Vancouver Island

explorenorth wrote:
//snip for brevity

Disappointments
1. Tofino, accommodations and food were ridiculously expensive and not that great.  Best meal we had was a BBQ chicken from the Co-Op grocery store.

Wow, I find that odd. Although, during the busy season, most places are trying to keep up with the traffic, and may not have the time to really make it well.

Probably won’t be back but, if we did, would book ahead into Green Point campground in the park.  Crystal Cove was fine with a terrific beach that we let the dogs run loose on but $70 a night and extremely tight campsites made it something we wouldn’t go back to.

Yeah, that's expensive. But, if you want, try down toward Ucluelet. Surf Junction is a pretty good place (stayed there many times, and I LIVE out here!!) with fairly decent rates. Be warned, it is very busy in the summer. There is also Ucluelet Campground in town. Wya Point has a campground as well, not sure the rates, though.

2.  Lack of decent seafood everywhere.  Weird.  Campbell River had the best halibut and chips we could find.  Tofino was the worst.

Odd. Given both towns are fishing communities, decent deafood should be a given. We did buy fresh (like, off the boat that morning) Halibut from Trilogy Fish Co. in Tofino once. Made awesome homemade fish & chips! But for good fish & chips, try Barebones restaurent in Port Alberni. It is located on Johnston Ave (main drag through town) in an old church. They do awesome food there.

Regards,
Mike

Your timing is right, August to early September usually the best weather. Expect to run into rain, drizzle and fog in the north Island but worth the trip anyway. Whale watching at Telegraph Cove. RV Park nearby.

At the south end, Victoria and area has lots to see and do. The Royal BC Museum is world class.

Check www.ve7vic.ca for repeater links for the Island.

Look me up at va7rv-12 (though I'm out of range at the moment, even from the ISS!)

73, VE7FED / VA7RV

watch the ferries for the last two years they have run a "size up the savings" special where length over 20 feet is deeply discounted resulting in a huge discount for longer rigs. only catch is it is only offered on specific days and during specific times. basically they are targeting the lower usage trips, but if your flexible it can add up to a huge savings. if you can go with out power and such there re a ton of beautiful provincial sites, on he way to port Renfrew there is one of my old favorite sites called China beach. it has a stairway (long) that you can take down to the ocean. popular rv sites close to or in Victoria can book up over a year in advance for the more desirable ones. in Esquimalt its self there is one called West bay marina https://www.westbay.bc.ca/
this is right on the water of the inner harbour and you can catch a water taxi right from the marina to down town Victoria for a coupe bucks.

Steve

If you are thinking about Westbay Marina RV Park email to confirm they will be open. Last summer friends wanted to reserve again for next year and were told that they were not accepting reservation for next year as the lease renewal was in question.

But yes, it is a very convenient location. And the prices aren't too bad considering that location.

My mom lives on the island and last visit I was looking around and figured my trailer would be a PITA to take on the island. How are these camp sites set up for bigger trailers? My trailer is a 41' 5th wheel.

About 10 years ago we flew to Vancouver, rented a Class C, and spent two wonderful weeks on the island. We didn't get any further north than Campbell River though. This year, as we returned from Alaska, we took the ferry from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy and spent most of our time in that area. The beaches around Cape Scott are gorgeous and there are lots of hiking trails. We also loved the Goodspeed Fossil Beds, We worked out way back toward Victoria and found good campsites despite the increasing crowds. This was the last two weeks in August. lizzie

Canadian Rainbirds wrote:
If you are thinking about Westbay Marina RV Park email to confirm they will be open. Last summer friends wanted to reserve again for next year and were told that they were not accepting reservation for next year as the lease renewal was in question.

But yes, it is a very convenient location. And the prices aren't too bad considering that location.

yes I just noticed that my self as I called to see if I could get a site in the spring. apparently they are in a dispute with the local band that owns the land.

Steve

The_real_wild1 wrote:
My mom lives on the island and last visit I was looking around and figured my trailer would be a PITA to take on the island. How are these camp sites set up for bigger trailers? My trailer is a 41' 5th wheel.

the bigger sites defiantly, remember the island is a semi snowbird location. all the rv parks will take you no problem, the bigger provincial site also. I have a 38 foot fith and I am going in the spring and am not worried at all. when I lived there I had a 30 foot travel trailer which is harder to get into a site than my 38 foot fith and I had lots of room where ever I went , just call ahead and double check for places like you would do when going to any new place.

Steve

StirCrazy wrote:

The_real_wild1 wrote:
My mom lives on the island and last visit I was looking around and figured my trailer would be a PITA to take on the island. How are these camp sites set up for bigger trailers? My trailer is a 41' 5th wheel.

the bigger sites defiantly, remember the island is a semi snowbird location. all the rv parks will take you no problem, the bigger provincial site also. I have a 38 foot fith and I am going in the spring and am not worried at all. when I lived there I had a 30 foot travel trailer which is harder to get into a site than my 38 foot fith and I had lots of room where ever I went , just call ahead and double check for places like you would do when going to any new place.

Steve

Thank you.

If visiting Tofino, take a day to visit Hot Springs Cove. They can fly you in, but a boat can do fine, and last time we did it by boat we saw whales as well. They will come back for you, there is a long board walk to the hot springs.Getting there during a convenient tide height, allows for some mixing of the hot water and North Pacific water, for a perfect soak! Years ago while canoeing there, we saw a basking shark out in the open water. That was a voyage to remember, and obviously we have. It was four days by canoe, return trip, from Tofino.