Vancouver Island: a 5-6 day itinerary

The Basics

🇨🇦 About Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island makes the southwestern tip of British Columbia, into the Pacific ocean but less than 2 hours away by ferry from the mainland. It's bigger than you may think, as it is the same size as some countries, such as Belgium or Taiwan! The population is roughly 860,000 people, with half of them living in the Greater Victoria, British Columbia's capital, which is located on the southern end of the island.

Vancouver Island is renown for its peaceful and relaxed way of life, with 3400 km of coastline to enjoy, as well as mountains as tall as 2200 m in the center of the island. It's also popular for surfing in the town of Tofino. There is a large indigenous community that is strongly influencing the culture on the island.

🌤 Climate

As the rest of British Columbia, Vancouver Island benefits from the mildest climate of all Canada. Forget about long freezing winters, around the coast the temperature rarely drops below 0°C (32°F). However, it is quite wet, especially in the winters, and Tofino is even popular for storm watching. Summers are usually rather dry, but could still be quite windy and less warm than on the mainland (15°-25°C / 59-77°F max).