VANCOUVER ISLAND 's proximity to Vancouver makes it one
of western Canada's premier tourist destinations, though its
popularity is slightly out of proportion to what is, in most cases,
a pale shadow of the scenery on offer on the region's mainland. The
largest of North America's west-coast islands, it stretches almost
500km from north to south, but has a population of around only
500,000, mostly concentrated around Victoria , whose
small-town feel belies its role as British Columbia's second
metropolis and provincial capital. It is also the most British of
Canadian cities in feel and appearance, something it shamelessly
plays up to attract its two million - largely American - visitors
annually. While Victoria makes a convenient base for touring the
island - and, thanks to a superlative museum, merits a couple of
days in its own right - little else here, or (for that matter) in
any of the island's other sizeable towns, is enough to justify an
overnight stop.
For most visitors Vancouver Island's main attraction is the
great outdoors and - increasingly - whale-watching , an
activity which can be pursued from Victoria, Tofino,
Ucluelet and several other places up and down the island. The
scenery is a mosaic of landscapes, principally defined by a central
spine of snowcapped mountains which divide it decisively between
the rugged and sparsely populated wilderness of the west coast and
the more sheltered lowlands of the east. Rippling hills
characterize the northern and southern tips, and few areas are free
of the lush forest mantle that supports one of BC's most lucrative
logging industries. Apart from three minor east-west roads (and
some rough logging and gravel roads), all the urban centres are
linked by a good highway running along almost the entire length of
the east coast.
Once beyond the main towns of Duncan and Nanaimo ,
the northern two-thirds of the island is distinctly underpopulated.
Locals and tourists alike are lured by the beaches at
Parksville and Qualicum , while the stunning
seascapes of the unmissable Pacific Rim National Park ,
protecting the central portion of the island's west coast, and
Strathcona Provincial Park , which embraces the heart of the
island's mountain fastness, are the main destinations for most
visitors. Both of these parks offer the usual panoply of outdoor
activities, with hikers being particularly well served by the
national park's West Coast Trail , which is a tough and
increasingly popular long-distance path. A newer, but less dramatic
(and less busy) trail, the Juan de Fuca Trail runs to the
south of the park. Shuttle buses and once-daily scheduled bus
services from Victoria to points in the park, together with a
wonderful approach by boat from Port Alberni, offer a choice
of beguiling alternative itineraries for exploring the region.
Another boat trip on a smaller working vessel from the tiny
settlements of Tahsis and Gold River to the north is also becoming
deservedly popular.
For a large number of travellers, however, the island is little
more than a necessary pilgrimage on a longer journey north.
Thousands annually make the trip to Port Hardy , linked by
bus to Victoria, at the northern tip, to pick up the ferry that
follows the so-called Inside Passage , a breathtaking trip
up the British Columbia coast to Prince Rupert. More are likely to
pick up on the newer scenic ferry service, the Discovery Coast
Passage , from Port Hardy to Bella Coola, south of Prince
Rupert. You'll probably meet more backpackers plying these routes
than anywhere else in the region, many of them en route to the far
north, taking the ferries that continue on from Prince Rupert to
Skagway and Alaska.