Vancouver and Vancouver Island itinerary advice please!
 

On our first trip to the area, my wife and I are planning to fly to Seattle from NYC, spend two nights in Seattle and rent a car, take the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria spend one night, drive to Tofino and spend three nights at the Wickaninnish Inn, take the ferry to Vancouver, spend four nights, drive back to Seattle, spend the night at the airport and take a flight back to New York. Does this make sense? Are we missing things we should not miss on a first trip? Are we spending too much time in Vancouver or Tofino? All advise will be greatly appreciated.

this sounds like a great trip...you might want to check out my posting "Vancouver/Victoria" which has generated great response...which I'm sure you'll also get and which is helping me plan a much shorter trip.

I've been to Seattle and Vancouver and love both areas...looking forward to a too-brief layover in Victoria...Seattle is vastly underrated, especially in the spring-summer and Vancouver is a breathtaking city...I do not know Tofino, but it appears you have ample time to do whatever...I'm envious...you'll have a great trip...I promise, however you do it, you will not be disappointed....

I have a few suggestions for your stay on the Westcoast. I have lived there for many years.

One night in Victoria is not enough! The world famous Butchart Gardens will take you about 45 minutes car ride from town, and then about 2 or 3 hours there and then back to town. Then back to the beautiful downtown area. There are more restaurants here per capita than anywhere else in Canada and most parts of the US.

Victoria is beautiful with lots of spectacular scenery.

Victoria to Tofino, takes about 5 hours (assuming there are no weather problems). It is a long drive, with spots that require a great deal of concentration. Personally, I would leave Victoria in the early morning and take many breaks on the trip to Tofino. There are many interesting stops along the way. I hope you love trees and ocean!

Three nights at the Wick is wonderful if you want to relax and chill out. The long walks on the beach are great. If you like to be on the move constantly, I would recommend two nights only. BTW, I have stayed there and it is great.

Four nights in Vancouver? It is a big place (maybe not compared to NYC) and there are many things to see and do. You could even drive to Whistler from there (site of 2010 Winter Olympics).

It's a great plan you're not overdoing anything.
Be sure to check out egullet for restaurant recommendations.

One thing you need to know is the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria only make a couple of return trips a day. A few years ago we got to the ferry at 8 in the moring and missed the first sailing. We had to wait several hours to catch the second sailing and didn't get into Victoria until 5 in the afternoon.
The perils of island life!

We spent a week in Tofino and found plenty to do (beach walks, forest trails, bear watching). There are also some terrific restaurants in the area, check other thread on Tofino. We enjoyed a fabulous spa treatment at The Wick and dinner at the Pointe (but go before or at sunset, there is nothing to see in the dark). I also warn you of long drive times.

Thank you all for your wonderfully helpful advice and information!

Tofino/Ucluelet are nice. Check out the NE side of the island (above Nanaimo) and the sun coast on the mainland side of BC. The ferry from Anacortes is not running through to Victoria (ending at Friday Harbor) until 2 April.

I wonder what is the best way to get to Nanaimo (where I am heading shortly), am considering the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria, vs driving over to Vancouver, crossing at either Blaine or Sumas. I fear border traffic.

Sounds like a great trip plan,although, we live on Vancouver Island and would advise you to spend a little more time in Victoria. What time of year is your trip? Victoria has so much to offer. We just stayed at the Fairmont Empress right in the harbour where the Coho would arrive. They have a wonderful spa and pool plus great bars and real English afternoon tea. There is a wonderful path leading around the ocean front and marina. Tofino is great too but its a long drive. There is fabulous beach walking areas right in Parksville which is only 2 hours from Victoria. On the way you could stop at Chemainus which has murals painted all over town depicting the history of the town. Its quaint and lovely. Anyway I'll keep an eye on where you decide to go.

gabrielp, I think you will find three nights at the Wick Inn will be boring, there is not much to do at Tofino. Quite frankly I think it is over rated as a tourist spot.Ucluelet, south of Tofino has a few more things. You don't say what month you are travelling, but if it is in the summer, there won't be any storms on the coast and that is when it is the most dramatic wave action. I live in Parksville, on the way to Tofino. I would suggest you drive highway 19A through Parksville and Qualicum Beach, great road which follows the beach. Parksville and Qualicum Beach both have great beaches, especially when at low tide. If you come after March 31, think about stopping at Milner Gardens which is between Parksville and Qualicum Beach, it is 70 acres of old growth forest, with 10 acres planted in rhododendums, azelas and other flowers. While in Uculelet (which is 15 minutes south of Tofino), have a meal at Matterson House which is on the main street. Great food, small place, so make a reservation. The lighthouse (located at the Coast Guard Station) at Uculelet has an interesting walking path. If you come in the summer, stop by Coombs, which is to the west of Parksville, they have a store called Goats on the Roof, a green grocer store, fresh fruit, deli, veggies, great restaurant and unusual souvenirs. Behind Goats on the Roof are local artisans, selling their wares. There is also a World Parrot Refuge centre which is open to the public from 10am - 4pm, it has a very large bird population. If you want more information, let me know. Brenda

Hi I like Tofino better than Uculet unless you fish but be sure to stop in Coombs on the way over to Tofino. The store is great and always cool stuff in the stores behind the market. On the drive back to Seattle from Vancouver. Take the Lakeview exit in Bellingham and follow Chuckanut drive down the coast aways, Then you can join back up with the I-5. It's a beautiful detour.

"I think you will find three nights at the Wick Inn will be boring, there is not much to do at Tofino."

Personally, I don't think visitors necessarly "go to Tofino" to actually spend time in Tofino the town. I think a lot of visitors go to places like the Wick so that they can use it as a home base to visit the surrounding parks, forests and beaches along the peninsula between Ucluelet and Tofino. If you were looking for theatre, museums and urban culture, you may find Tofino boring, but if the main purpose of a vacation is to spend time hiking the trails in the Pacific Rim National Park, and to spend time along the beach, I don't see how 3 days would be boring.

Agree with Carmanah that the natural beauty of the Tofino/Ucluelet area is the main event. If you aren't planning on these activities, I agree with Tagish that you could spend two nights there (and perhaps add a second night to Victoria). Really, it depends on your preferred activities. We spent a day on a guided kayak tour from Tofino - saw eagles feeding and huge anemone in tidal pools. Would highly recommend it if you are so inclined.

My husband are from the Midwest and vacationed in Vancouver last summer. It is our favorite trip we've ever taken....I would move to Vancouver in a heart beat. We flew to Seattle and ate a wonderful dinner outside at the Waterfront Seafood Grill. The food was delicious, the sunset and views amazing. Then drove to Vancouver and stayed at the Sheraton Wall Centre downtown for a week. On the Sheraton, the rooms were nice enough, but the view we had of the bay/city were beyond belief. Ceiling to floor windows the entire expanse of the room. I can't say enough about the view. Anyway, in Vancouver, don't miss Stanley Park...we spent part of two days there, eating lunch at the Fish House (the salmon was fabulous)and enjoyed the Aquarium and the rose garden. Also, enjoyed a day strolling around Granville Island seeing the galleries and lunching at the public market. Spent one day driving to Whistler. Stopped at Horseshoe Bay to get a bite to eat. If you do the sea to sky drive, don't miss the waterfalls along the way. A nice way to stretch your legs on the winding drive and very rejuvenating. We also took a ferry one day to Vancouver Island to spend some time in Victoria. We too missed the early ferry because of the amount of traffic which ended up eating a couple of hours out of our day. On Victoria, I was a bit suprised at how touristy and crowded the Harbour area was around the Empress hotel. We then drove to Buchart Gardens...wonderful! Wish we would have had one or two more days to investigate the rest of Vancouver Island. One last thing, there are plenty of great restaurants in Vancouver. We happened on Quattro in North Vancouver....we loved our meal and the people so much we ate dinner there twice. www.quattrorestaurants.com. They have one in Whistler too. Enjoy your trip:-)

One correction, just to clarify, the restaurant in North Vancouver is Gusto di Quattro, one of the three Quattro restaurants.