Vancouver/Nanaimo (Tofino?)/Victoria
 

I thought I had an itinerary, but after reading this forum, I am not so sure. Your ideas are awesome and I am coming to realize that BC has an embarassment of riches. I throw myself on the mercy of the forum, which is incredible (thanks, Judy in Calgary! -you are a life coach!). We are arriving by airplane in Vancouver on Thursday, late in the evening (10:00 PM). We will have a rental car. We return the following Monday out of YVR at 1:30 p.m.., with car. It's the Labo(u)r Day weekend. Yikes!

We would like to see as much of Vancouver Island as feasible. We hate to neglect Vancouver, but may need to save it for another time. Not sure.

We are hoping to work in the following: My original idea was Vancouver-Nanaimo-Victoria-Vancouver. We love natural beauty and whales, bears, canoes and eagles. Wanted to see fireworks on Saturday at Buchart Garden. Would like to see some whales, a bear or two, some fish, have "tea" a la Anglaise. Maybe an island (have friends on Gabriola). Originally thought we could work in Whistler or Tofino, but we have only three full days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). I have planning fatigue. Tofino, Nanaimo, Cowichan, Oak Bay...it's all running together in my mind. Any ideas?

PS! Can rent car on VI, probably and cancel rental from YVR!

Hello there, Cyberglen. Good to see you again.

Because having enough context always is so helpful in giving a useful response, I hope you don't mind my mentioning to Fodorites that you will be doing what I call an LSD (look, see and decide) trip with a view to relocating to Vancouver Island.

Those Fodorites who post at TripAdvisor will know that already.

I'm a huge fan of Vancouver. Had I not known your agenda, I might have suggested that you forget about everything else and spend the whole weekend in Vancouver. However, in this specific instance, I'm confident you'll have other opportunities to visit Vancouver. I would recommend that you pay some attention to the research aspect of your trip, and focus your efforts on the general area that interests you.

I also srongly recommend that you visit with your friends on Gabriola Island. Aside from the fact that it's nice to catch up with friends anyway, having local friends in this particular situation will be a great resource for you. You'll be able to shoot the breeze and pick their brains about what it's like to live in BC. If they're compatriots of yours, so much the better. They'll be able to give you insights into how it feels for an American to live in Canada.

So, with all that in mind, I suggest you think about this itinerary:

<b>Thu</b> - Land in Vancouver. Overnight near airport.

<b>Fri</b> - Catch 10.15 a.m. ferry from Tsawwassen to Duke Point (near Nanaimo). If your hotel is in Richmond, that will mean leaving there between 8.45 a.m. and 9.00 a.m., even if you have a ferry reservation from www.bcferries.ca . You'll reach Duke Point at 12.15 a.m., and it may take you up to 30 minutes to disembark.

Have lunch in Nanaimo.

I think it’ll be too much of a rush to catch the 1.55 p.m. ferry from Nanaimo to Gabriola Island, so stroll around Nanaimo and catch the 3.45 p.m. ferry. The crossing to Gabriola Island takes 20 minutes.

Spend night on Gabriola Island.

<b>Sat</b> - Catch the 10.05 a.m. ferry to Nanaimo. Spend a couple of hours looking around Nanaimo's residential areas.

Set out for Victoria around mid-afternoon. If you drove straight there it would take you about 1.5 hours. However, you may want to stop at one or two places on the way.

Go to Butchart Gardens for the fireworks.

<b>Sun</b> - Go on a whale-watching cruise in the morning. Many of them last 3 hours.

In the afternoon, wander around the Inner Harbour area. Have afternoon tea somewhere. Drive around Victoria’s suburbs. Maybe drive out to Sooke, an hour to the west of Victoria.

<b>Mon</b> – Leave your accommodation at 7.30 a.m. That will enable you to do the half hour drive to Swartz Bay and line up for the 9.00 a.m. ferry. I recommend a reservation.

Arrive at Tsawwassen at 10.30 a.m. Spend up to half an hour disembarking.

Even with the 20 minute or so drive to Richmond, you should be able to reach the airport in time to do a 2-hour check in, which is required when you're going to be clearing U.S. immigration and customs at a Canadian airport.

Hope that helps.

&gt;&gt;&gt;PS! Can rent car on VI, probably and cancel rental from YVR!&lt;&lt;&lt;

Yes, you could do that. However, you'd need to check if you would incur a one-way drop off fee by picking up in Nanaimo and dropping off in Victoria (if in fact that's what you're going to do).

I don't know which will be the greater expense:

* two vehicle fares on the ferries

OR

* ground transportation from first hotel to Tsawwassen plus possible one-way drop off fee on rental car plus ground transportation from Victoria to Swartz Bay plus ground transportation from Tsawwassen to Vancouver International Airport.

That previous post was a good idea on how to spend your time! I'd recommend spending a day driving to Long Beach (between Tofino and Ucluelet...you mentioned you wanted to see Tofino...)I dont know if I would drive the entire way to see the city...but I would definately spend time at Long Beach (between the two cities)...especially the Wickaninnish inn area. stop in coombes at a place called goats on the roof if you pass through it.

I think Judy's itinerary is a great one, however I would not waste any time in Nanaimo. Given all the beauty that Vancouver Island has to offer, I'd head streat down to Victoria right after you get off the ferry on Sat and have lunch there. There really isn't much in Nanaimo that is worthy of taking your limited time away from the other sites.

Oops sorry - I missed Judy's contextual tip that you are looking at relocating to the Island. So, I would imagine you might want to check out Nanaimo for housing ideas.

&gt;&gt;Because having enough context always is so helpful in giving a useful response, I hope you don't mind my mentioning to Fodorites that you will be doing what I call an LSD (look, see and decide) trip with a view to relocating to Vancouver Island.&lt;&lt;