Vancouver Island is home to rugged, nearly inaccessible rainforests and wilderness coastlines; the island also offers very sophisticated dining and lodging, often in the remote backcountry itself. After a challenging day sea-kayaking remote archipelagoes or hiking old-growth forest, you return to five-star lodging and dining.
Begin your journey in Vancouver, taking the car ferry across to Victoria, the provincial capital and center of an amusingly bogus Olde English tourist trade. Once in Victoria, take a wildlife-viewing boat trip out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and get up close and personal with orcas, porpoises, and sea birds. Tour the excellent Royal British Columbia Museum to understand the region's history and view totem poles, ceremonial masks, and other wondrous carved artifacts. Spend the night in one of Victoria's many charming inns, or go for it all and book into the Empress Hotel for a taste of Edwardian luxury.
From Victoria, travel north on Highway 19, stopping to sample wines in the lovely farm and wine-growing region of Cowichan Valley, then continue to Parksville or Qualicum Beach. These two resort towns on sandy beaches on the east side of Vancouver Island offer a good selection of exclusive B&Bs, family hotels, and charmingly old-fashioned cottage resorts, most with private access to beaches.
The road to Tofino and Vancouver Island's wild west coast is long and windy, so allow 4 to 6 hours to make the journey. However, Tofino and the Long Beach portion of the Pacific Rim National Park are certainly worth the journey. Outfitters make it simple to get out onto calm and isolated bays on sea kayaks -- a popular trip crosses a sound to visit a natural hot springs. Spend another day exploring the shops in Tofino, or linger on the splendid sandy beaches. Rainforest hikes, deep-sea fishing trips, and ocean wildlife viewing tours are other options.
The B&Bs and lodges in the Tofino are first rate. Many are nestled above remote beaches at the edge of the forest; others cling to rocky headlines while still others are floating lodges reached only after a quick boat trip. Some of Vancouver Island's most notable restaurants are here, and the local seafood is exquisite.
Cross back to the east side of Vancouver Island, but turn north at Parksville and drive up Highway 19 through coastal towns to Campbell River. At the town center, take the car ferry to Quadra Island. Quadra is known for its excellent lodges and restaurants, and also for the Kwagiulth Museum and Cultural Centre, which preserves a world-renowned collection of artifacts, ceremonial masks, and tribal costumes used by the local First Nation's band in traditional potlatch ceremonies.
The next day, return to Vancouver either by ferry from Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay, or if the weather is pleasant, cross at Comox to Powell River, and journey to Vancouver along the scenic Sunshine Coast.
