Van/Victoria - What to do?

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by eglove


1hr 40 mins

Sailing time. Loading and unloading is another 20 minutes per side if there's no line up. Then travel time into Victoria and back as well as travel time to and from wherever your staying in Richmond/Tsawwassen. Minimum 6-7 hours spent traveling, plus close to $200 in fares and gas. For a couple of hours in downtown Victoria.??....yeah totally worth a day trip.

[Manhattan]

Yeah I'm conviced it's not worth the cost for a day trip given how rushed it will be. Oh well.

[trliniar]

Bumping thread.

Headed to Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, & Tofino with the girlfriend. Already searched a bunch of older threads, but curious what people recommend to see & what food not too miss out on. I love all sorts of food, but will be hunting down all sorts of sea food joints.

thanks in advance

[TYMSMNY]

I was just in Tofino with the girlfriend two weeks ago. There's not much "to do" there but few good restaurants and beautiful hikes. Shelter, Tacofino (it's a somewhat converted bus), Wolf in the Fog, and Ice House Oyster Bar was where we hit up. Of course, there's that oyster place in the wall.... Big Daddy's Fish Fry. If you're up for it, a little water sport (surfing, SUP, fishing) is always fun.

The drive there is a bit long in the tooth but be prepared for lots of curves!!!

[revelations]

Skip Nanaimo unless youre into the outdoors/nature/hiking/mtbike scene. Go to Parksville instead and the gorgeous sandy beaches there or Rathtrevor.

[Timmeh]

Did some brewery tours in Victoria. It's pretty neat if you're a beer person and have never been to one before.

[gogreen]

For Victoria, the Royal BC Museum was excellent, the water taxis were cool, and Hatley Castle at Royal Roads University was interesting. It's out of town, but the castle was a filming location for 2 of the X-Men movies, Arrow, and The Killing, among others.

For food, I recommend Jam Café for breakfast (fills up quick) and wood-fired pizza at Pizzeria Prima Strada. Lots of choices for seafood too, naturally.

[suntan]

Drop by the Dutch Bakery. Right downtown. Good food and cheap.

http://thedutchbakery.com/

Drive to Coombs and see the place with goats on the roof!

http://www.oldcountrymarket.com/

[revelations]

^ Goats on a roof is exciting for about 10 seconds, unless you have kids.

[rinny]

Originally posted by trliniar
Bumping thread.

Headed to Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, & Tofino with the girlfriend. Already searched a bunch of older threads, but curious what people recommend to see & what food not too miss out on. I love all sorts of food, but will be hunting down all sorts of sea food joints.

thanks in advance

For Tofino-

Rain or shine, try surfing. One of the easiest places to learn as the shallow water goes out so far that you can still catch waves and not be far out.

Make a reservation for Wolf in the Fog. Try their Humboldt Squid if they still have it on their menu, so good. Tacofino is an always.

There's a hike to a WWII plane wreckage, something cool to check out.

[zaider]

Originally posted by trliniar
Bumping thread.

Headed to Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, & Tofino with the girlfriend. Already searched a bunch of older threads, but curious what people recommend to see & what food not too miss out on. I love all sorts of food, but will be hunting down all sorts of sea food joints.

thanks in advance

Check out Tacofino for sure. Its a stationary food truck just outside of town. They also have locations in Vancouver and Victoria.

[heavyD]

Originally posted by revelations
Skip Nanaimo unless youre into the outdoors/nature/hiking/mtbike scene. Go to Parksville instead and the gorgeous sandy beaches there or Rathtrevor.

Parksville is only 15 minutes north of Nanaimo so I wouldn't advise skipping it unless you are short time. Qualcomm beach is also nice.

[96integra]

Vancouver: aquarium, biking around Stanley, sushi/ramen, the usual.

Nanaimo: a group of us took the ferry to Nanaimo, caught clams/oysters, then drove down to Victoria for our stay. If

Victoria: +1 on scooters downtown and riding along the coast. If weather is nice, it is worth it to rent for a whole day as you can hit up a lot of places and find easy parking. It was very scenic with little traffic and beautiful roads. Definitely our highlight of the trip.
You can go crabbing, deep sea fishing. A must eat is Red Fish Blue Fish. Best fish and chips

[Manhattan]

Are you guys serious about the fish & chips? I've been to what are supposed to be the best spots for fish & chips like Ivar's in Seattle and it always tastes the same. Just deep fried fish filet. It's like saying which place has the best tater tots.