GUIDE TO ISLAND-HOPPING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

British Columbia is officially one of my favourite places in the whole world. It’s a massive province filled with gorgeous sights, stunning food, and exhaustingly fun activities – and the place which I would eventually like to settle in (in like 80 years). Having spent a good few weeks island-hopping between the most charismatic and beautiful places ever, I am more than ready to spill the secrets on the best hidden and unforgotten islands in the country.

Salt Spring Island

Famously known as the “hippie island” it is, unsurprisingly, extremely laid-back and full of vegan cafes and homemade clothing shops.

My favourite place to eat at is Penny’s Pantry on the Green at the Golf and Country Club, which does the BEST breakfast food and brunch. The cafe is super cute and the staff are the friendliest ever, and it’s simply just a nice way to start your morning. Another pretty sweet place to hang out is at Moby’s Pub, which is filled with locals and does events almost every single night. My favourite ones to attend are their open mic nights and their music bingo nights, with the latter recently offering a holiday to Jamaica as a prize (which was pretty disorientating due to the fact it’s such a tiny establishment).

Black Sheep Books is officially my favourite shop to hang out in, because I’m a massive book nerd and bibliophile and I just love surrounding myself in a shroud of vintage novels. Everything is also decently priced, which is great until you end up with a stack of 40 different books you want to haul across Canada in your two-foot suitcase merely because they’re from the 1950’s and look pretty.

One of the best places to stay is at Oceanside Cottages, due to the fact that you can stay in an adorable little cottage where every spare corner of wall is filled with canvases or murals painted by the owner. Upon arrival, the vase in my own cabin was filled with fresh flowers, the bowl was filled with a plethora of fruit, and there was a large water dispenser to use because drinking straight from the tap may have upset our stomachs. Every little detail makes this place perfect for a weekend getaway, with a fireplace and fresh firewood (and an axe outside to chop down some more if need be) rendering it a real cosy feel. There’s a radio, vinyls, cassettes, and CDs – meaning that you never have to spend a second in silence. My favourite part about the place though? The telescope. I’d never used one before, and I think it’s such a lovely idea.

Outside, amongst views of ocean and woodland, is a little bathtub – a really cool concept. Around the front, there’s a deck with cushioned seats where you can kick back with food cooked on your barbecue. I think that Oceanside Cottages is the ideal place to spend one-on-one time with a friend or lover, or even just one-on-one time with yourself – perhaps taking time out of daily life to write or create your own artwork. It’s all beautiful, and I’m very thankful for the experience. One day I’d love to come back and see what other little finishes have been added.

If this adorable, quaint little cabin doesn’t quite get your engine going, then another absolutely stunning place to stay is the Harbour House Hotel. Made to cater to an entirely different demographic, with entirely different features and feel, the hotel is quite possibly the most chic place on the island. I stayed at the Salish Suite, which, frankly, is one of the most beautiful places I have ever slept in. It was equipped with absolutely anything that I could possibly need, with a very comfortable three-piece suite, canvases of the most beautiful local areas, a complete chess set, a marble wet room with His and Her sinks, a coffee bar (with some gorgeous green tea), a 65″ HD Smart TV, and an exceedingly comfortable King-sized bed.

The view from the room was absolutely gorgeous, looking out over at the ocean and the tiny boats in the distance, and adjourned to the room are large glass doors opening out to a little patio – the place where we spent the majority of our time during our visit. Relaxing back on the plush sofa as the sun is setting, cracking open a bottle of wine as we share stories and look out to the horizon, each night ended perfectly at this haven right outside our door.

In the mornings, we would catch breakfast at Woodley’s, switching between waffles, eggs Benedict, and salad – all of which were gorgeous and a great way to start the day. The staff at the hotel are so friendly and helpful, I didn’t doubt that they would go to the ends of the earth for us.

Pender Island

This island felt a lot more cosmopolitan than the other islands, with a larger population (which, by the way, is 2,250 – over 1,000 more than the majority of the others) and more active construction. My favourite place on the whole island is Hope Bay, due to the fact that hidden down at the end of the beach is an old, slightly aesthetically pleasing, house. Looking out to the ocean and looking in to a slightly creepy interior (think, broken photo frames, ornaments, and cracked and missing floorboards), it’s a strange place to hang out – and yet, it’s perfect for reading in the shade, dangling your legs over the water.

Hope Bay is also home to Pender Chocolates, a gorgeous little Chocolateir featuring the creamiest, richest, and most delicious chocolates in BC. The place is gorgeous, and also offers an absolutely stunning view of the ocean.

Mayne Island

Mayne Island is perfect for a day trip by car, with my favourite place to visit being Dinner Bay Park, home to the Japanese Gardens. It’s an extremely beautiful garden, with small shinto shrines, cherry blossom trees, and a cute little river running through it, and doubles as a memorial to the Japanese Canadians who lived on the island until they were sent to internment camps during the second world war.

Mount Parke offers the best view out of all the islands, with the summit overlooking Victoria and the other gulf islands. It’s a perfect place to go on a long hike, stopping every now and then to spot hummingbirds and rogue tulips.

Galiano Island

Out of all of the islands, Galiano Island was the one which I spent the most time at. I found that there was so much more to do here in a much more condensed span of area than on the other islands.

For those of y’all that enjoy hiking and wandering the natural surroundings, Galiano Island is a haven. My favourite parks are Montague Harbour Provincial Park, Bodega Ridge Provincial Park, Bluffs Park, and Bellhouse Park – which all offer stunning views of the bay and forests, along with being relatively devoid of other people. Technically, everywhere on the island is accessible via walking, but if you don’t want to spend the majority of your day walking up and down cemented roads, then I highly recommend either taking a vehicle of your own or hitchhiking. I personally hitchhiked around seven or eight times (the island is very safe, and if someone doesn’t pick you up then they get shunned in the community) and met the coolest and loveliest people ever – and didn’t have to pay for gas. I was given life advice from a fella missing a good few teeth, met a farmer from Yorkshire on his gap year, and rode in the SUV of a woman whose daughter worked at the spa I would frequent. A pretty cool experience.

One of my favourite places on the island is Galiano Island Books, as it’s an absolute haven for bibliophiles. I spent a good few hours browsing the books in this small store and ended up leaving with a bag full of worthwhile purchases, and honestly it was such a cute little place filled with the loveliest staff members who treated me like family. Conveniently, located several stores down is also my favourite food establishment on the island, in the form of the Sturdies Bay Bakery – a place filled with cupcakes and pastries and other gorgeous, carb-filled deliciousnesses.

I stayed at several places on Galiano Island, with one of my favourites being Bodega Ridge. I stayed in a little cabin which was absolutely adorable, decorated with plants and tea lights and made almost entirely out of wood. The owners are the nicest people ever, driving us from the main house to our little cabin and giving us their number should we have any problems. In our living room, my travel companion and I spent our time here listening to the radio and telling each other childhood stories around the fireplace, and nipping out to watch the sunrises and sunsets. I also loved the interior design, with little wooden embellishments, a large white bathtub, sliding doors, colourful glass light shades, and heated flooring. I found this place absolutely perfect for giving myself a self-prescribed technology detox.

Another gorgeous place to stay is at the Galiano Oceanfront Inn + Spa, a luxe hotel which made me feel as though I was vacationing at a palazzo on the Mediterranean. I spent my time here drinking green tea and writing on my terrace in the sun, reading my Galiano Island Books in the bath-cum-jacuzzi on a balcony overlooking the ocean, and watching the stars as I listened to the crackling firewood from my fireplace. The shower has approximately a million little jets, which all vary in pressure and height. The food at the inn is all absolutely gorgeous – with portions appearing small but keeping you full for hours. I recommend the beef dip and the charcuterie board plate thing, as they showcase the best of the restaurant’s food. My travel partner and I spent a nice long lunch here and then headed down to the spa, where we went in the hot tub, and then for a eucalyptus steam which burnt our eyes, and then for a much needed cold shower. The whole place smells gorgeous, offers a patio which goes right down to the beach, and offers you free herbal tea on tap. Love it.

Out of the many things to do on Galiano Island, one of the highlights is going out with Gulf Island Kayaking. When I went, I was utterly unprepared and so had to borrow the staff’s hat and sunscreen, but I quickly got the hang of things. It was a lot of fun, and despite my worrying lack of balance, I didn’t actually capsize (although honestly I did get close a couple of times). We stopped at a beach to take in the views (where I had a clam spray water at me from the sand), and I dipped my hands in the water as we meandered on the water, leaning back and looking out for seals and bright purple starfish.

Port Alberni

Whilst most people overlook the charm of Port Alberni and only use it as a service stop, it is probably one of the cutest places on the whole of Vancouver Island. It is set out like every Sixties small town in every indie movie ever, and is super rustic and adorable. The whole place features these really laid back vibes, with everyone knowing everyone’s business and nothing having changed in the past five decades. The streets are full of old hunting shops and Riverdale-esque drive-ins and jade-painted wooden churches with shiny black spires – it’s a weird place, but it’s full of charisma and you can’t help but love it. One of my favourite places in the whole town is this sleepy little cafe called the Mountain View Bakery and Deli and Espresso Bar (it’s quite a mouthful!), because it is this warm, cosy little haven filled with locals reading the paper (which features ads for firearms and GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS), and they do the most gorgeous coffees and Cornish Pasties (with the latter not being served in the entire rest of Canada). Love. It.

Tofino

Tofino is part of Vancouver Island, and is one of the prettiest places in the world, full stop. I was fortunate enough to spend a significant amount of time there, surfing, boating, wildlife watching, hiking, and eating, and feel relatively qualified to call myself as least a third of a Local. I wrote a whole comprehensive guide on the area, and strongly recommend that y’all stalk it before you prepare for a fairytale week away.

The best way to travel between islands is with BC Ferries, which offers several routes to travel between islands each day. Taking a BC ferry is such a big part of any British Columbian’s life, that it almost feels like a right of passage (pun intended) to board one of their vessels. You can either go as a walk-on passenger or take a car (which is definitely recommended for  travelling around the more remote islands), and spend the whole trip kicking back with some ship food and looking out the window at the whales. I have taken well over 15 different ferries between Victoria, the islands, and the mainland, and my favourite bit is standing out on the deck at  sunset and having the wind whip my hair as I look out for seals and eagles.

And so, have you guys ever visited the BC islands or plan on travelling to this beautiful Canadian province? Let me know in the comments below!

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