Has anyone been to Vancouver Island? What is it like? We're looking to go for 5 days early July.

We originally wanted to do a trip flying into Seattle & driving to Banff but the drive is a bit too long for a short 5 day trip & flights into Calgary too $$$.

Tofino looks beautiful. We want to relax a bit & do some kayaking. Any tips?? Is it really expensive there? Thanks!! =)

Yes, many people have been to Vancouver Island ;-). It's something like 300 miles long, so it's hard to say what it's "like" since Victoria, for instance, is a completely different experience from, say, Campbell River.

If you do a search on Tofino on this forum, you'll find a lot of posts about it.

And while there are some very expensive places in Tofino, I don't think it's a particularly expensive destination. The beach rooms at Middle Beach Lodge, for instance, are quite moderately priced, IMO. Or you could rent a house/condo and save on restaurant costs by cooking for yourself. But the challenge might be finding a place that has room for 5 nights in early July at this point.

I agree with NW Wanderer. Vancouver Island has great variety from the quite densely populated southern tip (where Victoria is) to the relatively unsettled northern half of the island.

Tofino is one of my favourite holiday places. We've been there about a dozen times, in all months of the year. It never fails to delight. You could consider two days in Victoria and three in Tofino, just to get an idea of the variety on Vancouver Island. But as NWW says, it's time to book - Tofino is popular and accommodations get snapped up.

Has anyone been to Vancouver Island?
Sorry. Just got to love a question like this. I believe the current guestimate for Victoria is 3.5 million visitors per year. I think Niagra Falls has us beat. Anyway try here.
http://www.tourismvictoria.com/

Thanks for the tips. You gotta love the sarcasm on this board.

I hope you were kidding??

Hi Angela,

Our family is going to Vancouver this July for the first time. We are staying in Tofino for nights, and then in Victoria for 2. I found it difficult to get reservations, believe it or not, in early March. I would get started on finding places to stay.

We are also driving from Seattle. From the advice i received on this board, it's about a 9 hour journey (3 hours to the ferry on Twaassen, 2 hrs on the ferry, 3 hrs from Nainamo to Tofino, and 1 hr for whatever might come up). I also made a ferry reservation, which i think was good advice that i got.

have fun planning!

Thought I would add this quote for future searchers.

Times Colonist
Published: Thursday, May 10, 2007
More than 10,000 tourists from five cruise ships will flood Victoria Friday...
This is one day in May.