seattle/victoria/vancouver or victoria/vancouver/tofino?
 

Which of these itineraries would you choose for a family with teens. We have never been to that part of the world. Are traveling in mid July this year and staying for 8 nights. We are coming from the East coast so, our travel time is significant.

Thanks,
Sonia

I would pick Tofino over Seattle in a heartbeat. Our family (two boys, ages 13 and 19) was in Tofino last year and loved it! The scenery is spectacular. There are wonderful hikes to take, and we kayaked over to an island where we hiked. There were lots of teens surfing also. I guess it depends whether your teens like the outdoors or cities.

My teens love the outdoors/adventure (girl -16, boy-14). But, they also love cities. I'm inclined to go to Tofino. Where did you stay? How long does it take to get there from Victoria or Vancouver?

Before I considered Tofino I'd check lodging availability
and base my decision on that - July is very very popular
there.

I don't know how you'd compare Seattle to Tofino - totally
different kettle of fish but lots to do for teens in both
places.

I LOVE Tofino and envions - very special part of the world.

Vancouver will give you your big moderm cosmopolitan city fix. You'll want 3 full days minimum.

Victoria's a very small quaint historic city - good for a day or two.

Tofino deserves 3 full days, minimum. It's one of the most primal, enchanting landscapes. 40km of wild, rugged shoreline where ancient old growth temperate rain forests thrive along the wild coast. It feels like you're at the end of the Earth in a time when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. There's nothing like it around Vancouver or Seattle.

It takes 5 hours to get from Vancouver or Victoria. It's a 5+ hour drive from Victoria. It's a 2 hour ferry ride from Vancouver + a 3 hour drive across the island.

Wow! Could you please suggest any good places. So I can hike with my buddies right there. Actually I am confused.

Txs!
Sephone (Bikehiker)

Wow! sounds great!

Unless you like hanging out with hoards of tour groups and wandering thru psuedo-quaint British souvenir shops, spend your least amount of time in Victoria. In fairness, the harbor is very pretty (espec. coming in on the ferry) and Buchart Gardens is a noteworthy place. Plus you could all rent bicycles behind the Empress Hotel and take a spin around town for an hour or so.

Don't know if anyone actually mentioned it, but Tofino is a tiny, tiny west coast fishing village with a bit of bohemian flair. It's really tiny, but the attraction isn't the town - it's the outlying environment and the Pacific Rim National Park. Just wanted to mention that as I didn't see it mentioned yet. Just making sure your expectations are met. Because the area is spread out, you need days to properly experience it all and soak up the atmoshere. It's not a fast paced environment at all... but that's precisely its charm.

I would also pick Tofino in a heartbeat. Eight days I would do 4 nights in Vancouver, 3 nights in Tofino and final night in Vancouver before heading home. Victoria is pretty....but it's only really worth 2 days/1 night. Seattle....meh.

Definitely look at Tofino availability for July...I know Pacific Sands usually has space and it's in a great location. Never stayed there but read rave reviews about it all the time.

Misha,

Just got back in town--We stayed at Pacific Sands and loved it! We had 2 bedrooms and a kitchen with a fabulous view of the coast. I agree with donnawho about Victoria. We found it to be a tourist trap with little of interest to us or our children, although a lot of posters on this site love it. I wouldn't give it more than a day.

If you do decide to go to Tofino, on the way there stop at the market in Coombs for lunch or an ice cream. The gourmet market has goats on the roof, which my kids found amusing.