Vancouver and Victoria recommendations
 

I will be at a conference in Vancouver in October. Our plans are a little complicated but my husband and I plan to stay an extra night in Victoria and spend an extra night in Vancouver. I'm looking for advice for the following:

1. While in the Comox Valley we would like to do some whale watching. Does anyone have a recommended charter or other recommendation?

2. Lodging for both locations. We especially like historic places or other special places, we're also open to bed and breakfast places.

3. Open to restaurant suggestions for a strict and limited diet (mainly gluten free).

4. Interested in other suggestions for general activities we shouldn't miss.

Thank you all in advance for your suggestions!

In Victoria we had a great stay at Abigail's. It is a short walk to the inner harbor and very close yo the park. Great hotel with very good breakfast, and options for for that. In Vancouver we had a great ditsy st the O Canada House. Again an easy walk to downtown and the breakfasts were amazing. You would need to let them know your restrictions. F you have a car, both places have free parking, which is especially nice in Vancouver as most places charge a lot for that.

This is perfect, exactly what I am looking for! We will have a car so thankful for that tip too. Open to all other suggestions!

While Comox could have some good whale watching opportunities, I highly recommend doing the whale watching out of Victoria - the areas surrounding the southern tip of Vancouver Island are some of the most abundant in marine mammals in the world, and you'll likely have a multi-species trip of orca whales AND humpbacks. If you go around the Comox Valley you're likely to just see orcas. Both places are good though :-) For companies, I'd recommend Eagle Wing or Prince of Whales. A good restaurant for gluten-free options is Rebar, that you'll find right downtown Victoria in Bastion Square, or Sante Gluten Free Cafe in Quadra St. Village. Both are delicious!!
For other activities, especially if you're making a trip up island to Comox, check out www.discovervancouverisland.com. It's a great resource for outdoor activities like hiking, whale watching, fishing, and winery tours! ENJOY!!

We stayed at The Empress in Victoria and really enjoyed it - very neat historic hotel that serves afternoon tea. The location is great. We used Prince of Whales for our whale watching, and they were wonderful; we saw humpback whales, seals, a porpoise, and some sea lions. We did a combo trip that took us right to Butchart Gardens. They said it's been a bad year for orcas but a good year for humpbacks so far.