First visit to BC – need some advice

[tim Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tim]

I am planning a two-week family vacation in August 2007 to British Columbia. We intend to fly in and out of Seattle. We will likely do a circle route with us staying 3 nights in Seattle, 2 or 3 nights in Victoria, 2 or 3 in Vancouver and 2or 3 in Whistler then head back to Seattle to fly home.

The first question I have concerns whether we should stay a few nights at Nanoose Bay at the Pacific Shores resort (assuming I can get a few nights with RCI Points). Is that a nice area for us to do activities with the kids. We have 3 daughters, ages 7, 10, and 12. Is there one area that we should spend more time in or is there someplace else we should consider. I am trying to hit some of the main areas, but don’t want to over do it.

Also, what is the best way of getting my family and rental car from Seattle to Victoria. Is the Washington State Ferry from Anacortes to Sidney the most scenic and enjoyable for the family?

Finally, is there a short boat tour up the coast -- inside passage?? -- (1 or 2 days) that would be good for the family? Where would you catch the boat and is there a website for me to check it out.

Thanks. Tim (I will also post this on TUG).

[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

BC vacation

Hi Tim,
I posted an answer on TUG.

For the most part, we loved our vacation in BC.

Sue

[garyd210 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close garyd210]

Priceline was great!

Hi Tim,
4 years ago I took my wife on a September Alaskan Celebrity cruise round trip out of Vancouver. We drove there from Sacramento, stopping for a night in Portland, Seattle and arriving the morning of the debarking. At the conclusion of our cruise, we spent a night in Vancouver and then a night in Victoria. This trip was prior to our timeshare acquisitions. I've had amazing success with Priceline.com and reserved nightly stays in each of these cities, offering my maximum offer of $70 for 5-star hotels(except for Victoria). We had verrrry nice rooms, which would normally run $150-180/night for my 70+tax. Seattle was at the Seattle Rennisance and I can't recall the one in Vancouver, but it was walking distance to the Holland America/Celebrity cruise ship complex. (you can park in the complex for a fairly reasonable amount for being indoors and covered, versus what other places charged that were far away). We loved Seattle and had a truly enjoyable tour on the Duck tours, which were based near the base of the Space Needle. Right there, there's a new rock n roll museum that costs with a gift shop that has fun stuff. Hourly parking is a lot, so expect it. You have to go to the infamous fish market where the employees launch through the air to another worker. I heard about it from a employee teamwork type video and saw what they did. Lots of fun to visit this wharf area. If you go to Vancouver, there is the nice downtown area that includes the Gaslamp area. This is a fun place, but one block out of this area to the east and it was a scary ghetto area. There is a rope bridge in the area that I remembered as a kid, and it's a very beautiful commercial park that was very enjoyable. We took the car ferry from south of Vancouver over to Sydney. Lines of cars can be fairly long. The Priceline offer for something nice for $70 got me no hits. I did get a so so motel for under $50 with no air conditioning about 2-3 miles from the Victoria Bay area. Next time I won't wait so long to try to get a room in Victoria or I'll have to offer more. Seemed like all 3 cities had a lot of transients asking for money, which was a small issue. There's a very nice museum there at the harbor and sign up early that day for a tour to the Government House also there at the harbor. A shoreline drive around the edge of outter banks of the island was fun and scenic, so get a AAA map prior to going and plot a little drive. All of our charges in Canada were easily converted automatically when the bill came for the ferries, hotel, meals, etc.. Check Priceline.com and don't be afraid to offer a low amount, unless you're short on time. We'd love to go back and do it again. The drive home was a bit long. You might check with a travel agent about short 2-3 day cruises. It won't get you up to the scenic inland passage, though. Have a super trip. Check out the Seattle-Tacoma Airport, it seemed to me that there were people with issues on the facility.

Gary

[bev Member Find all posts View Profile Close bev]

The Clipper

We plan to go in a yr or two, to stay right in the inner harbor of Victoria.
The plan we are using does not involve a car.. we will get a high speed clipper vessel (no cars). It is very reasonable..and the departure in Seattle is pier 69 (at the Edgewater) on Seattle's harborfront. If anyone wants to know the website I think it was accessable thru Seattle transportation sites.

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

Look at the timetable and prices for the ferries to the Island. We opted for the shorter ferry ride and drove to the terminal in Canada--can't remember the name--just south of Vancouver. The rides are quite similar and, for us, the shorter one was a relief.

We drove to the west side of the island for a day trip and thought that was time very well spent, and of course, our time in Victoria was well spent.

[gmfire Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gmfire]

BC Trip

I would suggest using "google maps" to look at your options regarding the car trip.
When in Victoria you may want to visit the "Buchart Gardens". This is a 130 acre botanical garden. Victoria is a city that is very much "British". It has a neat style that resembles England. There is a marine land that I'm sure your kids would love. There are boat tours there and in Vancouver that will take you out to see the Whales and other marine life.

Stanley Park is another great place to visit in Vancouver although they had a major wind storm there just a month ago so I'm not sure how much damage was done to the Huge Douglas Fir trees.

On Vancouver Island a couple hours drive north of Victoria you will come to Tofino and Port Alberni. Tofino is a neat place to stop as it is much like the hillbilly country of Canada. Watch for the goats eating grass on the roof of the local gift shop. I won't say no more on that other than your kids would get a great kick out of that. Just a little further and you will be into some of the oldest forest left in the world. The trees are big enough to build a large house inside of. It will take a few of you holding hands to make it all the way around the trunk of the trees.

I hope this helps you, there's much more to see ------- have fun

Mark

[eal Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close eal]

Pacific Shores

I am a fan of Pacific Shores, but be sure to get a two-bedroom unit; anything smaller and you might be disappointed. They have a lovely pool, outdoor hot tubs, a great restaurant (with a discount for RCI members apparently), free kayaks and an adventure playground. There are provincial parks nearby, including the Cathedral Grove, with incredibly old and huge trees.

Have a great trip.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

Also, what is the best way of getting my family and rental car from Seattle to Victoria. Is the Washington State Ferry from Anacortes to Sidney the most scenic and enjoyable for the family?
Thanks. Tim (I will also post this on TUG).

Having lived in Victoria, Vancouver, and Seattle, I have taken every ferry route between the Island and Seattle and Victoria. As you know, there is no ferry service directly from Seattle to Victoria that you can take your car on. You basically have 2 choices of either Anacortes WA - Sidney BC and Port Angeles WA - Victoria. The Anacortes ferry is the most scenic of any of the ferry routes to the island from either Vancouver or Washington. It sails through the San Juan Islands. The least scenic is the Port Angeles WA - Victoria route which is basically just a direct 18 mile shot across the straits to downtown Victoria. The downside to the Anacortes ferry is that it gets very crowded in the Summer so you need to be in line pretty early.

Below are the links to both ferries:

Official Washington State Ferries Homepage

Victoria - Port Angeles Ferry Service Schedule - Vancouver Island Accommodation, ferry fares.

[Carol C Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Carol C]

If you're going to Sydney go on an orca whale watching trip. We saw tons of breaching orcas this past July. We also enjoyed the town of Duncan just north of there, they're known for their many totem poles.

We stayed in Ocean Shores for a week, then drove north and took car ferry to Victoria (don't miss Butchart Gardens) , stayed two nights, then over to Sidney, then back to Seattle. So can't make any recommendation about Pacific Shores.
Have fun!

[swilshire Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close swilshire]

When in Victoria you may want to visit the "Buchart Gardens". This is a 130 acre botanical garden. Victoria is a city that is very much "British". It has a neat style that resembles England.

I've been searching for any discounts on tickets for the Gardens with no luck so far. Anybody seen any?

We'll go regardless, but it's a bit pricey for the four of us.

Thanks,

Sheila

[SherryS Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close SherryS]

We did an Alaska cruise out of Seattle last summer, preceeded by a week at Pacific Shores. We loved the trip, but I think diriving to Pacific Shores might be too long of a drive for just a couple of days with your younger children. The Victoria Clipper is certainly the way to go IMHO. I suggest some days around the Victoria area, and definitely spend a day at Bouchart Gardens. (We never found any discounted tickets for the gardens.) The city of Victoria has many intersting areas including a China Town. There are boat tours out of the Victoria Harbor that are quite reasonable (some go up a near-by gorge that is quite scenic and has various stops, parks, picnic areas, etc.) I also recommend the whale watch tours out of Victoria Harbor (high-speed boats, there are discount tickets around for some of these tours!). Enjoy!

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

BC Ferries has a day long Inside Passage trip from Port Hardy on the northern end of Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert. The link goes to the BC Ferries web site for the route. This is an inexpensive alternative to a cruise ship; it's on my to-do list for some summer when we don't go to Hawai'i. While you are at the BC Ferries web site, you should check out the many routes the BC Ferries operates, including many Gulf Islands that are accessed from Vancouver Island.

In addition to the ferry service to Victoria/Sydney discussed above, you can cross to Vancouver Island via the Nanaimo Crossing out of Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver, right at the start of the Sea-to-Sky Highway to Whistler.

Another option is the Langdale crossing at Horseshoe Bay. From Langdale you go up the Sunshine Coast to Powell River, then cross over to Vancouver Island at Powell River. If you go that route, note that there is an intermediate ferry crossing at Earls Cove-Saltery Bay; you need to time your travel up the coast to make that crossing. When you make the Langdale Crossing, you pay a double fare, and the next ferry ride is free (be that a return crossing at Langdale or the Earls Cove-Saltery Bay crossing. You do pay again for the Powell River crossing. Three fares, three ferry crossings on that route. Can get expensive, and IMHO the scenery isn't very nice but not spectacular. So I would do that route only if you're really love riding ferries.

[eal Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close eal]

Over two dozen "tall ships" - 19th century sailing vessels, will be in Victoria's inner harbour June 26 - 29 2008

Tall Ships Victoria 2008 - home

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

We were in Victoria last August for a few days. Butchart's Gardens is an absolute must see. It is spectacular. We did the Saturday night fireworks spectacular at Butchart's gardens. Other than that we were not very impressed with Victoria. We did the boat tours of both the inner harbor and the gorge. The tours are short and on tiny little boats. They cost around $80 for the 2 of us.

[biskits Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close biskits]

We are visiting Victoria this summer. A good friend who is in the tourist
industry in Seattle strongly recommended that we spend a couple days in Tofino, which is about a 5 hour drive from Victoria. Another strong recommendation was the Amtrak ride from Vancouver to Seattle. I was originally going to rent car in Seattle but decided to rent in Victoria instead. This way we can take ferry from Victoria to Vancouver and then Amtrak from Vancouver to Seattle. For more info on Tofino go to
Tofino Accommodation & Activities - Find Tofino Accommodations