Sooke or Salt Spring?
 

We have a coupe of nights bewteen Victoria and Tofino and are trying to decide where to go and stay. Recomendations between Sooke and Salt Spring Island?

Thanks

if there is an extreme low tide, u might actually consider going out to port renfrew beyond sooke to see botanical beach provincial park and the huge trees which are located in the forest near port renfrew. u can then take the back road up to lake cowichan and then head to the highway and toxin.

the pot hole tidepools @ botanical beach r spectacular and some of the tallest trees in canada r in the forest @ port renfrew where there is a new info centre. there is some accommodation in port renfrew i believe. ( its a 2 hour drive +/- from victoria past spectacular beaches

cheers
AndrewDavid

Sooke - 40 min (or so) drive out of Victoria.

Saltspring Island - ferry to catch.

Both places are lovely and have good accommodation but both
are a detour from the highway north.

Both places have gorgeous waterfront regional parks that are
very similar and well worth a stop for an hour or so.

oops "...and then head to the highway and tofino." hate those freudian slips!

Thanks, Andrew David. A few follow-up questions:

1. How similar is the coastline, terrain and overall experience between Sooke and Tofino? If they are similar, would Salt Spring give us more variety than Sooke, in terms of experiencing the Vancouver Island?

2. Compare the weather in Sooke vs Salt Spring? About the same, or is one more likely to have sunnny days?

I'd go to Salt Spring - it'll offer you something different from both Tofino and Victoria.

Sooke's great - the beaches are beautiful but rocky (with pebbles and such) and not quite as beautiful as Tofino's. You're not quite on the open ocean so it's not as feral as Tofino either. The forests are beautiful, but you'll have already seen similar in Tofino. Sooke's lovely, but many consider it a taste of Tofino for people based in Victoria who can't make the commitment to going to Tofino.

Salt Spring's like an artist/country farm community on a big rocky, hilly island. There's a quaint village, Ganges. There's a west coast hippy element to the whole place. There are rural drives and artist studios and everything runs on island time. There's more than enough to explore on Salt Spring for several days - parks, harbours, lakes, country meadows, mountain vistas, forests, etc. The only thing Salt Spring truly lacks is a nice beach. But as long as you're not going there for the beach, you'll enjoy it.

we are having a cool dampish summer. the forecast changes by the hour. i do believe u will have a chance at better weather on more protected ( from the open pacific and juan de fuca ) than u could in sooke

cheers
AndrewDavid

that's more protected salt spring

I agree with BC Robyn in choosing Salt Spring over Sooke for your itinerary. One fall event that I have enjoyed in the past is Feast of the Fields. Restaurants and beer/wine/spirits producers from Vancouver Island and the Gulf Isalnds offer very delectable samples all afternoon. This year it is at a local sheep farm on Sep 18 near Victoria... if that date fits your schedule.

http://www.feastoffields.com/index.p...d=61&Itemid=38

Definitely Saltspring!!!