Canada - rockies or vancouver island?

[User7777]

Am about to book a holiday with my 16 yo ds, but can't decide whether to go for vancouver issuance or the rockies. We will Airbnb and drive, and really want to see wildlife.
Pros For the rockies are that we've never been to a mountain range. I've heard it's amazing. But, I also hear its busy. and also obviously no whale watching tours.
But VI doesn't seem to have the range of wildlife of the rockies. Everything I've seen is focused on the marine life.
I'm already wondering if you can get tours to get a glimpse of the animals, or is it more by chance. Wed love to see cougars, wolves, bears, moose, coyotes etc
Any advice is welcome.

Smugoldbag
That sounds amazing. Did you book tours to see the wildlife, or just hike on your own? I love the idea of a road trip!

@Onesailwait Sooke pot holes, botanical bay and then the drive from there through the island back to Nanaimo was our most memorable stay. We saw a mother and cubs in trees in a garden.

Loved VI so much. Best holiday for teens and adults ever.

@User7777
You really should not hike on your own and expect to see bears. A road trip is the only way to get around Canada. It’s big. VI is over 400 miles long. However it’s best to study the areas which are known for wildlife and book accommodation and tours near them. Like anywhere there are highlights and areas that draw people in. I think you have to decide what you want to see, the best place to see it and book accordingly.

The flights have gone up a lot in price too. So I would start looking into this and whether you are staying in Vancouver first. If you are, check out places that are near the Sky Train stops. Easier and cheaper.

I am from Vancouver op, though I live in Portugal now.

Both road trips would be amazing.

If you did the Vancouver to Banff road trip, via the Okanagan and Northern BC, you'd see some really cool areas: Harrison Hot Springs, wolf lake, Hope, some wineries, Penticton, Kelowna, Oliver, smaller blue collar villages that make you feel like you're living in a bygone era, some of the most beautiful lakes and mountains into the world, etc. Wildlife will be hit and miss, and Banff/Lake Louise/Tourist activities are crazy expensive. Also tons of time in the car!

My preference would be to do Vancouver for a few days, then fly over to Victoria on a sea plane (an experience of itself), then do a round Island trip. Must sees are: Kingfisher Spa, Tigh Na Mara resort, Parksville, Victoria, Sooke Pot Holes, Tofino, the Place with the Goats on the Roof, Qualicum Beach, and maybe a few other islands if you have time: Salt Spring and Pender are my favourites. You can do whale watching, kayaking, canoeing, lots of walking and hikes, stand up paddle boarding, and a good mix of modern and old - era towns. Still loads of beautiful lakes, wineries, food places, potential places to see wildlife. Less time in the car / more places to stop. You could do a day on Grouse Mountain in Vancouver to see some animals, albeit not in the wild. Vancouver you must also do Fly Over Canada, Granville Island, water taxis, Stanley Park (cycle or roller blade around the sea wall), Gastown, Chinatown... lots to do.

I would do the Rockies everytime

@Kitkat151
Why?

Vancouver Island. We went kayaking and saw lots of wildlife at close range. Vancouver itself used to be a great, safe city and good for cycling around, but I've heard it's not quite what it used to be.

When we were last in Vancouver we did a self guided walking tour. We ended up walking down a street heaving with adults shooting up in doorways. It was one street off our route. Only a short distance from fantastic shops and restaurants. So parts are unsavoury.

However the museum of anthropology at University of BC is incredible. Not easy to get to but a fantastic window on Canada through the ages. Grenville Island is ok for an afternoon and the harbour has the float planes taking off and landing. Stanley Park seems safe and the cycling opportunities are endless.

15 years ago we had a brilliant holiday flying into Calgary. Stayed at a lodge in Canmore and did days out to Lake Minnewanka Banff Lake Louise. Saw a small herd of elk outside lodge on our return one evening. Then took Icefields Parkway to Jasper and saw bear and cub ambling along road as well as mountain goats/sheep. In the surrounding area we saw black bears on the shore of Maligne Lake when we took a boat trip. Then drove to Whistler stopping for night in Wellls Grey NP where we saw deer. From Whistler we drove to ferry over to Vancouver Island and went up to Tofino. Could do whale or bear trips from here plus great beaches and walks. Then ferry back to Vancouver. This whole trip took us 2 weeks. Did not feel rushed at all. Stayed in variety of accommodation from air b&b type to luxury hotel all self booked so if you have 2 weeks I think you can easily do both Rockes and VI

Both are amazing but fairly different. How how do you have? Where do you fly to? Distances are vast so if you only have a week it makes sense to do VI plus maybe Vancouver it's self for a couple of nights

If you can get to the okanagon valley I recommend too and I had the most amazing afternoon tea at the Prince of wales hotel at waterton lakes.

Just a word of warning, if you think about nipping into the USA, you have to pay visa waiver fees and the queue was horrendous, took me 2 hours on a quiet crossing going and 3 hours on i5 going back!

@User7777User I've been to Vancouver Island for two weeks in September 2019 and saw grey whales, orcas, humpback whales, sea otters, bald eagles, black bears, grizzly bears etc.
If you do go to Vancouver Island make sure you go to Quinsam River hatchery near the town of Campbell River, and take a stroll up the river in the evening. There's lots of black bears to see, the river is narrow so they're literally right in front of you!! Lots of people and fishermen about, it felt very safe and the locals were very used to the bears.

To see the brown bears we took a boat trip from Vancouver Island back to mainland British Columbia. The boats go up the Toba River Inlet and the tours are run by First Nations people. The scenery is absolutely stunning!

On a orca watch out of Alder Bay we saw a very rare sighting of a grizzly bear swimming between the islands from the mainland to Vancouver Island!! As usually grizzly bears are only found on the mainland unless they swim over.

It probably helped we were there late summer/early autumn as this is when the wildlife was preparing for winter so lots to see and the whales were migrating past.

If you want any company names let me know.

Here's my wildlife pictures from Vancouver Island. @User7777 my tags never work right, so see my post above for wildlife watching recommendations.

Great photos. It would be VI for me.