Advice Please on Vancouver/Vancouver Island

Question

I would be really grateful for any advice that anyone could give.

I had planned to fly Globspan Glasgow to Vancouver on Wednesday 9th July to embark on an Alaskan cruise on Saturday 12th July. However, Globespan recently keep changing European flights and so now I feel quite vulnerable because if the Wednesday 9th flight was cancelled for any reason then my family might miss an expensive cruise. So I am now thinking of changing my flight to Saturday 5th July thinking that we would have a bit more flexibility if anything were to go wrong.

I had originally thought that with having only the 10th/11th in Vancouver before the cruise, I would not have time to visit Vancouver Island. However, if I change the flights we could overnight in Vancouver, have 5 nights on Vancouver island, and overnight in Vancouver before the cruise.

After the cruise we then have a further 10 nights before departing from Calgary on 29th July.  I had thought about spending another 2 nights in Vancouver (so we'd have 4 in total) and then go Whistler, Sunpeaks, Jasper, Canmore and on to Calgary.

I would appreciate advice on whether:

1. Would 4 nights be enough to enjoy most of what Vancouver has to offer, bearing in mind that it will not be a 4 straight nights, but fragmented into 1 + 1 + 2?

2. I'm wondering if I do go to Vancouver Island, will 5 nights be long enough, and whould we give Victoria a miss since people seem to think it is quite like the UK? Also would it be best to hire a car in Vancouver and take it to Vancouver Island, or wait until we get to VI?

3. Our flight out of Calgary is late evening so is it worth staying there the night before? I have read that it is only about an hours drive from Canmore to Calgary so that would allow us a number of hours there before our flight.  However, if there is a lot to see then I'll schedule in an overnight stay.

Views appreciated.

AlegreVancouverBC · Accepted Answer

Lots of questions here. You could use up more than a week just in Vancouver no matter what interests you have. Vancouver Island requires a lot of driving between places. Six hours to Tofino from Vancouver or Victoria for example. Don’t rule out Victoria as being UK’ish. It isn’t, except to North Americans seeing a double decker bus. You might want to define what you want to do and see on the Island before committing five days there. That isn’t to say there isn’t five days of adventure, just that you need a plan. It will be less expensive and more convenient to rent a car on the Island because of ferry rates and ferry waits (google BC Ferries). Whistler is in the opposite direction from Sunpeaks unless you use the very slow but scenic Duffy Lake road. Eight nights is plenty between Vancouver and Calgary with lots of driving. Vancouver to Jasper via Duffy is 11- 12 hours. Whistler to Sunpeaks about 4 hours. Jasper to Banff is 3-1/2 and Calgary from Banff an hour. I’ll leave it to the Calgary fans to say whether you should stay your last night there or in the Rockies.

IslandWest · Answer

Agree with last poster about Vancouver Island. With only five days - I think maybe steal a couple for Vancouver since your Vancouver is so broken up.

Stay maybe 3 nights in Victoria/Sooke area. There's lots to see and do and you won't need a car, just walk on the ferry or get the bus. Keep the other 2 days for Vancouver and do a day trip to Whistler from there.

EdinburghBabe · Answer

Many thanks for your advice. I'm now thinking of changing the itinerary to:

7 nights in Vancouver (and using one day to visit Whistler - would we be best to hire a car for this?).

We would then go on our cruise. We should be able to get off the ship early, so I would book a ferry to Vancouver Island for that day (Saturday 19th July).

It looks as if we are just going to be looking around Victoria and environs for a couple of days, then I shouldn't hire a car for this part. I'm a bit confused about the bus comment - does it go on the ferry? Should I allow 3 nights in Victoria or would 2 nights be sufficient?

Also is it possible to get from VI to Jasper in one day's drive, or should I still plan to have an overnight in Sunpeaks or somewhere?

If we do have a night in Sunpeaks, and assuming we are having a night in Calgary, then we have 5 nights left for Jasper and Banff. Bearing in mind that we want to visit Columbia Icefield, how should the 5 nights be split - 3 Jasper/2 Banff (Canmore) or 2 Jasper/3 Banff?

You guys are all great taking the time to give advice and guidance. Thank you again.

EdinburghBabe · Answer

Oh no, it has just occured to me - how would we manage with all our luggage to VI (2 big cases/3 cabin size cases) if we don't have a car to put it into. Is there any "left luggage" places you can leave it or do you have to try to get it onto the bus and ferry?

Patches07 · Answer

I would definitely stay at least 3 nights in Victoria. There is so much to do here....and it is quite different from Vancouver or the UK. There is whale-watching, our fabulous BC Museum, tea at the Empress Hotel (okay, that's British), feeding the seals at the Oak Bay Marina, if you are in Victoria on a Saturday night you should definitely go to the fireworks display at Butchart Gardens (but anytime is fabulous as these gardens are world-class), take the ferry to Sidney Spit for a hike and a picnic, wander the shops on Government Street and in Chinatown, taking a historic walking tour (google John Adams' walking tours as they are first-rate), play golf at any of the fabulous golf courses, rent bicycles or scooters, rent a canoe or kayak for the day to explore the inner harbour, take a horse-drawn carriage ride of one of the historical areas of downtown Victoria (at dusk is nice), and more!

Regarding your luggage, a car is great but you don't need one for a couple days. You can take your luggage on the Pacific Coach Lines bus that goes from Vancouver, onto the ferry, and takes you to downtown Victoria. I would suggest staying at a hotel near the inner harbour (there are B&Bs in this area, too), which is where the PCL bus station is, and then you can walk or catch a taxi from the bus station to your hotel or B&B, which would be close by.

Good luck!

Fearless802748 · Answer

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