Our wildlife-packed Vancouver Island holiday

When my dad and I decided to take a holiday to celebrate his birthday in May, Vancouver looked like the perfect destination, and it did not disappoint. As neither of us had visited Canada before, we decided to keep our itinerary simple and well-paced, so that we could experience everything that each destination had to offer. 

We started in Vancouver, where we stayed for three nights before renting a car to explore the island. We stayed in Victoria for three nights, and Ucluelet for another three nights, before heading back to Vancouver for an additional four nights. This itinerary ended up being perfect, giving us the chance to explore each destination in depth without feeling rushed.

Getting to Vancouver 

Getting to Vancouver from the UK is straightforward, with a flight time of 9.5 hours. We flew direct from London Gatwick with British Airways, who provided plenty of refreshments and a wide variety of entertainment. On arrival into Vancouver, we easily grabbed a taxi to our downtown hotel, which is around a 30-minute journey and costs approximately $50 CAD (including tip). It’s also easy to get downtown via the SkyTrain, which costs around $13 CAD per person.

Vancouver Island in May 

May is a great time to visit British Columbia. It’s not quite peak summer season, but Vancouver starts to see an increase in temperature, with the daily average around 16°C. The accommodation is slightly cheaper, there’s more availability for activities, and there are fewer tourists in general. 

Vancouver is known for its rain, so be prepared and bring a rain jacket. However, it only rained on a couple of days during our trip. Each time, it lasted just a couple of hours and didn’t impact any of our planned activities, so don’t let it put you off! 

May is also a wonderful time for wildlife, as black bears and their cubs come out of hibernation in April, migrating towards the rivers in search of food. Humpback and grey whales are also feeding in the waters off Vancouver Island, and you can see orca whales all year-round.

Exploring Vancouver 

For our first three nights in Vancouver, we stayed at The Listel Hotel. This is a great four-star option located on Robson Street, a couple of blocks from the main shopping area which has a mix of designer outlets and boutique shops. Just around the corner, there’s a great 24/7 bakery & café called Breka Bakery. It has a variety of donuts, cakes, sandwiches and much more. We enjoyed breakfast here on most mornings! 

The hotel is also very central, and many of Vancouver’s top attractions are within walking distance. Whilst staying here, we took a walk around the Stanley Park Seawall, visited the Aquarium, took a visit to Gastown to see the famous steam clock, watched the seaplanes and cruise ships at Canada Place, and spent time at the Canada Flyover and the Vancouver Lookout. We also took a False Creek Ferry across to Granville Island to visit the Public Market and buy some famous Lee’s Donuts!

Vancouver is a really easy city to navigate without a car. The key neighbourhoods, including Downtown, West End, Gastown, Yaletown, Chinatown and Granville Island, are all walkable or reached via the SkyTrain and ferry taxi. However, I would recommend hiring a car for at least one day in Vancouver so that you can explore nearby beauty spots, including Squamish and Whistler.

If, like me, you’re into sports, Vancouver is a wonderful place to visit at any time of year. Ice Hockey is Canada’s number one sport, and the Vancouver Canucks play in the top division. The BC Lions play in the Canadian Football League (American Football) and the Vancouver Whitecaps play in the MLS (Major League Soccer). My Dad and I attended a Vancouver Whitecaps soccer match against Inter Miami at BC Place, which is British Columbia’s biggest and most versatile venue. BC Place is also located downtown, so it was an easy 20-minute walk from our hotel.

Travelling to Victoria 

After three nights in Vancouver, we collected our hire car and made our way to Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, about 50 minutes south of Vancouver. I recommend booking an early afternoon ferry, as you need to arrive at least 45-60 minutes before departure and the car hire depot can get very busy. 

Once checked in, you are free to get out of the car and use the washrooms or purchase food from inside the ferry terminal. There’s a variety of food options including pizza, Mexican, and a chocolate shop. When you set sail, you’ll enjoy a 90-minute journey through the stunning Gulf Islands waterways to Swartz Bay, before continuing the drive to Victoria (approx. 40 minutes).

Arriving in Victoria, we stayed at the Inn at Laurel Point. This is a brilliant hotel located on the James Bay Peninsula, with balconies overlooking the harbour and amazing sunset views. The hotel is a short 10-minute walk to downtown and the wharf, which has a handful of great restaurants. It’s also where the whale-watching tours depart. I recommend grabbing breakfast or lunch at Floyds Diner, a quirky diner voted ‘Best Breakfast in Victoria.’

Whale-watching tours from Victoria 

There are several whale-watching tour companies operating out of Victoria, and we opted for a 4-hour tour with Prince of Whales. We chose this company because it offers a free photo package of everything that you see during your trip. This meant that we could focus on enjoying the wildlife, rather than looking at it through our cameras. Not only is this a more enjoyable experience, but they captured photos that I would never have been able to snap myself!

Victoria is known for its resident orca whales. There are just over 80 orcas that frequent the southern Vancouver Island region and the Juan De Fuca Strait. This means that it’s possible to see these incredible animals year-round however, but it’s also important to remember that you may not spot them! During our trip, we didn’t see any orcas, but we did see two humpback whales and some sea lions, so it was a great tour.

Butchart Gardens and Mahalat Skywalk 

Whilst in Victoria, we also visited Butchart Gardens. It’s a 120-year-old, world-renowned 55-acre display garden, located about 30 minutes outside of Victoria. There are five different areas to explore, and my personal favourites were the Sunken Garden and the Japanese Garden. It was a lovely, peaceful place to spend a morning.

On the same day, we visited Malahat Skywalk, which would also make a great stopping point on your way to Ucluelet or Tofino, so you could save it until later in your trip. The Malahat Skywalk is a 10-story spiral tower which offers 360° breath taking views of islands, fjords, forests and mountains, high among the trees and surrounded by the sea. If you are feeling adventurous, why not cross the net at the top, or fly down the spiral slide within the tower? It’s an adult-friendly slide!

The drive to Ucluelet 

Our next journey was the best drive and one of the highlights of the trip. The drive from Victoria to Ucluelet is approximately four hours, and you’ll travel along part of the Trans-Canadian Highway before joining the only road to the Pacific side of the island. There are incredible views around every corner, so I recommend taking your time and stopping off along the way. The highlights include Malahat Skywalk, The Old Country Market (goats on the roof), Cathedral Cove, and Hole in the Wall. 

Staying in Ucluelet 

In Ucluelet, we stayed at Black Rock Oceanfront Hotel, located on a dramatic headland above the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by the Wild Pacific Trail. On our first night, we enjoyed a casual dinner in the Big Beach Lounge with great vistas out to the ocean, where we saw a pod of orcas swimming in the bay.

Whale-watching tours from Tofino 

During our stay, we drove to Tofino, about 40kms north of Ucluelet, where we booked a half-day whale-watching tour and a half-day coastal bear watch tour with Remote Passages. We also booked another whale-watching tour, because Tofino is a wonderful place to spot migrating grey whales in May. We didn’t manage to see any grey whales ourselves, but we did see four more humpback whales. 

If you’re lucky enough to see whales during your trip, you may see a variety of behaviours. Three of the most common behaviours are ‘sprouting’ (when a whale exhales through their blowhole, creating small droplets of water), ‘arched back’ (just before the whale dives down) and ‘low/high fluke dive’ (showing their tail when diving down). The amount of the tail that you’ll see with a Fluke Dive depends on how deep the whale is diving. 

During our trip in Tofino, we were lucky enough to see a whale ‘breaching’, which was an incredible experience. This whale half-breached four times before propelling itself fully out of the water and spinning 180 degrees. Other behaviours include ‘lunge-feeding’, ‘bubble-net feeding’, ‘bottom feeding’, ‘flipper slapping’, and ‘tail slapping’.

Our Coastal Bear Watch tour 

After the tour, we had some free time before our Coastal Bear Watch. We walked into the main centre of Tofino and enjoyed a delicious slice of pizza from Adriana’s, which I highly recommend! Making our way back to the Remote Passages boathouse, we put on our red floatation suits and jumped in a Zodiac boat ready to head into the Clayoquot Sound. 

This area is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and a prime location for black bear sightings as the coastal rainforest and intertidal zones provide a rich habitat for them. Tours run between April and October and departure times vary depending on the low tide. 

During our tour, we were lucky enough to see two bears together and then a mother and two cubs at a different location. Our tour guide was deeply knowledgeable, and I definitely recommend this tour if you are in the area. It was a real once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

To end the day, we stopped at the famous Tacofino Original Truck for west coast inspired Mexican food, before heading back to our hotel in Ucluelet.

Heading back to Vancouver 

On our journey back to Vancouver, we only had to drive two hours to Nanaimo, where we caught the ferry to Horseshoe Bay (North of Vancouver), before making the final 30-minute trip back downtown. The ferry over to Horseshoe Bay crosses the Strait of Georgia and takes under two hours. On the way, keep an eye out for whales! 

I recommend booking a ferry that departs after midday, so you have enough time to get to the terminal and check in without having to leave too early or rush to get there. The roads are quiet, but you could get stuck behind a slow-moving campervan or truck (there are sections of the road which have two lanes for overtaking, but these are few and far between!).

Celebrating in Vancouver 

For our last 4 nights in Vancouver, we stayed at The Sutton Place Hotel. It’s great five-star hotel located on Burrard Street with a pool and gym, within walking distance to Robson Street and lots of excellent restaurants. They also have a taxi rank right outside, which is perfect for when you need a ride to the airport. 

We celebrated my dad’s birthday at Joe Fortes, an award-winning Steak & Seafood Restaurant. If you are looking for a high-end restaurant or somewhere to celebrate a special occasion, it’s the perfect place!

Driving to Whistler 

We decided to extend our car hire for an extra day and drive up to Whistler. On the way, we stopped at Squamish, roughly 50-minutes’ drive, which has many attractions, including the Britannia Mine Museum and the Sea to Sky Gondola. 

Whistler is a further 45-minute drive along the Sea to Sky Highway, with incredible views along the way. We headed towards Whistler Olympic Park, which offers winter and summer activities, including bobsleigh and skeleton experiences, but it’s closed for maintenance throughout May. 

During our drive to the Olympic Park, we stumbled upon a grizzly bear munching away on the grass, so our trip wasn’t completely redundant. We then headed into Whistler Village and explored the shops before heading back to Vancouver.

My thoughts about our Vancouver Island holiday

 This was a really special trip with my dad, and we created some amazing memories together. My main highlight was seeing the native wildlife, from the breaching humpback whale to the grizzly bear on the side of the road. Canada is a breathtakingly beautiful place. 

If you are thinking of planning a trip to Vancouver and Vancouver Island, I would absolutely recommend it as a destination for the whole family. You will not be disappointed. It’s gorgeous, easy-going and packed with incredible wildlife on both land and sea. 

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