Western Canada/British Columbia - holiday planning procrastination

[Lemoncurd]

So, I have flights booked in and out of Vancouver, a pile of holiday guides, a pile of brochures and have been googling, scouring Trip Advisor, searching AirBnB etc for weeks. Just can't decide where to stay, there are just so many options! Anyone else get like this?

We go in a few weeks time and so far have only booked a week in Vancouver, need to plan for 8 more nights. Arrange car hire etc. Family say NO camper van hire or camping. Children (aged 10-15) don't want to do anything in particular when there and reject any options we've put to them.

Any recommendations for things not to miss? was considering maybe a couple of nights in Whistler and then travelling along part of Vancouver Island, maybe Tofino...

Just come back from Western Canada. We did The Rockies, Victoria and Vancouver. Absolutely adored the Rockies but it might be a bit far if you’re driving.

I would definitely get out of the city and see some mountains so Whistler sounds like a good idea. We liked Grouse Mountain and went Whale watching in Victoria which was amazing.

I don’t know if your DCs are at all interested in sport but we had a great afternoon watching the Vancouver Canadians play baseball. It’s a really sweet old fashioned stadium and it was very entertaining, beer and hot dogs helped too.

We did Vancouver - museums, Stanley park etc then over to Victoria - whale watching, museum with loads of First Nation info (really interesting) buchert (sp?) gardens, then drove to tofino for beach time, returned to mainland via nanaimo, then drove to whistler.
Not too much driving, great scenery and good food.
W stayed in hotels that also had cooking facilities - one bedroom and pull out sofa for the kids was the norm. Stayed in the Oswego hotel in Victoria and Nikita lodge or a similar name in whistler.

Tofino is wonderful- it's probably about 6 months too late but check CrystalCove to see if they have any cabins left. If you cannot get in there I'd recommend trying to stay near to Mackenzie beach rather than in the centre,.You can do a seaplane trip from Tofino to a natural spa thing and also canoe out to an island.

Whistler is amazing and great cheap accommodation in the summer. Cycling, zip wiring, walking - loads of stuff to do. The drive from the ferry to Whistler is incredible as well.

I'd probably just do 4 nights at each. Have a great trip.

I'm living in western Canada now. Just did the drive from Vancouver to Calgary. It was quite beautiful. Did the SkyTrek outside Revelstoke and Pipe Coaster in Revelstoke. DDs enjoyed but they're younger than yours. Kelowna is a lovely and busy interior city with a great lake. There's lot of wine tours in the Okanagan too. Getting from Vancouver to Tofino will take a little over half a day - it's quite isolated. But it is gorgeous

Thank you all for the insights, so looking forward to it, sounds amazing!

I've managed to book a few nights in Victoria, a few near Qualicum Beach and then will book the last few in Whistler as not too far to drive back to the airport on the final day.

Decided against Tofino in the end due to the extra distance and the fact there was absolutely no accommodation coming up for us. Guess it is very popular at this time of year! We aren't keen on spending time on beaches anyway so exploring other parts of Vancouver island will probably suit us better.

Would love to explore The Rockies but that might be another trip :)

Thanks again!