Things to do on a day off on Vancouver Island
 

Hello all,

I've just joined the forum after spending quite a while browsing the various threads on the new BA lounges at Terminal 5 which I'll be enjoying soon. Hopefully someone will be able to offer some advice on this.

I'm on a business trip for a week and half to Canada at the start of December. The one "day off" that our party will have with no work or travelling is Saturday 6th December and I'd love to see the best the island has to offer.

Any advice for 1 day's sightseeing in a Canadian winter?:confused:

It`s a Vancouver Island winter - probably equivalent to a cool spring or autumn in Britain! :cool:

It`s a big island - about 500 km long, so suggestions would vary depending on where you will be based or traveling from whilst in Canada. Are you going to be based in Victoria or Vancouver?

If you are going to Vancouver, stay in Vancouver and hit the galleries, museums, and pubs, or take a day-trip up to Whistler / Blackcomb for the scenery... there are multi scheduled coach services that make this easy. If it is pelting rain, as is likely in early December, I would stay in town though.

If you are going to Vancouver Island (Victoria), I would hire a car and drive up the island, again for the scenery, and try to book a dinner table at Sooke Harbour House -- one of the great restaurants in North America.

Vancouver Island is huge - Over 500 km long. To drive it end-to-end would take you over 8 hours, so we'll need some more details about where you're staying etc.

The 'standard' thing to do is visit Victoria - Lots to see and do there. However, in many regards, it's just another small city. If you'd like to see 'the best the island has to offer' I'd jump a floatplane up to Tofino.

This won't be cheap, but the scenery is incredible:

http://images.google.ca/images?hl=en&q=tofino&gbv=2

Like I said, if you can provide us some more details we can help you out further.

Sorry yes the detail was a bit sparse wasn't it! :)

We'll be at the Marriot in Victoria, right next to the inner Harbour.

Also if anyone knows the area well need some reccomendations for the bars/restaurants to hit on Friday night :D

Well, now it depends on the ages, interests, and stamina of the people in your group...

The west coast of the Island is definitely worth seeing, but driving to Tofino is out in one day. Flying is one option, with a meal at the Wickaninnish Inn or a restaurant in Tofino.

For a one-day coastline trip closer to Victoria, rent a car (remember to drive on the right) and drive out along the southern coast of the Island to Port Renfrew. Stop at China Beach for the scenery and some tidepooling and the pub at Port Renfrew for a drink. Make a reservation and hit the Sooke Harbour House for dinner on the way back into town - it definitely lives up to its reputation for great west coast cuisine and atmosphere.

If you're into wining and dining, drive up into the Cowichan Valley and take in some wineries and a cidery on the wine route. Stop at the Crow and Gate pub for lunch or find a cafe in Cowichan Bay. Stop at a beach for the scenery and some petroglyphs. Take in a gourmet dinner with a view at the Aerie on the way back over the Malahat.

If the weather co-operates, you can take in a round of golf in Victoria before either of the above. I have some problems with all the building going on at Bear Mountain and the effect on the environment, but the views from the course are amazing. Check out Olympic View also.

See if you can find someone with a boat to take you out for a sail, also weather permitting. Although, some of the best racing is during the winter.

If you don't want to drive, take a whale watching tour from Victoria Harbour in the morning, then come back and take in the totem poles and exhibits at the BC Museum in the afternoon. Walk out to the breakwater and stop for coffee at the cafe or go scuba diving (don't forget the drysuit - the wather's cold). Or check out the schedule of The Malahat, the train that runs up the eastern side of the island as far as Courtenay http://www.viarail.ca/trains/en_trai_roch_vico.html. The schedule is quite limited, but the scenery is amazing.

With regards to bars, restaurants, etc. - if you have a business contact who has connections, a drink at the Union Club is a very Victoria thing to do. The Bengal Room at the Empress is an experience. For brew pubs, try Swans (great west coast art and craft beer), Spinnakers, or Canoe.

If you in any way, shape, or form end up at the Wharfside or somewhere like that (overpriced tourist trap with lousy food and questionable sanitation), I will deny that I ever gave you any advice or suggestions - be warned;)

There are lots of other good threads in this forum regarding spending the day in Victoria.

That's easy we drive on the correct side of the road here as well! :D (UK based)

Thanks for all that advice - I'll run it passed the group and hopefully we'll make the most of our stay

Many Thanks for all the help ^

There is always HIGH TEA at the Empress. Expensive and over hyped in my opinion but my wife loves it.

Only if you have a death wish...we drive on the right side of the road in Canada.

Oh, you are so right. Remind myself - the left hand makes the L...:eek:
I`ll correct the original post.

I drive in Montreal these days - we just drive on whichever side the potholes and construction pits aren`t.

I drive in Montreal also but I sure don't do it in the path of oncoming traffic ;)

If you have the chance, take a couple of hours to visit the Royal British Columbia Museum. It's about 100m as the crow flies from your hotel, and is a great intro to our lovely province. Not to be missed are the First Nations gallery and the BC150 exhibit (a temporary exhibit ending in January) - they have a mock drive-in theatre as part of the latter showing old BC travel/tourism films from the 50s and 60s, complete with hilarious narration ("Home to the largest cold-storage fish processing facility in the British Empire!"). Also, every visitor to the museum is bound by tradition to have a photo of themselves taken in front of the mammoth.

Beverage-wise, as dibby mentioned Spinnakers (5min taxi ride from your hotel across the blue bridge to Esquimalt) and Swans (10min walk from hotel) are brewpubs not to be missed. I get thirsty just thinking about Spinnaker's IPA.

For food, I like:
-Zambri's: they're in a downtown strip mall but offer amazing handmade pasta and a menu that changes daily. At lunch (get there right when they open at 11:30 or it's lineup for you!) you place your order at the counter when you walk in, choose sides and wine should you so desire, pay up, and take your number to your table. Food arrives shortly thereafter. At dinner it becomes a "proper" restaurant, with table service. Arrive early or late, but not at peak times as the wait will be long.
-Cafe Brio: another downtown resto, this one makes virtually everything in-house, including making their own butter, curing their own meats, picking their own veg, etc...
-Stage: a wine bar-styled resto in the Fernwood neighbourhood, maybe a 7-10min cab ride out of downtown. This made en Route mag's list of 10 best new Canadian restaurants of 2008 (en Route is the AC mag, but their annual restaurant awards are quite well-respected).

Skill Testing Question: Which active FTer, actually a moderator, used to work as a waiter in the Empress Tea Room?

mpc1

Not in December, there aren't any.

I don't know, but I'm going to guess the FT'er formerly known as Empress...Andrew Yiu...the expert of all things AC.