Road Tripping to Vancouver Island

Taking a break from Calgary, we drove to Vancouver Island for the month of November. The last time we were here was at the start of 2021 and we rented a beautiful cottage in Qualicum Landing, happily we were able to rent the same house again.  It’s nice as a nomad to sometimes return to a familiar and favorite place.  Our cottage is situated in a lovely ocean front community just north of the town of Qualicum Beach, a popular retirement town here on Vancouver Island.

It was a clear morning when we left Calgary at 7am, driving slightly over 10 hours to the city of Hope, just outside of Vancouver.  Our weather ranged from sun to clouds and rain to sleet, a little of everything but the roads were clear for the entire trip.  Making this journey in the winter our biggest concern was snow on the high mountain passes but the small amount of snow that had fallen had been pushed to the roadside already.

Arriving in Hope we checked into the lovely High Hopes Bed and Breakfast situated on a mountainside above town, and directly above the railway tracks as we discovered shortly after our arrival.  Most of the accommodations in Hope are motels so we were happy to find this very nice B&B, and the owner Pauline is the ultimate host.  After a hot breakfast the next morning we headed to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver for our 1 pm ferry crossing to the port of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.  We pre-booked our ferry ticket a few weeks ago guaranteeing we would have a space on the upper deck and be permitted to remain in the car for the 1 hour and 40 minute journey, and what a glorious day it was for a ferry ride.  The skies were blue and water calm 😎

From the Nanaimo ferry terminal it’s a pleasant 50 minute drive north to Qualicum Beach.  We are happily tucked into our Qualicum Landing cottage and looking forward to our month on Vancouver Island…