5 Best Sights in Vancouver Island, British Columbia

One of Vancouver Island's oldest estate vineyards, this family-owned, sustainably farmed winery is a favorite with the locals. Award-winning estate wines include Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, and Black Muscat, while the Quill label wines are blended with grapes from the Okanagan Valley. Locally made cheese and charcuterie boards, which pair perfectly with the wines, are served daily in the architecturally stunning Tasting Room. Lunch for two, including five wines, is $50.

Geothermal springs tumble down a waterfall and into a series of oceanside rock pools at idyllic Hot Springs Cove, accessible only by boat or air from Tofino. Here, day trips—which are offered by several Tofino outfitters—usually include a bit of whale-watching en route. Once you arrive at the park, there's a half-hour boardwalk trail through old-growth forest to the site. Another popular day trip is to Meares Island, where an easy 20-minute boardwalk trail leads to trees up to 1,600 years old.

This national park has some of Canada's most stunning coastal and rain-forest scenery, abundant wildlife, and a unique marine environment. It comprises three separate units—Long Beach, the Broken Group Islands, and the West Coast Trail—for a combined area of 123,431 acres, and stretches 130 km (81 miles) along Vancouver Island's west coast.

More than 100 islands of the Broken Group Islands archipelago in Barkley Sound can be reached only by boat. The islands and their clear waters are alive with sea lions, seals, and whales, and because the inner waters are much calmer than the surrounding ocean, they provide an excellent environment for kayaking. Guided kayak and charter-boat tours are available from outfitters in Ucluelet, Bamfield, and Port Alberni.

The most popular part of the park, and the only section that can be reached by car, is the Long Beach section. Besides the beach, the Long Beach section of the park is home to rich stands of old-growth forest, a wealth of marine and terrestrial wildlife (including black bears, cougars, and sea lions), and a network of coastal and rain-forest hiking paths. A first stop for any first-timer is the visitor center, which doubles as the Ucluelet Visitor Information Office. You can pick up maps and information, and pay park entrance fees here.

There are actually two vineyards on this lovely 26-acre property—the upper vineyard clings to Mount Menzies while the lower trails down to the sea—both kept trim by a resident flock of small Babydoll Southdown sheep. Vintages from the first two years proved so popular that the vineyard has now increased to maximum production capacity. The award-winning Ortega and Blanc de Noir continue to sell out. Enjoy appetizers from Truss Farm Food in the licensed picnic area off the Tasting Room.

Victor Vesely and Margit Nellemann have proven agriculture officials, who said tea couldn't be grown in Canada, wrong. They planted two terraces of Camellia sinensis on about half an acre overlooking an old dairy barn in 2010. The barn has since been converted to a tea shop and gallery and their first crop of single-origin spring harvest tea, Swallow Tail Oolong, was released July 1, 2016. Also available are imported artisanal teas blended with herbs and flowers grown on the farm and popular Chinese zodiac–sign teas. The adjoining gallery features Margit's exquisite ceramic teapots and more. Book in for a Tea Tasting workshop or Tea Experience, including a guided tasting and tour of the tea garden.