This pretty island off the West Coast of Vancouver is home to some of the greatest travel experiences in the country and you’ll probably find that you’ll need at least a week to squeeze in all the best things to do in Vancouver Island.

In this wild paradise you can get up close to orcas, grizzly bears and the endemic species of black bear; wildlife experiences that are pretty rare to come by. As well as wildlife, Vancouver Island has beautiful walks, beaches, some great restaurants and glimpses of First Nations culture which make this one of the top travel destinations in Canada.

Simply put, Vancouver Island should be included in everyone’s Canada itinerary.

1: Whale Watching
2: Goldstream Trestle
3: Sooke Potholes
4: Beechy Head
5: Black Bear Watching
6: Tacofino
7: Pacific Rim National Park
8: Long Beach
9: The Totem Poles at Duncan
10: Little Mountain Lookout
11: Cathedral Grove
12: Grizzly Bear Watching

Things to do on Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island Map

You can find the locations of all the best things to do on Vancouver Island below, or click on this link to access a customisable version on google maps.

Victoria

Victoria is the biggest city on Vancouver Island and has plenty to offer! Whilst it is an interesting city with some beautiful colonial architecture, we preferred to use it as a base for seeing some of the wilder parts of the Island. If culture is your thing you’ll also find plenty of museums, galleries and places for afternoon tea!

1. Whale watching

Orcas, humpbacks, greys - you name it and Vancouver Island has them. It really is one of the best places in the world for whale watching. Having said that, different parts of the island are better for different species so you’ll want to decide ahead of time which kind of whales you want to see (time of year will also have an impact).

*Things to do in Vancouver Island: Orca watching*

Whilst many companies will offer guaranteed sightings, it won’t be of a particular kind of whale. We found out the hard way when we booked what we thought was an orca watching tour (there was a picture of an orca with guarenteed sightings written underneath) only to find that we didn’t even go looking for orcas but straight to where humpbacks had been seen.

Humpbacks are amazing but we’ve seen them many times in Australia so we wouldn’t have done that particular tour had we known they wouldn’t try and look for orcas! Just something to be mindful of as we weren’t the only ones on the tour who had been confused!

In general the area of Victoria/Sidney is good for humpbacks and a chance of seeing orcas (guides on our tour said they see them around 15% of the time). Whilst whales can be spotted at any time of year in Victoria, sightings are highest between May and October.

Tofino is great particularly for gray whales between March and October (spring and fall is the migration time when they are around in huge numbers but they are also seen in summer) and the very occasional transient orca.

Telegraph Cove is good for humpbacks (May to September) and orcas in August in particular, but they can also be seen in July and September. Tours departing from Campbell River will generally take you towards Telegraph Cove. Both Victoria and Telegraph Cove have resident orcas

If you just want to see a whale of any kind you can pick any of these areas in the right season and you won’t be disappointed!

Read next: Epic hikes in BC - Joffre Lakes, The Chief, Abbott Ridge and The High Note Trail

2. Goldstream Trestle - Goldstream Provincial Park

The Goldstream Trestle is found at the end of a 1.5km (each way) walking track and is a popular photography spot. The views from where the bridge crosses the canyon are dramatic. This service on this track was discontinued in 2015 which was really surprising as it looked ancient to us!

The trestle is not maintained and therefore walking on it is at your own risk. The walking track is short and not too arduous (although it is steep in parts) the only real difficulty is the slippery terrain. Parts felt a little sketchy on the descent so we’d recommend wearing shoes with good grip.

It’s best to return the way you came, we thought we found a good loop option but ended up walking for over a kilometre on the side of a busy road which was a pretty hair-raising experience.

If you’d prefer to visit a restored trestle with railings you can try Kinsol Trestle which we didn’t have time to visit but was originally on our list.

*Things to do in Vancouver Island: Goldstream Trestle*

3. Sooke Potholes Provincial Park

The Sooke Potholes Provincial Park makes for the perfect place to cool off on a hot day. The river is so big that you have plenty of space to find your own little patch of paradise. In the areas near all three car parks the water is calm and shallow so it’s the perfect place for a dip, added to that the water is refreshing without being freezing cold (having said that we visited in summer!).

If swimming isn’t your thing it also makes for a lovely picnic spot.

The first car park is free and the second and third are paid for parking. We checked out the river by car park one and two. We’d read that the areas near the two paid for car parks are much nicer and we actually didn’t agree. We didn’t mind paying for parking but were surprised that it was actually really similar to the free area which was also strangely less busy!

4. Beechy Head Loop and Petroglyphs

The Beechy Head Loop is an amazing 5km loop hiking trail (with 170m elevation gain) which not only shows off some of Vancouver Island’s most picturesque coastline but also gives you the chance to wildlife watch and visit some ancient petroglyphs.

The hike itself is not difficult but the terrain can be a little challenging if you don’t like walking over rocks and tree roots.

You walk through a mixture of forest and also along the shore before arriving at the lookout which is an easy scramble up rock to a large area which gives you a perfect vantage point over the ocean.

Despite seeing loads of whale watching boats we sadly didn’t spot any (both humpbacks and less commonly orcas are a possibility) although we did see quite a few playful seals.

For a shorter walk which doesn’t have any challenging terrain you can just go as far as the Petroglyphs along the forest trail (the Beechy Head Loop also visits the petroglyphs but along the coast trail). There are two petroglyphs, one is very obvious and visible from the walking track and one is more faded and visible after scrambling over a few rocks. There’s a large sign marking the spot and showing you what to look for.

Tofino

Tofino’s one of the best places to visit on Vancouver Island and should be high on anyone’s list. We’ve created a separate article all about the best things to do in Tofino, but you can check out a few below.

5. Black Bear watching

If you’re a wildlife lover then this trip is probably going to be the highlight of your time on Vancouver Island, unless you do the Grizzly tour too in which case it could be tied!

The Black Bear watching trips take place from small boats and offer you the chance to get pretty close to these incredible animals whilst always being completely safe. This gave us the time to really observe them in a completely relaxed environment which is something that can’t be said for spotting bears on hiking trails :)

The trips depart from Tofino and take you to various beaches around the Clayoquot Sound where the bears are hanging around to gorge on crabs and other shellfish. We were lucky enough to see eight bears including a little cub and one bear which entertained us for ages swimming really close to the boat.

As the boat trip is on a sound rather than open sea the water is really calm which is perfect for seasickness sufferers like me. We also saw seals and a bald eagle on the trip which was a great way to finish. I did quite a bit of research before booking the trip and in the end went with Adventure Tofino and we were really happy with the choice.

They use small zodiac boats which are great for photography and in general I always prefer to sit outside rather than inside and some of the boats in the area do not have outdoor seating. The guide was also great and did a fabulous job in finding lots of bears and giving you enough time with each one before moving on.

Trips take place between April and October when the bears are out from hibernation. Tours last 2-2.5 hours (ours lasted the full duration and I got the impression they will always give you as long as possible with the bears) and cost CAD$109 exc tax for adults and $79 for children under 12.

6. Tacofino

We don’t often include anything food related in our blogs but Tacofino is a Vancouver Island institution. This eclectic looking food truck serves delicious tacos, burritos and gringas which are well worth the sometimes lengthy wait (on a busy summer day we waited for an hour!).

We opted for fish tacos and weren’t disappointed. We heard the fudge cookies are to die for but they were already sold out when we go there! There are meat, fish and veggie options.

The truck is open everyday of the week from 11am.

7. Pacific Rim National Park

Pacific Rim National Park is a mixture of lush rainforest and wild windswept beaches. There are quite a few short hiking trails to get you around the best patches of forest and out to the most remote beaches. You won’t have a problem finding solitude here even in summer.

Our favourites were Rainforest Loop B and the Nuu-Chah-Nulth track but you can find details on every trail we hiked in our best hikes in Tofino blog.

*Rainforest Loop A, Pacific Rim National Park*

8. Long Beach

Long Beach is a must when visiting Tofino. If you’re lucky and you have decent weather (unlike in ‘Fog-ust’ as the locals refer to August which was when we visited!) then definitely come for sunset. The reflection in the water lining the sand is absolutely beautiful and even when we visited on a dreary day was impressive! The beach itself is absolutely huge and definitely one of the best things to do on Vancouver Island.

If you have good weather and are interested in more beautiful beach sunset spots check out the others that were on our list but couldn’t be visited due to torrential rain - Cox Bay and Chesterman Beach.

Between Victoria and Tofino

9. Totem Poles - Duncan

The Totem Pole Trail is conveniently located on the road between Victoria and Tofino and makes an ideal stop for a coffee and a leg stretch along the way. The Totem Pole Trail is a short walk which takes you around the city’s famous Totem Poles with explanations for each one along the way.

You follow the yellow footsteps which are painted on the pavement. The trail is completely flat and accessible for everyone. It was lovely to get a bit of history which we hadn’t seen too much of on Vancouver Island up to this point.

10. Little Mountain - Parksville

We actually wanted to visit Little Mountain for sunset but couldn’t make the timings work so we popped by during the day. It’s an impressive lookout where you can stand on the cliff edge and look out to the vast forest and mountains.

It’s an unfenced cliff so you need to be mindful but it’s a huge space and you don’t need to be near the edge for a good view. Little Mountain would also make a good picnic spot.

It’s at the end of a road which leaves you wondering if you’ve come to the right place... you have! It’s just a one minute walk from the car park.

*Things to do in Vancouver Island: Little Mountain*

11. Cathedral Grove - near Port Alberni

Cathedral Grove is another spot which you should definitely stop at on the drive between Victoria and Tofino. There are two trails here, both of which can be completed in under an hour. If you only have time for one go for the Living Forest trail which is just over one kilometre and flat.

The forest was exceptionally beautiful, especially when we visited in the late afternoon with glorious golden light. In between wandering through the ginormous Douglas Fir trees you can also get glimpses out to the lake which was gorgeous.

The Big Trees trail which is just under one kilometre was also lovely and had the tallest tree in the area which would dwarf the Leaning Tower of Pisa! Both trails are flat and easy on a mixture of boardwalk and dirt trail.

*Things to do in Vancouver Island: Cathedral Grove*

Telegraph Cove & Alert Bay

Telegraph Cove and Alert Bay are at the very northern end of Vancouver Island and offer up some true bucket list experiences. This is the best place to spot grizzly bears and wild orcas, as well as seeing bald eagles, humpback whales and many other animals.

If you love wildlife, this area has to be on your itinerary.

12. Grizzly bear watching, Telegraph Cove/Alert Bay

Whilst there isn’t a grizzly bear population on Vancouver Island itself you can take tours from the north of the island over to Knight Inlet which takes a couple of hours to get to from Telegraph Cove.

Getting up close to these incredible animals should be high on everyone’s bucket list and although pricey these tours don’t disappoint.

The tours from Alert Bay are operated by experienced First Nations guides who will take you to the world famous Great Bear Rainforest. Conditions permitting the tour is from a boat, so it feels very safe and the chances of seeing a grizzly is very high. Depending on time of year some tours will take place on foot, for which you need to be comfortable walking on rugged terrain.

There’s also a good chance of seeing other wildlife on the tours, including whales.

Tours operate daily between July and October and last 10 hours on average.
Trips cost CAD $485 for adults and $375 for children under 16.

Read this post for more details on Grizzly watching and Black Bear watching trips.

Essential information about Vancouver Island

Getting to Vancouver Island

You can fly to Victoria from Seattle, Vancouver or many other places in Canada.

We travelled by ferry of which there are several each day from Port Angeles (USA), Seattle (USA), Horseshoe Bay (Vancouver) or Tsawwassen (Vancouver) and they go to Victoria, Sidney and Nanaimo.

The majority of these ferries will allow you to take your own car onboard, allowing you to get exploring as soon as you arrive!

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