Rate per person: CAD $5,385 based on double occupancy, peak season departure
This 9-day/ 8-night trip takes in what are arguably the highlights of British Columbia’s beautiful coastline. First, a night in spectacular Vancouver. Then two nights in the idyllic artists’ community of Salt Spring Island, the largest of the Gulf Islands, are followed by three nights near Tofino, gateway to the old growth forests of Pacific Rim National Park. The trip ends with two nights in quaint Victoria, Canada’s “garden city.” Everywhere, you’ll enjoy fine Pacific Northwest cuisine featuring locally caught seafood, Salt Spring lamb, organic greens, and award-winning BC wines. This is a trip for romantics who enjoy a leisurely pace, seclusion and lots of places to kiss!
Road Trip Visiting Inns on the West Coast
Day 1
Upon your arrival at the Vancouver Airport, you will pick up your full-sized rental car and make your way to your hotel downtown. If there’s time, wander along chic Robson Street before dinner on your own. Accommodations are at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver in a Fairmont Gold Room.
Day 2
Drive to the ferry terminal for the journey across the Strait of Georgia to Salt Spring Island (approx. 2 hours). Settle into your oceanside hotel and, if there’s time, consider sea kayaking or hiking on one of myriad seaside trails before dinner. Accommodations are at Hastings House in the Post Cottage.
Day 3
Enjoy an afternoon of crabbing on Salt Spring Island with local crab fisherman, Gary Le Marchant. Kitted out with rain slickers and the requisite license, you’ll head out on Gary’s crabbing boat for a true maritime adventure—including a hands-on workshop on how to tell male and female crabs apart, which ones to cook, and how to pick them up safely. Back on shore, you’ll be shown how to clean them. Best of all, you’ll have your catch of Dungeness crab in hand when you return to Hastings House—where it will be prepared for your evening’s dinner! Accommodations are at Hastings House in the Post Cottage.
Day 4
From Salt Spring Island, drive and ferry approx. 5 hours to Tofino, on Vancouver Island’s magnificently rugged west coast. Accommodations are at Wickaninnish Inn in a 3rd Floor Deluxe Room.
Day 5
Enjoy a private half-day guided walk designed to introduce you to the extraordinary creatures that call the Pacific Rim National Park home. You choose whether to focus on surf-swept beaches, the outer waters, centuries-old rainforest, or the new Wild Pacific Trail. Accommodations are at Wickaninnish Inn in a 3rd Floor Deluxe Room.
Day 6
A day at your leisure in Tofino. Options include sea kayaking, whale watching excursions, coastal bear viewing, guided nature walks, fishing, surfing…or simply wandering the beaches and boardwalk trails to hot springs hidden in the heart of old-growth forest. Accommodations are at Wickaninnish Inn in a 3rd Floor Deluxe Room..
Day 7
Today you will enjoy a scenic drive across Vancouver Island from Tofino to Victoria. Here, you will stay in a wonderful hotel along Victoria’s Inner Harbour. Accommodations are at the Inn at Laurel Point in a Bedroom Suite.
Day 8
Explore Victoria on your own. Highlights of the historic city include its Antique Row, Chinatown, and heritage mansions; a stroll through the famous Butchart Gardens; and taking afternoon tea at the Fairmont Empress Hotel. Accommodations are at the Inn at Laurel Point in a Bedroom Suite.
Day 9
On your final day, drive and ferry on a scenic 4-hour journey from Victoria back to Vancouver, where you’ll drop your rented vehicle at Vancouver International Airport, in time for your departure flight. Safe travels!
To learn more about this experience please contact one of our travel planners.
