cllb2

Hi all,

I thought a more seasoned local might know a bit more about the cheapest way to do short trips away in British Columbia and maybe a bit further afield in canada, or the US. I assume just renting a car is going to be best for things like whistler, vancouver island. But my hubby has it into his head to do trips like anchorage and even things like grizzly bear watching! Whilst I'm up for this. These kind of things seem to be pretty pricey. Am I missing something like a local tour operator with good deals or an insiders way of doing these things?

Sometimes my husband tends to overlook the obvious. For example he was saying how expensive flights to Portland were when I suggested we just hire a car andndrive there. I mean, 6 hours of driving is nothing on this continent (I know myself having driven around SW USA).

Thanks in advance if ere is anyone out there who doesn't think this is a ridiculous question and helps us out

Shard

Arrival 1st February
Job Starts 4th February
20 February: cllb2 starts planning holiday!

I like it !!

Rent a car and drive down 101 - loads to see and do.

Oink

Rent a cottage or cabin on one of the many islands up the coast. Make sure you find one with electricity, a shop and maybe a pub.

ExKiwilass

Abbotsford and Mission have some nice b&bs.

Hawk13

The Island is a good trip and Oink's idea gets a thumbs up.

A couple of other good trips would be to head to Whistler then take the back route to Kamloops, 'loops to Vernon then you could do the Okanagan (think wine tours) all the way down to Osoyoos then back the old highway through Manning Park. Or from Vernon head to Lumby then Nakusp (hot springs), Nelson and the Kootenays (great trip on a bike or in a sports car)

Aviator

Vancouver to Portland is a 10 hour round trip by road, with no border hold ups.

Tofino, 7 hours with ferry from Vancouver.

Lots of places accessible by float plane service.

http://www.backcountrylodgesofbc.com/

foreigngirl

What we do is take the Horseshoe Bay express on a Saturday morning and once there, hop on the next ferry. It's really cheap.
Then we just wander around, go for a drink, wander some more. We even bring a packed lunch with us
If you prefer to be more organized, then google Bowen Island, Nanaimo, Langdale.

If you want to go to Seattle, look up Boltbus. You can take the bus one way, and the train the other (apparently the views are amazing from the train, not so the bus).

Harrison Hot Springs are supposed to be amazing. You need to take a bus to Chilliwack and then another bus to Harrison Hot Springs.

And go to Whistler for the weekend. Look up Pacific Coaches.

Get on Groupon Vancouver - there are lots of various offers each day (including transport).

cllb2

Thanks so much for all the ideas! I'll start going through them. To be fair, it was the husband who started looking for holidays - I'm still exploring the city!

Tigger1

Check out BC Ferries as well, they do package vacations. We've had some great trips with them to Ucluelet and Mount Washington http://www.bcferriesvacations.com/

Lychee

You don't have to travel as far as Anchorage to get dramatic scenery. You don't have to sign up for a pricey Grizzly tour to see bears. You just drive around the province!

Fly to Portland? Vancouverites don't fly to Portland. Portland is a 6 hour drive one way, and that is the easiest. Cheapest is Bolt Bus ($28). They're like the Ryan Air of coach travel, and they have WIFI. Most relaxing way to travel to Portland is Amtrak. Seattle is the same, except it only takes 3 hours to get there. However, if you don't have a car to get around Portland/Seattle, taking public transit isn't necessarily convenient.

Whistler - if you have a car, drive, but once you're in Whistler, the car will be stay parked all day as it's a pedestrian village. You can take a Greyhound bus to Whistler, although you miss out on the stops along the way - Lighthouse Park, Whytecliff Park, Shanning Falls, Brandywine Falls. For luxury, the Whistler Mountaineer (tourist sightseeing train) is an option, but really works best as an overnight.

There are hundreds of provincial parks within a day's drive from Vancouver. Look up the BC Parks website for ideas. Off the top of my head: Garibaldi Provincial Park, Shannon Falls, Golden Ears, Manning Park, Joffre Lakes.

Take the ferry to Victoria, or you can leave the car at home and take Pacific Coach Lines. There are also other fabulous islands to explore: Bowen Island, Galiano Island, Salt Spring Island.

Tofino, as others have said, is absolutely lovely. Spend at the absolute minimum 2 nights there, as it takes 5 hours to get there from Vancouver.

Hornby Island (off the coast of Vancouver Island) is beautiful.

The Sunshine Coast (a 40 minute ferry from Horseshoe Bay) is stunning. Gibsons, Sechelt, Pender Harbour/Madeira Park, and Egmont are all along the same stretch of highway, it takes 2 hours to drive that highway. Stunning rainforests and walking trails. Excellent boating opportunities too. Lots of art galleries and a slower pace of life. The West Coast Wilderness Lodge is spectacular (rustic west coast) while the Painted Boat Resort is modern luxurious/contemporary. Or you can simply rent cabins on Ruby Lake. Take the next ferry to the Upper Sunshine Coast if you have more time to Powell River/Lund - do the Sunshine Coast Trail for spectacular scenery.

Other places in Washington state: Bellingham and Chuckanut Drive. La Conner/Deception Pass State Park. Leavenworth, Winthrop and the Cascade Mountain Range. Mount St Helens National Volcanic Site. The Olympic Peninsula. Mount Rainier.

The Okanagan Valley is another place worth visiting, but especially so in the summer with its lakes, wineries, vineyards, fruit orchards. Beautiful place, very dry and arid and desert-like. Not at all like Vancouver. Beautiful summer long weekend getaway a 4 hour drive away.

There is *so* much in this area.

Happy exploring!

kimilseung

Don't forget about the Vancouver Island has a ferry to the US, Olympic National Park peninsula, so if you are also going south, to Seattle, you can make a loop without retreating.

US to Canada also has the Victoria Clipper hydrofoil option

Lychee

Look up www.hellobc.com for some planning ideas. It will help big time!

gibsonslanding

we lived in vancouver and just used to get in the car and head east, beyond hope and out on one of the three highways.....manning park is lovely!....there are some great deals to be had slightly out of season at the many ranches around and bed/breakfasts are everywhere.....we have travelled lots in four years, so much so, that we moved out to the okanagan from vancouver not even a year yet....and we found vernon on one of our road trips.....also, head north in the summer, out through the sea to sky, duffy lake road and beyound.....just all lovely really.....enjoy!

caretaker

I recommend the Museum of Anthropology at UBC.

CanadaJimmy

So much to see around here, the HelloBC website is pretty good. I recommend doing some Wine touring, there's lots of Wineries around, also lots of nice little towns by the water, like Whiterock, Fort Langley, Deep Cove and Steveston which are all worth checking out. For further afield there is Manning Park, which has lots of interesting wildlife like Ground Squirrels (a.k.a. critters) and Black Bears. The Okanagan cities like Penticton and Osoyoos are nice too.

Across the U.S. Border is Bellingham, which may seem a little unremarkable at first, but there is a nice historical area called Fairhaven which has some old colonial brick buildings. Further afield is Seattle itself which is a great city to visit. It really helps to have a good map or GPS though.

Victoria is a very nice city as well, though the ferry cost means I don't visit there very often.