Victoria, Canada

Vancouver Island is a 460km stretch of land in the Pacific Ocean, along the south-west coast of Canada. We spent two nights in Victoria, a city on the southern tip of the island, easily accessible from Downtown Vancouver via a coach-ferry combination ticket. This side trip had been booked based on a recommendation from a Canadian couple that we met during a tour of the Loire Valley. They convinced us to check out the area's scenic beauty as an escape from the 'city' atmosphere of central Vancouver. This turned out to be a great tip as we loved the place. Our timing was also perfect with booking a whale watching tour - spending four hours at sea with a super-pod of killer whales.

Vancouver, Canada

When the annual 'World's Most Liveable City' rankings are published, the city of Vancouver is predictably near the top end of the scale along with our hometown of Melbourne. Vancouver, part of British Columbia, Canada is well known for its urban green spaces, culture, food and proximity to the port and snow-capped peaks.
Our three days in Vancouver included a mixture of tourist attractions, culinary experiences (including Richmond night market) and getting in touch with animals and nature at the Vancouver Aquarium and Capilano Suspension Bridge.