Thank you to Moon Travel Guides for Sponsoring this post. All opinions are mine alone.
We just returned from our much anticipated road trip to Vancouver Island with visits to Victoria and Tofino! We have many stories to share, with ups and downs worth reflecting on, but first I wanted to give you an overview of our journey! Vancouver Island, located in British Columbia on the Pacific coast of Canada, truly is a special place, and I can’t wait to dive into the specifics and tell some of the tales of our adventure.
In the meantime though, here you’ll find our 7-day itinerary with activity highlights, and some of the restaurants we chose for our meals (one of our favorite parts of travel). You’ll see that we broke up our roughly 7 days of travel into 2 destinations: Victoria & Tofino. This provided a great balance of city and small town. Victoria is British Columbia’s capital city, and while it’s smaller than it’s close neighbor Vancouver, it’s still a thriving metropolis with a population of about 350,000 in the greater area. Tofino is a small coastal town (about 4.5 hours from Victoria) on the Pacific Ocean of just under 2,000 residents.
Family Road Trip to Victoria & Tofino, BC
Day 1: Drive & Ferry Ride to Victoria, BC
- Drive from Seattle to Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal (3 hours)
- Ferry from Tsawwassen, BC (30 minutes from US-Canada border) to Swartz Bay (Victoria) (2 hours)
- Dinner on the ferry
- Arrival to DoubleTree Victoria (30 minutes)
Day 2: Victoria, BC
- Walking Tour of the harbor & Parliament
- Downtown Victoria & lunch at the Rebar in Bastion Square
- The Butchart Gardens
- Dinner at Pagliaccis & downtown shopping
Day 3: Victoria, BC
- Royal BC Museum
- Lunch at Bengal Tiger in the Fairmont Empress
- IMax movie at the BC Museum
- Rainy walk to Beacon Hill Park
- Dinner at Irish Times
Day 4: Drive to Tofino, BC
- Lunch pit stop in Port Alberni for fish and chips at Bare Bones
- Arrival at Ocean Village Resort in Tofino
- Beach exploring at MacKenzie Beach
- Dinner at SoBo
Day 5: Tofino, BC
- Breakfast at Common Loaf
- Pacific Rim National Park Reserve: Schooner Cove Hike & Rainforest Loop-A Hike
- Date Night: Shopping in downtown Tofino, then Driftwood Cafe at Wickaninish Inn Happy Hour & Wolf in the Fog Dinner
Day 6: Tofino, BC
- Breakfast and coffee at Tofitian
- More beach exploring & tide pooling at MacKenzie Beach
- Lunch at the Wildside Cafe
- Afternoon treats and exploring downtown Tofino
- Tonquin Trail Hike
- Leftovers for Dinner!
Day 7: Drive Home to Seattle
- Tofino the Ferry Terminal (3 hours)
- Ferry from Duke Point (Nanaimo, BC) to Tsawwassen (2 hours)
- Lunch on the Ferry
- Drive from Tsawwassen to Seattle (3 hours)
Have you traveled to Vancouver Island? Tell us about your experience! Also, if there’s a place (activity, hike, beach, etc) in particular you’d like to read more about, let us know!
Resources:
We are so thankful for the Western Canada and Victoria and Vancouver Island Moon Guides to help us plan our adventure. We are thrilled to report that there is a new guide specifically geared toward road trips called, Moon Vancouver and Canadian Rockies Road Trip!
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Great itinerary! I love how easy it is to follow and everything looks activities my family would enjoy.
Thank you so much, Dana! Yes–I feel like we had a good mix of activities with this trip–love that we were able to combine a big(ish) city, plus a charming small town in one trip. Really appreciate your comment!
You’re soooo organized! I loved Victoria – especially Butchart Gardens. I’d love to visit Tofino someday.
Thanks, Colleen! Helps to have a planner for a husband & a son who is always asking “what are we going to do now, Mom????” 🙂 I was so impressed with the Butchart Gardens! I worried that I’d regret going in the winter (as it would be a “waste”), but that was definitely not the case–so much beauty no matter the season.
Great itinerary! I’m really hoping we can take a family trip to Vancouver in the next year so this is perfect!
Awesome! Such a wonderful destination. Thanks so much & let me know if you have any specific questions as you start planning–happy to help!
I do love a great road trip and this one looks beautiful! Pinned this so I can check it out when we head that way.
Thanks Tonya! Hope you get to come this way soon–yes, we LOVED all the scenery. Similar to home in the Seattle area, but elevated!
Thanks for the itinerary. We’re heading to Victoria and Tofino in the summer, so this has definitely given us some things to add to the list.
You are welcome, Rosie! Love that you are planning ahead! Let me know if we can help with any other plans. We treasure the memories made on that trip–wish we were going back!
How did you manage a date night? Hire a local babysitter??
Yes! We actually worked with the owner/manager of the resort (Ocean Village Resort), and they set up care with one of their employees (also a college student).