About Vancouver Island Communities

Vancouver Island is located off the Pacific Coast of British Columbia in Canada. There are daily scheduled BC and Pacific Northwest ferries to and from Vancouver Island and the gulf islands. Local bus and transit services are readily available. Private airplanes and major airlines such as: Air Canada, Pacific Northwest and Air Transat fly in and out of the Victoria International airport. Nanaimo, Comox and Campbell River airports all offer connecting air services.

Vancouver Islands climate is moderated by Pacific Ocean currents resulting in mild winters and pleasant summers. The total population of the Vancouver Island is 730,500 and this includes coastal island villages, towns and cities. For boaters there are many ports offering full amenities and services including moorings for vessels of all sizes.

Travel Vancouver Island. After enjoying the picturesque city of Victoria you can travel northward by automobile to Port Hardy. The Inland Highway (502 km or 301 miles) is a four lane expressway that provides easy access to many island communities. The Day Liner commuter train offers a reliable scheduled service from Victoria, along the coast, up to Courtenay. The train that travels along this scenic island route stops at several island communities and passengers can leave the train and enjoy daily sightseeing excursions and return to the city of Victoria later the same day.

Vancouver Island offers beautiful beaches, mountains, temperate rain-forests, west coast wilderness for camping, backpacking, mountain biking and west coast hiking. The golfing enthusiast has access to over 60 golf courses, open all year round. The ocean offers reef and ship-wreck diving, canoeing, parasailing, surfing, day-sails, water-skiing, salt water fishing, beach combing, canoeing and ocean kayaking.The nature reserves on the land and in the sea are here waiting for you to explore, respect and enjoy. Other popular outdoors activities include exploring caves, fossil digging, mountain climbing, gold panning, and fresh water fishing. Perhaps you would like to stay at a bed and breakfast or other popular types of Island accommodations and enjoy the great outdoors.

On Vancouver Island the larger centres are Victoria, Nanaimo, Courtenay, Port Alberni, Duncan and Campbell River. These centres offer easy access to shopping, island arts and crafts, theatre, the symphony, an eclectic mix of dining choices including organic food, neighbourhood pubs, tea rooms and large variety of unique first-class accommodations to suite your travel budget. The smaller communities offer quality services on a smaller scale and they are uniquely affected by their west coast geographical locations.