Quote and suggested itinerary from Canandian Affair for July 2020 trip

[BigPetesWife]

Hi, on first look it seems quite expensive. FWIW we went to Canada last August and for 2 ad, 2 ch we paid £1600 for Lon - Toronto, Vancouver - London with Air Canada. We are going back to Whistler this Easter and although I've booked a package (got a great deal) I remember seeing return flights to Vancouver for £500 return per person.

We did a similar itinerary to the one you have planned. I would probably do less nights in Victoria and more in Tofino or Whistler. We used Prince of Whales for our whale watching (we got very wet even with their overalls and quite a calm day, so dress appropriately). We also did kayaking in Ucluelet (near Tofino) where we saw a bear and was great fun. I would highly recommend both of these activities. We also did the ziplining in Whistler which was good fun.

If you decide to hire a car (and it's very easy to do so, the driving is easy too plus you might appreciate having the freedom on Vancouver Island) have a look at Virgin Holidays for car hire only as their prices seem to be very good. Some of the things to do near Tofino would be quite difficult without a car, but as we had one I didn't really look into how we would get about without one. We also did surfing in the pacific rim which was good fun.


Happy to answer any other questions you may have and if I think of anything else I will come back.

[burns3466]

Really appreciate all the comments - thank you! Couple more questions: is Whistler basically a ski resort? If so, not sure we would want to go there. Also, if we hired a car, can someone just tell me how long roughly the drive would be between Victoria and whistler? Perhaps I could sort all this out myself and save a substantial amount of money...

[BigPetesWife]

In the summer Whistler becomes a summer mountain resort. There's a lot of different walking trails that you can follow that range from easy to more difficult. We spent one afternoon up at the top of the mountains and could have spent longer up there. There's a suspension bridge right at the top and a suspended look out. We also did the ziplining that they do there. If you are feeling more adventurous there is also mountain biking. There's also the Olympic bobsleigh track which I think that you can have a go on (our children were too young, so I didn't really look into it that much). You can also do bear tours in Whistler. We didn't go up Grouse mountain as we knew that we were going to Whistler later (also there were serious fires which meant that there was a lot of smoke and no visibility).

If driving from Tofino to Whistler, you don't actually need to go back to Victoria. You can get a ferry from Nanaimo (3 hours from Tofino) to Horseshoe Bay and then it's only an hour up to Whistler (depending on traffic conditions) once off the ferry.


It's four hours from Victoria to Tofino, but there are a few places of interest on the way. The goats on the roof and Cathedral Grove are two that I could suggest.

[Gunna]

Originally Posted by burns3466

Really appreciate all the comments - thank you! Couple more questions: is Whistler basically a ski resort? If so, not sure we would want to go there. Also, if we hired a car, can someone just tell me how long roughly the drive would be between Victoria and whistler? Perhaps I could sort all this out myself and save a substantial amount of money...

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We did Whistler in the summer and spent three nights there, lots to do and we could of stayed longer.

Ziplining, water rafting, hikes, you can head up the mountain and ride the Peak to Peak gondola and visit their new suspension bridge (about 7000ft up) for amazing views. We also did a walk to train wreck in a forest which was different but worth it. There are also some lovely waterfalls around Whistler too.

Driving from Victoria to Whistler would be about 5 - 6 hours roughly but you’ll need to book a ferry ( ferry time included in that 5 - 6 hours) - that’s about £70 one way and you can book in advance too to reserve your space. I would do Naniamo to Horseshoe Bay and then you come out north of Vancouver so you don’t have to drive across the city from the southern port. Driving is fine in Canada too, we had no issues.

Feel free to ask any questions, lots of people on here have been and gave me some great advice before we went that really helped.