Circle Pac the Great Sunshine Coast! Sep 04 '01    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet The Bottom Line Sunshine Coast tour is a must do for anyone who appreciates the beauty of nature and the wilderness. My husband and I just returned from a wonderful and refreshing 8 day trip sightseeing the beautiful West Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Why Go? -Canadians are a very friendly bunch -US/Canadian exchange rate is very attractive right now, eh? -Fresh, fresh, fresh air -Absolutely breathtaking, pristine and natural scenery -So many things to do and see The Sunshine Coast is located on the West Coast of British Columbia north of Vancouver, and is a very attractive place to visit because a majority of it's coastline is protected and sheltered from Pacific storms by Vancouver Island and a few smaller ones. Inlets and straits running in between Vancouver Island and the coastline helps keep the area a temperate playground year round. The Sunshine Coast abounds in provincial parks, historic sites, ocean inlets, creeks, lakes, rivers, and mountain peaks leaving visitors like us with many choices of things to do. Lists of things to do: -Any kind of watersport, you name it, they have it save for big wave surfing. -Hiking, back packing, trail rides (easy to hard level) -Shopping, B&B's, resorts of all kinds and golfing -Historical sites and museums both native and British -Provincial parks galore -Scuba diving is a major thing since there are lots of dive sites along the Sunshine Coast, especially around the city of Powell River. Traveling the Sunshine Coast involves a series of ferry rides depending on your destination and can be a bit pricey when you are driving since you pay fares for each individual as well as the size of the vehicle your driving. We chose to purchase a package deal from BC Ferries called a Circle Pac which saved us quite a bit of dough and gave us 4 ferry rides that circles the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island. The Circle Pac ferry package is pretty flexible where you have a choice of doing the tour clockwise or counter clockwise, and it's valid for about 2-3 months. So you basically decide if you want to hit Vancouver Island first and then drive up north on the island and ferry over to the mainland and drive back down. Or drive up the West Coast and ferry over to Vancouver Island and then back to the mainland. If you want to visit Vancouver Island first your starting point would on the mainland either at Tsawassen (south of Vancouver located on the delta) which has ferries to both Swartz Bay (south island near Victoria) and Nanaimo (central island). Horseshoe Bay (located north of Vancouver) is another starting point and only has a ferry to Nanaimo (central island). If you chose to do Vancouver Island first I highly recommend taking the Tsawassen ferry to Swartz Bay. Visit Victoria the capital of British Columbia, it's a bustling, charming city with shops galore with many things to see and do. The nice thing about Victoria is that most of the things to see and do are all smack dab around the Inner Harbor. However this is a very touristy place, so it can be busy and lodging, food, and the like runs a bit higher. Places to Visit in Victoria: -Thunderbird Park (beautiful totem carvings by the natives of the area) -Parliament (absolutely gorgeous, overlooks the Inner Harbor) -Royal British Columbia Museum -Royal London Wax Museum -Crystal Gardens -Minature World -Russian Submarine tour (a real submarine) -Butchart Gardens & Butterfly World (absolutely gorgeous) -Olde England Inn & Emily Carr House (west of Victoria about 20 minutes) Continuing Your Tour (take Highway 19a which is the scenic coastal route): Drive up North to Nanaimo which is a big city with lots of shopping. We found Nanaimo less appealing because it's so urban. However places to stop is Qualicum Beach area or Parkesville where you can visit several provincial parks such as Englishman's River Falls or Little Qualicum Falls. Drive west a bit and visit Cathedral Grove (oldest and tallest fir trees) in Macmillian Provinvial Park. Go a little more west to Port Alberni (absolutely gorgeous drive and adorable town). If you have time visit the west coast of the island to the cities of Ucluelet or Tofino. We didn't have the time, but we heard raves about these two beautiful port cities. There's whale watching and wilderness tours in both cities as well as Victoria. Stop by a little town called Coombs where they have adorable shops, a tiny amusement area, and a fresh farmer's market with goats on a roof (actual goats grazing on a grass covered roof, it's goofy, fun and silly). Drive all the way to the northern point of the island to Port Hardy the real frontier and experience pristine wilderness at it's best. Continuing Your Tour: Drive up to Comox and ferry over to Powell River a quaint mill town with lots to do and see. Powell River is the diving capital of British Columbia with several dive sites. Powell River has lakes, creeks and rivers and more than a few parks to visit. I suggest a day trip to Loon Lake (now known as Inland Lake). You can drive up north from Powell River to Lund (about 30 minutes) which is the end and take a water taxi or package trip to the famed and absolutely breathtaking Desolation Sound Marine Park. Continuing Your Trip: Drive south to Saltery Bay and ferry to Earls Cove located on the Sechelt Peninsula, it's an absolute beautiful drive, and stop by Garden Bay which is a gorgeous little town. Keep driving south towards Langdale and stop by Sechelt and ferry over to Horseshoe Bay which takes you back towards Vancouver. We did the trip the other way around and there's is so much to see and do that 8 days was simply not enough to explore and enjoy everything. I hope that you found this helpful and if you would like any suggestions, please leave me a comment.

Write the first comment on this review!

Write an essay on this topic.