Islands and Sunshine Tour: Exploring BC’s Secluded Coastlines
- Days 1-3: Salt Spring Island
- Days 3-4: Pender Island
- Days 4-6: Galiano Island
- Days 6-9: Sunshine Coast, Powell River Area
- Days 9-12: Sunshine Coast, Earl’s Cove to Gibson
A tranquil coastal adventure
Are you the type of traveler that prefers to slow down the clock and live life on island time? Looking to explore some of BC’s most beautiful and less-traveled coastal areas? Do you enjoy soaking up the sun and feeling the wind in your hair on a BC Ferry ride?
If you said yes to any of these, this tour may be for you. You’ll spend almost two weeks exploring BC’s Gulf Islands and the renowned Sunshine Coast. This trip takes you to some of BC’s most tranquil coastal areas.
If you’re exploring Vancouver Island or the mainland, parts of these tours can easily be combined in conjunction with another adventure! Reach out to our team with your dream vacation, and we’ll help you plan it.
You’ll start your adventure by flying into Victoria International Airport, where you’ll pick up your vehicle from our team. Arriving by early afternoon on your first day? If so, you’ll hop on a ferry and head straight over to the first island of the trip, Salt Spring Island.
Days 1-3: Victoria to Salt Spring Island
Salt Spring is the largest and the most populated of the Gulf Islands. You’ll get here by taking a quick 40 minute ferry from Swartz Bay Terminal to Fulford Harbour. There’s an amazing variety of local markets & shops, quiet beaches, and forests to explore. Here are some of our favourite activities to get this adventure started out right!
- Hiking: Ruckle Provincial Park will be your go-to. It has an amazing network of calm coastal trails to stretch your legs on. Looking for a challenge instead? Head to the highest point on the island: Baynes Peak in Mount Maxwell Park.
- Beaches: There’s an endless number of beaches on Salt Spring. Some of our favourites are Beddis, Fernwood, and Vesuvius. During low tide, you’ll be able to walk along the beach and see starfish, barnacles, mussels (don’t eat them), and more. If you turn over a big rock, be prepared to see a bunch of little green crabs (they rarely pinch)!
- Ocean Kayaking: From Ganges, Salt Spring’s main town you can rent paddleboards, ocean kayaks, etc. It’s a great way to get out on the water and explore Salt Spring’s calm bays
- St Mary Lake: St Mary is our favourite of a few lakes on the island. It’s a great spot for some freshwater swimming and boating.
- Farm Stands: While you’re driving around the island, you’ll see locals selling delicious farm fresh eggs, local produce, and more. These stands operate under an honour system. Please pay the residents what they’re asking for on their signs, even if they’re not at the stand when you stop by.
- Local wine, beer, and cider: Nestled in Salt Spring Island’s rolling hills are several wonderful craft drink options. Our favourite is Salt Spring Wild Cider. It’s an amazing place to try over a dozen varieties of craft cider, surrounded by beautiful countryside.
Days 3-4: Pender Island
After a couple days on Salt Spring, you’ll head over to Pender Island. This is the smallest island on the trip, so you’ll have a quick one-night trip before heading to your next destination!
You’l catch a ferry directly from Salt Spring to Pender Island. This route is non-bookable, so you’ll have to go wait in line ahead of time to get a spot on the boat. We recommend getting there about 90 minutes early to ensure you get a spot on board.
You’ll see a similar combination of hiking, beaches, and local shops on each island. Here’s our guide to Pender.
- Hiking: The hike to the top of Pender isn’t nearly as hard as it was on SaltSpring! It’ll be a short 2.6km sprint up to the top of this Mt Norman, the highest point on Pender island. You’ll be rewarded with expansive views in all directions.
- Kayaking: Getting out on the water is a great activity for this trip! Pender Island Kayak Adventures offers a variety of guided tours and kayak rentals. They’re the experts if you want to explore the coast around the island.
- Disc Golf: Pender Island has one of the premier courses in BC, with 27 holes. Give this quickly-rising game a try!
- Wine Tasting: If you tried the cider on Salt Spring, switch it up and go for wine on Pender. Sea Star Vineyards is the go-to spot.
Days 4-6: Galiano Island
The next island on the trip will be Galiano Island! The ride over to this island starts with another non-bookable ferry route, so make sure to be in line early again!
There’s several sailings per day, and a couple will stop by Mayne Island. This is the smallest island in the area, and it could make for a fun day trip! There’s no where to car camp on Mayne, as it’s only 21 square kilometres, and mostly private land. If you stop by Mayne, make sure you catch the evening ferry over to Galiano with plenty of time to spare.
For those going over to Galiano, this is your opportunity to really embrace life on island time! Galiano is full of quiet tranquil beaches, and has fewer people than Pender or Salt Spring. Hopefully you’re relaxed at this point in your vacation and enjoy a couple quiet days.
- Montague Harbour Marine Park: White sandstone, Caribbean like beaches are right next to the ferry terminal. This is the perfect place to relax for a day and enjoy the quiet pace of island life
- Beaches: A couple of our favourites include Morning and Cain Beach on the east side of the island. On a clear day you should get some amazing views of Mt Baker, a glaciated volcano just south of the Canadian-US border.
- Hiking: If you’re still feeling energetic, Mt Galiano summit is 311 meters high and the next summit you can bag on your island hopping tour.
- Kayaking: This is your sign to go kayaking! It’s really one the best things to do on the islands. Spend a day on the water if you haven’t yet! The Galiano kayak service offers guided tours, so it’s perfect if you’re less comfortable on the water.
Days 6-9: Sunshine Coast, Powell River Area
After a few days on the Gulf Islands, it’s time to head up to the Sunshine Coast. You’ll start your journey to the Sunshine Coast by taking a ferry back to Swatrz Bay. From there, it’ll be about a three hour drive up the coast to the next ferry. The beginning of the drive will take you from one city to another (Victoria-Nanaimo), so we recommend staying behind the wheel until you’re north of Nanaimo. Qualicum Beach is a great place to relax and have a picnic lunch when you need a break. You should also seek out a Nanaimo Bar from a local cafe, it’s a BC specialty!
As it’s relatively difficult to get to, the Sunshine Coast boasts many of the same advantages of the southern Gulf Islands. It’s quiet and calm, beautiful ocean vistas in several directions. You’ll follow the Sunshine Coast highway for a few days and have no shortage of amazing spots
There’s some new activities on the Sunshine Coast, especially for the first couple of days!
- Powell River Canoeing: The Powell River Canoe Route is one of BC’s epic trips, it’s often done as a multi day portage adventure. For your FarOut trip, we recommend camping at the Lois Lake Recreation Site and spending a couple days exploring from your base. The lake is 14 km long and 24 square kilometers total, so there will be plenty to see. Don’t wander too far from shore!
- Sunshine Coast Trail: While often done as a multi-day backpacking trip, there’s plenty of day hikes to do along one of BC’s most iconic trails. Check out this guide for more details.
- Savary Island: The island hopping doesn’t have to stop! This tiny, beach covered island is only 7km long and 1 km wide, and makes for a perfect day trip. You can park the car for the day and take a water taxi enjoy a picnic on the beaches.
- Haslam Lake: A wide variety of options await you at Haslam Lake. You could do the 7 kilometers hike up to the lake from the west side, fish for rainbow and cutthroat trout, or drive up and relax.
Days 9-12: Sunshine Coast, Sechelt to Gibsons
After a couple of days exploring the Powell River, you’ll have a short drive and make your way from Earl’s Cove to Gibsons. Sechlet is the main town in the area and is a good home base for a couple days. Sechlet quite fittingly means “the land between two waters”.
As you leave the Powell River lakes behind, you’ll be greeted with more diverse coastline. Inlets, endless beches, and taller mountains make up this part of the trip.
- Sechelt Inlets Marine Provincial Park: A stone’s throw away from the nearby ocean is a beautiful, calm inlet. It’s a perfect place for paddleboarding, swimming, and other water sports.
- Beaches, beaches, and more beaches: We’ll list all our favourite beaches in the order you’ll be driving by them. Dan Borsch Park, Halfmoon Bay, Davis Bay, Welcome Beach, Roberts Creeek Beach, Booniebrook Beach, and finally, Georgia Beach.
- Mount Steele: If you’re feeling ambitious, this 20km hike is only 40 minutes north of the Sunshine Coast Highway. You’ll have amazing opportunities to get some alpine & lake views, and see bodies of water in every direction. If you’re in good shape, this is a great way to spend one of your last days on the trip.
- Burnett Falls: You’ve seen a lot of different types of bodies of water on this trip, so why not cap it off with a waterfall? Burnett Falls is only about 30 meters from its nearby parking lot, so it’s a great stop for a day you’re exploring the area.
- Smitty’s Oyster House: There’s no better way to toast your trip then by ending it with some fresh oysters in Gibsons.
Back to Vancouver
Your last day will involve one more ferry ride to get back to the big cities! You’ll take a ferry from Langdale to Horseshoe Bay, and then drive an hour or two south to Vancouver Airport where you’ll fly out.
You’ll drive through some amazing places on your way back into Vancouver – remember, you can extend your trip if you want to! We recommend checking out our Sea to Sky hiking tour and our mainland adventure if you’re drawn to spending a couple of days in this beautiful corridor!
Exploring the Gulf Islands and Sunshine Coast makes for one of the most peaceful BC coastal adventures. Does this sound like your type of trip? We’re here to help you plan your adventure. Book a call with one of our team members here, and we’ll help you map out an epic road trip you’ll never forget.
