I want to visit Vancouver island in Canada?

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Kate

G'day!! What part of NZ are you from? (I lived in Windy Welly for the first half of 2004!!)

Unless you are from Auckland, you will probably find that Victoria is at pretty much the same pace as NZ. However, during the summer (mega tourist season) the city's population grows quite a bit!

There's tons to do here, but that depends on the time of year. There is much more to do here in the summer as that is when all of the tourist activities are up and running. However, there is still lots to do here the rest of the year!

The Royal BC Museum is a must see
One of my favourite tourist sites is the London Wax Museum
The Maritime Museum (if you like boat stuff)
The Butchart Gardens is world renowned
Beacon Hill Park is great, especially in the spring/summer (make sure you check out the world's tallest totem pole in the park!! AND, grab an awesome soft cone ice cream at the Beacon Drive-In)
Tour of the Legislative Buildings (gov't buildings)
Inner Harbour Ferry ride
Whale watching tours
Stroll along the breakwater and the ocean along Dallas Road
Fisherman's Wharf has a nice Fish and Chops take out (take away) restaurant (they are picnic tables available) and you can walk along the docks and check out all of the cool and funky houseboats!! (You can take one of the little inner harbour ferry boats here)
Tally-ho (horse drawn carriage ride)
Craigdarroch Castle (cool way to learn about the history of Victoria)
High Tea at the Empress Hotel (fancy and expensive), or the James Bay Tea Room (quaint, and much more reasonably price)
Tons of awesome restaurants (open all year long, but the patios -which are great to sit out on on a nice warm day-are only really enjoyable in the summer)

Then there's Chemainus, Duncan, Parksville, Nanaimo, Cathedral Grove, Carmana Valley, Tofino, French Beach ect (all up island)

We don't usually get that much snow here, and if we do, it's usually around Jan/Feb.

Feel free to send me an email if you have more questions!!

Kia Ora!

islander8181

Been there a couple times. Vancouver is nice - Stanley Park and downtown. But that's not Vancouver Island. You take the ferry over. Victoria is the main city and it is really cool. Theres a place called harbor town (I think thats the name) where you can get the best fish & chips and you can also get ice cream and stuff like that. Some shops too. High tea is expensive but worth it at the hotel in Vicotria. If you have time - drive to Tofino. It's on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Not much there but the drive is beautiful and so is the scenery once you get there. You can also go on really neat whale watching boats in Sydney or almost anywhere.

old lady

It's a lot like New Zealand - except the seasons are hind side to. Vancouver Island is just at the end of summer - the weather is still lovely, but getting cooler, and the rainy season is on the horizon.
The best time to come is actually in the spring or summer - but the autumn can be lovely as well, as Vancouver Island (especially the southern portion) is the warmest part of Canada during the winter months.
What to do? Anything involving outdoor activities. You can ski, bike, hike, row, paddle, run, play soccer, or any other game you fancy. On the cultural level, there are dozens of drama companies, musical companies, live entertainment all over the place. The provincial museum is in Victoria (which is known as a 'little bit of Olde England' and about as quaint as can be. They even outdo modern day England in maintaining the old Brit customs....
In short, it's a great place to visit and you'll really enjoy it. Think about popping over to the mainland as well, and having a look around Vancouver (it confuses a lot of people to find that Vancouver is not on Vancouver Island) and perhaps take a run up to Whistler, which will be the site of the 2010 winter olympics.
We spent some time in New Zealand last year and loved it -- but you will be disappointed by the ice cream here. It isn't nearly as good as what you have at home -- and it's much dearer!

mamarat

Late summer is probably best, as it's pretty mild in temperature.

Victoria is lovely to visit, with the harbor and some pretty neat museums. High Tea at the Empress Hotel is expensive, but worth it, IMO.

My parents live in Qualicum Beach part of the year, about two hours north on the eastern coast, and there are a lot of parks to hike and sights to see.

Good luck!

:: Coast.al

I live on Vancouver Island (And have family in NZ, haha) the best time of the year is Summer... though this summer wasnt the greatest for weather.

It's backwards, so if you leave for Van Isld in your summer you'll arrive in our Winter - But it is great here regardless.

If you have any specific questions, you can email me

joeluw1977

Vancouver Island is a beautiful place to visit, there isn't too much to do outside of Victoria or Nanaimo. There is a ski area on the island near Campbell River, other than that there is a lot of forest, and some beaches. Summer would be the best time to visit, since the rest of the year can overcast and rainy.

BZR

I went there early this summer and had an awesome time.

Vancouver is a cool city, there's a lot to do. There's a great asian population if you like that food & sushi, plenty of cool stores, etc. I personally am an outdoors person and still loved Vancouver. It's clean and pretty and there are some awesome running trails and pretty parks.

The surrounding countryside is awesome as well. I'd go when it's not too cold (summer time) if you're from a warm area -- I'm from FL and found the early summertime to be great in BC.

Grand pa

See hellobc tourismvictoria They will mail you free guides

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