vancouver Sept. 19-26 for our perspective anniversaries. We're in our late 50's. They have all been to Victoria but not Vancouver or anywhere else nearby. I've never been to the area at all (very excited)! We want to spend about 3 nights/days in Vancouver city, and then based on the research I've done on this site (thank you posters) I think we want to go to Tofino and Vancouver Island for the rest of the time. So here are my questions:

1. Is the timing right - should we divide up the time that way?
2. If so, where do you recommend we go once we leave Vancouver. We're flying into Seattle the afternoon of the 19th - by the way. Are there places we should visit on the way to Tofino or spend the whole time there?
3. Is Priceline still a good way to go for Vancouver?
4. I can get restaurant and hotel tips from the rest of the site, but any and all suggestions are welcome!

A little about us: The other couple is more athletic and outdoors type than us, but the husband hates the cold. He's an avid skier, bicyclist, etc. My husband and I are more the shopping and relaxing type!
Is there hope for these two couples?!

We toyed with the idea of going up into the mountains instead of Tofino and Vancouver island but I'm thinking it may be too cold for the other couple. I, on the other hand - love the cold!

Thanks in advance,
Susan

NWWanderer

if you go to tofino you should go for at least 3 nights as it takes about 5 hours to get there from vancouver, between the ferry and the drive. plus there's a ton of stuff to do there, so you'll want to have at least 2 full days there, so that means spending a minimum of 3 nights.

depending on your flight arrival and departure times you could stop for a night in victoria on the way to or from tofino but i would be back on the mainland on the day of your flight home. are you flying home from seattle also?

spinsker

Thanks for your response NWWanderer. Yes, we're flying home from Seattle also. I spent 4 hours yesterday reading this board - what a wealth of information! At this point the itinerary looks like:
Sunday arrive in Seattle and travel to Vancouver
Monday - Wednesday in Vancouver
Thursday - travel to Tofino
Spend rest of Thursday, Friday and Saturday am in Tofino
Saturday pm - travel back towards Seattle for an early Sunday am flight.

Only problem is our friends don't want to go to Victoria again since they've already seen it. My DH and I can stay over and fly home Monday, which I think means we could go on Saturday to Victoria and then get back to Seattle for a Monday flight, but how do our friends get back to Seattle from Tofino on Saturday? Can they go straight there by some transportation means? My DH and I will probably keep the car.

By the way, when I asked about Priceline for Vancouver - I forgot to say hotels. Is Priceline still a good way to book the hotel there?

I guess I'll nail down this itinerary and then go from there. This is an overwhelming project! BTW, we're from East Coast US so this is a big trip!
September sounds like a wonderful time to be in this part of the world - I'm getting excited!

NWWanderer

your friends could drive with you and then fly or take the victoria clipper from victoria to seattle on saturday afternoon or early evening rather than stay over--but you'd need to leave tofino fairly early in the day as it's a 5 hour drive to victoria. i don't think there are any flights directly from tofino to seattle any more but try doing a google search.

i would leave vancouver on wednesday rather than thursday as i don't think you are giving enough time to tofino but that's a personal choice.

i don't use priceline as hotel choice is extremely important to me so i'm not a good person to ask about that--hopefully someone else will weigh in on that.

spinsker

Thanks NWWanderer! Much appreciate your input! Sounds like my itinerary is shaping up. Others have thoughts on leaving Vancouver Wednesday or Thursday? It's a tough choice! Wish I had one more day!

NorthwestMale

You can quench "going up into the mountains" with a gondola ride right up the side of a mountain just a few minutes outside of Vancouver. www.grousemountain.com

If you want to undertake the major endeavor that Tofino and the island entail, then you plot that part of your trip in the very middle, and hope you have enough time to see what you can of Vancouver (and Seattle) on the edges of your journey.

Priceline for Vancouver should be almost optimum in September after kids are back at school, and touristy season is winding down.

Downtown Vancouver is so compact and action-packed that it is an excellent Priceline spot since there isn't too much difference between various geographic locations, relative to many other towns not bordered by water and mountains.

So take the plunge and figure out your Tofino/island interests, then get that scheduling down, and try to save something for Vancouver beyond that. Use Priceline for rooms once you can be certain on which nights you'll want to be in downtown Vancouver.

good luck!

spinsker

Thanks NorthwestMale for your advice. I had not heard of the gondola ride - that sounds Perfect!! I know I'm probably underestimating the amount of effort it will take to get to Tofino, and especially since my friend gets car sick easily. I think I will take both yours and NW Wanderers advice and cut back Vancouver by one day. Thanks for the encouragement about Priceline.

I'll probably write again when I get closer to the date to see what favorite restaurants are on the board. Any other tips still welcome!

rivet

I agree with NWW. It takes some effort to get to Tofino. There is lots for your group to do there...Pacific Rim National Park and the Interpretative Centre and a walk along Long Beach could take all day. Long Beach is really that - a long, long beach that you can really walk on easily. Planes landed on Long Beach in WW2. It's interesting to watch the surfers, and explore the West Coast art in the town . If your friends want to kayak, there are a few guided tours. Tofino is very spiritual - you will love it!

NWWanderer

oh, if your friend gets car sick he/she is probably not going to like the road to tofino--make sure they sit up front or drive.

for your trip back to the seattle area for a monday flight, i suggest taking the ferry from victoria to port angeles and seeing a bit of olympic national park before overnighting in or near seattle or the airport.

GrantGGM

http://www.flyorcaair.com/
This is an airline that flies to/from Tofino - it can be faster than the ferry (min 90 minute ferry plus 30 minute wait time on one end)

Tofino is great as relaxing can happen for one couple while the other active ones rent bikes or learn to surf.

spinsker

Wow - great tips and I'm getting so excited. I can smell the saltwater now! Thanks to all who have contributed. I'll be sure to post a trip report when I get back. Now I'll get working on the details of booking it all!

Thanks again. Susan

spinsker

Yikes - hit our first snag. Our traveling companions booked their Southwest flight into Seattle on Sunday, Sept. 26th without talking to me first and it doesn't arrive until 4 pm!! My dh and I are arriving at 2:04 pm. We can take the late train at 6:50 but we'll have about 20 minutes before sunset and it doesn't get in until 11:30 pm. I'm afraid if we start out in the morning then we'll miss too much of Vancouver from our itinerary and wind up being squeezed out of our time there. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

spinsker

OK - we're good now. We switched our flights to Saturday so we can take the early Sunday train into Vancouver. Now I have another question. If we leave Tofino Saturday morning, how long will it take for my friends to make it all the way to Seattle. My dh and I will stop off in Victoria. NWWanderer, you said "your friends will need to fly or take the victoria clipper from victoria to seattle on saturday afternoon or early evening." Can you explain how long this process will take if they take the victoria clipper. Are there certain times that they will have to schedule to make? Thanks!

NWWanderer

you'll need to look at the victoria clipper schedule for that saturday to see what time the departure(s) from victoria are. there are 2 or 3 now but there might only be 1 a day that late in the season, and it'll probably be in the early evening. they need to make a reservation for the clipper, and plan to get to victoria from tofino at least an hour ahead of the departure as they will have to go through customs/immigration. the clipper takes about 2.5 hours.

allow 5 hours for the drive from tofino to victoria.

spinsker

Thank you NWWanderer - very helpful! We're getting closer!