Make your base: Parksville & Campbell River
Travel dates: July
Flight: United Airlines via Denver to Vancouver
Hotels: Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort and Naturally Pacific Resort
What I Loved
After a beautiful week cruising aboard the Disney Wonder to Alaska with my family and spotting glaciers, whales and bears, I called into port back in Vancouver. Unprepared to face the Florida heat, I was delighted we’d tacked on a few extra nights to chill out on nearby Vancouver Island. It’s a roughly two-hour crossing from downtown Vancouver to Nanaimo, on the island’s mellow east coast, known for whale watching in the Salish Sea, fresh seafood and low-key, affordable beach communities for family fun. At Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort in Parksville, my kids played pingpong under the pines at the included kids club while I escaped to the Grotto Spa to relax in the barrel sauna and detox in the mineral pool. And in Campbell River, newly opened boutique property Naturally Pacific Resort has golf, onsite gardens and another fabulous spa.
You haven’t lived until you’ve tried the fresh Pacific seafood pulled from these waters. Fanny Bay oysters taste like pure, icy ocean in the best possible way and quickly became my new favorites after a beautiful dinner overlooking the beach at Qualicum Beach Cafe (where you won’t err ordering the Dungeness crab cakes or grilled Pacific octopus either). Buy spot prawns and salmon fresh off boats bobbing in the harbor at French Creek Seafood. And visit Little Qualicum Cheeseworks, a nearby working farm, for aged raw milk cheeses, including a divine smoked alpine cheddar.
Inhaling the same air as migrating humpback whales is the thing to do on whale watching tours in Campbell River, available from May through October. The cetaceans migrate to these waters from Hawaii to feed on small fish and krill, and their blows and breaches are all around. In addition to taking you out to spot whales, eagles and black bears close to Campbell River, the Indigenous-owned Homalco Wildlife & Cultural Tours also runs day trips to view wild grizzlies in Bute Inlet, where huge bears arrive to gorge on spawning salmon.
Next time…
I’ll plan to visit Vancouver Island’s west coast during the winter months, timed with a king tide (during the full or new moon). November through late February is prime time for storm watching near the surf town of Tofino. Massive waves crash ashore, and you can take it all in from a cozy perch at The Wickaninnish Inn.
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