Home of the vibrant and culture-rich capital city of Victoria, wild and evergreen Vancouver Island is well worth exploring. Stretching nearly 300 miles from north to south and 60 miles east to west, the island sits on British Columbia’s western coast, with miles of beaches, temperate rainforests, peaceful lakes, and laid-back outposts to overnight at after a day of hiking, biking, or surfing. While you could spend weeks exploring it all, this three-day itinerary showcases the can’t-miss-stops and is an excellent jumping off point for a longer trip should you have the time.
How to Get to and Around the Island
Start the road trip in Victoria, where you can rent a car after arriving by flight or ferry via Seattle or Port Angeles, Washington. (Another option is a regular, year-round car or pedestrian ferry from Vancouver (Tsawwassen) to Victoria (Swartz Bay), which takes about an hour and 40 minutes to cross the Strait of Georgia, then a 35 minute drive to Victoria.)
Roadways on the island are limited, with one main artery running along the eastern side of the island and down into Victoria, and just a few cross-island routes. Much of the north island is fairly remote, and the northwest coastline is difficult to access by road.
Day 1: Exploring Victoria’s Culture and Waterways
Enjoy the Victorian-era architecture and acres of parkland in this lovely city surrounded by water. Take a water taxi tour, enjoy boutiques and galleries downtown, or spend the afternoon taking in British Columbia’s natural and human history at the Royal BC Museum, founded in 1886. Close by is Thunderbird Park, where you can admire replica totem poles and learn about First Nations carving. Afterward, experience the high tea at the venerable Fairmont Empress, where you’ll receive a selection of scones, pastries, and finger sandwiches on a multi-tiered platter as you sip your favorite infusion (reservations are recommended).
You can’t go wrong with freshly caught seafood at one of many fine dining spots with waterfront views, or choose among global cuisines at the bustling Victoria Public Market. For dumplings or noodles, head under the colorful arch into Chinatown (Canada’s oldest). After sunset, stroll the Inner Harbor pathway and admire the glowing, 500-ft. facade of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia building, lit with 3,300 bulbs, or see it all from the water with a guided sunset or full moon kayak tour with Victoria Kayak. Spend the night at one of Victoria’s hotels or inns on the water.
Have more time?
Spend a relaxing day enjoying rose blooms at 55-acre Butchart Gardens (best late spring through fall) north of the city or go for a whale watching tour—ideal times are spring for gray whales and fall for humpbacks, but whales, including orcas, can be spotted most of the year.
Day 2: From Wine Country Through Old-Growth Trees to the Coast
Get an early start and head northeast, driving through Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley wine country where farm-to-table cuisine showcases the region’s harvests. Drive about 25 miles past Nanaimo (after snacking on a famous Nanaimo bar, made from layers of buttercream and melted chocolate stacked on a cocoa-infused graham cracker base, at one of the local bakeries) to the charming Parksville-Qualicum Beach area for lunch, just north of Nanaimo. Oysters or pizza and a glass of local wine for passengers at Qualicum Beach Café overlooking the water may fit the bill.
After lunch, head out on the winding BC-4 to drive across the island to the beach communities on the Pacific shore. It will take about two hours to navigate through the evergreen forests and past pristine lakes, but you’d be remiss if you didn’t stop. Set aside time to stretch your legs at one of many wooded trails—especially those through the ancient fir trees of Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park. From March to December, be sure to stop at the Old Country Market in Coombs for fresh-baked pastries and donuts, market produce in season, and a wide range of kitchen and pantry goods. You may also see goats munching on the market’s live roof. Just before reaching Ucluelet, pull over for photos of Kennedy Lake along the way.
You’ll arrive at the Pacific Ocean in Ucluelet, a cute seaside community with several boutiques and wellness shops at a marina anchored by Ucluelet Aquarium, Canada’s first collect-and-release aquarium that features fish and invertebrates found in the Barkley and Clayoquot Sounds. Grab a microbrew and warm soft pretzel up the hill at friendly Ucluelet Brewing Company or spend a luxe evening with a prix-fixe dinner sampling Vancouver Island’s best local food at Pluvio Restaurant + Rooms.
Have more time?
Instead of heading to Ucluelet right away, drive up the northeast coast from Parksville, for hiking along the eastern edge of the island or charters out into the bays and inlets of the Strait of Georgia. Or take a guided cave tour at Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park, where you can see crystal formations, fossils, and even underground waterfalls.
Day 3: Seaside Relaxation in Ucluelet and Tofino
Both Ucluelet and Tofino, a resort community to the north, are outdoors wonderlands. Rent surfboards or beach cruisers and spend the day exploring the sand, sea stacks, and coves of Long Beach at the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. The reserve, which occupies traditional territories of the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations, has a new multi-use path that connects all but a short stretch of the distance between the two towns, and several trails into the temperate rainforest for relaxing hikes.
You’ll likely see surfers, and possibly the spouts of migrating whales offshore, around Incinerator Rock or Wickaninnish Beach to the south. Charters can also be booked from spring through fall for activities like whale, bear, or bird watching. Tofino’s restaurants range from casual gathering places like Shed—great for cocktails, burgers, and small plates—to upscale spots like Jeju for giant Korean rib platters.
Spend the night in Tofino and head back to Victoria in the morning along the same route. Treat yourself before you leave with brunch at the historic Wickaninnish Inn’s Pointe Restaurant, a seaweed facial at Black Rock Oceanfront Resort’s Drift Spa, or a two-hour wood-fired, nordic spa experience with ocean cold plunge at Tuff City Sauna. For exquisite chocolates to take home or pastries for the road, stop in at Ouest Artisan Patisserie.
Have more time?
Book a day-long kayak trip of Barkley Sound’s Broken Group Islands with Hello Nature Adventure Tours, take a surf lesson with the all-women crew at Surf Sister in Tofino, or plan ahead for a bucket-list backcountry backpacking trip on the stunning West Coast Trail.