Retreat to the serene Sunshine Coast
Overview
Photo: By Orlandkurtenbach (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The Sunshine Coast, just north of Vancouver, feels like an island getaway although it's actually a part of the mainland. Accessible only by ferry or air, this strip of quiet beaches, cedar forests, hiking trails, summer cottages, and artist colonies is just a 45-minute ferry from West Vancouver’s Horseshoe Bay, making it less than two hours from downtown Vancouver in total.
Stop at Gibsons, once home to the classic Canadian TV show The Beachcombers and refuel with breakfast at Molly's Reach, the café in the show. Continue on and explore the artists' and writers' community of Sechelt, or venture further up the coast to the isolated hamlets of Half Moon Bay, Earl's Cove, or Lund.
Enjoy fresh seafood, arts and crafts shows, beachcombing, hiking, camping, and some of the province's best water sports, including canoeing, kayaking, fishing and scuba-diving.
Getting There
Driving
Take Highway 99 to the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal (45 minutes north of Vancouver). Take a 40-minute BC Ferries trip to Langdale.
Flying
Harbour Air provides scheduled floatplane service and charters to Sechelt from Vancouver Regional Airport, Victoria and Nanaimo.
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