Vancouver Island Informational HELP!!!

[Austin city limits]

My main goal this year on my 20 day trip is the city of Tofino on Vancouver Island...

Questions??? Yeah,,, I have some Questions I Say!!!

Trublu has VERY KINDLY,,, contacted me and is willing to help me decide on some of my questions but I thought I would also throw this out to the rest of you and see what other ideas I can come up with...

I will be taking the Ferry across coming from Anacortes... I HOPE,,, I am across on to Vancouver island on August 2nd... I have reservations at the Best Western in Tofino for August 2nd - 6th right now... I am not planning,,, on staying that many days,,, but that gives me a cushion so if,,, I am running behind so I could show up August 3,,, or even 4th,,, and get my 2 day stay in Tofino in... You can cancel ANY,,, date after arrivial... You can only cancel dates before you check in 48 hours prior... ;)

So,,, my plan is,,,

Cross over from Anacortes on the 2nd,,, get to Tofino...

August 3rd,,, Tofino...

August 4th,,, Head for Port Hardy,,, and THIS,,, is where if you have any clues,,, I am still looking for a place to stay...

August 5th,,, head south,,, and get down near where to catch the Ferry on the 6th... A place to stay down there I am still looking for...

August 6th cross over on a ferry,,, which I am open for suggestions,,, and head for the Coast road South to San Francisco...

I hear some bad,,, a little bit good about the Ferry crossing to Port Angeles??? Ropes,,, hanging from the ceiling is how you strap in your bike???

So,,, the real Questions...

# 1 ~~~ Is the Best Western "THE" place to stay at in Tofino??? It is,,, :::::gulp::::: $210 a night so,,, I am sure it is what I have been told by others but,,, $210 a night??? :o: I have had a recommendation to stay at "The Inn at Tough City"...

Tough City Inn (http://www.toughcity.com/)

A little Cheaper,,, seems nice...

But,,, am still open for other suggestions!!!

# 2 ~~~ I have NO,,, repeat,,, NO IDEAS yet on where to stay at in Port Hardy... Shoot away!!! As I need to find a place to sleep there for 1 night...

# 3 ~~~ A place to stay down at the Southern tip near where you catch the Ferry... I am looking for a good recommendation on where to stay there that is Bike Friendly...

# 4 ~~~ The most troubling question... Should I plan on taking the ferry over to Port Angeles??? I have not heard great things about this ferry,,, and bikes... Could always just go back,,, the way I came but,,, it would burn a LOT,,, of hours and I am trying to get to the coast as soon as I can,,, and NOT,,, have to drive through Seattle traffic which I have done the last 2 years...

HELP!!! HELP I SAY!!!:D

[bcst1300]

I will answer the ferry question. Been there no problem. Parked the bike where they told me, and tied it up like they told me, and found everything where I left it and the way i left it when we arrived. Unless the sea is very rough you will be fine. The BC ferries are a bit easier. Except for Tofino I don't think there are a lot of places where you really need a reservation but I have not been to Port Hardy yet. Hotels are a little rare in Tofino.

[Horst]

OK ... the COHO ferry is just fine, in fact I'll be using it to get OFF this island !

www.cohoferry.com/

BC Ferries is slicker, first on first off, etc but you have to go through Seattle to get there (Tsawassen terminal).


The Coho is one ship, sails 4 times a day in the summer ... BC Ferries has lots of ships, sails every hour on the hour, 7am to 10pm ... otherwise no big deal.

Cannot help wih Tofino, it's a day trip for us, never stayed there :) ... but listen to the others, they'll help out ... have fun, I'm going south !

[Killtimer]

Terry

Remember, in regards to Tofino, you're staying in a high end (Spa don't ya know) tourist town in the height of tourist season. Everything is going to cost a bit more but remember......... your dollar still goes a little bit further. It is a beautiful place. Mid week in Port Hardy should not be a problem, but it's not going to have a great variety of accommodations. The closer you get to Victoria, the more accommodations will cost and the quicker they will fill up. If you stay on the north side of the city, leave yourself lots of time to get to the south ferry terminal, traffic can be a little thick, but then I'm a country boy and "any" city traffic bothers me. ;) The others are probably right about the BlackBall ferry to Port Angeles...... I just had a horrible experience the one time I used them. Sorry I can't help with more specifics.

One of the best motorcycle roads in BC is on your way to Port Hardy. If you've got time, take a left at Campbell River and head to Gold River, have coffee and return. Great ride.

[Horst]

now here's an alternative ...

why not stay in Port Alberni ? ... this is a milltown but scenic enough, even has a salt water front, and lots of reasonably priced hotels / motels and restaurants ... it is very affordable.

and, just 1-2 hours from the Ucluelet / Tofino / Pacific Rim Park area you want to see ... so just something to consider .... have fun either way.

:D

PS: it's summer here too ... this means we have daylight from 3am to 10pm (no kidding !)

[Austin city limits]

GOOD INFO!!!

I will write this all down,,, and do some checking... Thanks!!!

I feel,,, a LITTLE better about the Port Angeles Ferry now... It sure would make my life better to exit,,, Stage South when leaving Vancouver Island... :D

Anyone want to meet up while I am there,,, the 1st and 2nd beverage of your choice are on me!!!

Keep the Info coming!!!

[CCC]

I will be taking the Ferry across coming from Anacortes... I HOPE,,, I am across on to Vancouver island on August 2nd... I have reservations at the Best Western in Tofino for August 2nd - 6th right now... I am not planning,,, on staying that many days,,, but that gives me a cushion so if,,, I am running behind so I could show up August 3,,, or even 4th,,, and get my 2 day stay in Tofino in... You can cancel ANY,,, date after arrivial... You can only cancel dates before you check in 48 hours prior... ;)

So,,, my plan is,,,

Cross over from Anacortes on the 2nd,,, get to Tofino...

The ride to Tofino from Sidney (Anacortes ferry dock) will bee about 6 hours. Your gona love the road to the coast from highway 1. I just hope there are not too many RVs.

August 3rd,,, Tofino...

August 4th,,, Head for Port Hardy,,, and THIS,,, is where if you have any clues,,, I am still looking for a place to stay...

Sorry I can't help you on this one.

August 5th,,, head south,,, and get down near where to catch the Ferry on the 6th... A place to stay down there I am still looking for...

http://www.hellobc.com/en-CA/AccommodationSpecialOffers/VancouverIsland.htm

August 6th cross over on a ferry,,, which I am open for suggestions,,, and head for the Coast road South to San Francisco...

I hear some bad,,, a little bit good about the Ferry crossing to Port Angeles??? Ropes,,, hanging from the ceiling is how you strap in your bike???

I took an RZ500 across to port angeles on the Coho. I don't remember what the tie down system was but I didn't have any trouble. The waters where the Coho crosses are very well protected from the big ocean swells and we seldom get winds stronger than 20 knots this time of year. I would'nt worry.

http://www.cohoferry.com/

So,,, the real Questions...

# 1 ~~~ Is the Best Western "THE" place to stay at in Tofino??? It is,,, :::::gulp::::: $210 a night so,,, I am sure it is what I have been told by others but,,, $210 a night??? :o: I have had a recommendation to stay at "The Inn at Tough City"...

Tough City Inn (http://www.toughcity.com/)

But,,, am still open for other suggestions!!!

A little Cheaper,,, seems nice...

Use the link to tourism BC and try to find a B&B. They are usualy cheeper and nicer places.

[Austin city limits]

Thanks for the added Info Triple C!!! :)

[LDMike]

Terry,

Couple of things...

Are you set on leaving from Anacortes? You could go up to Vancover, BC and take the ferry from there. Or are you set on seeing the San Juan Islands??

IF you go back via Port Angeles, Hwys 112/113 are a MUST RIDE IMHO and they will get you back to Hwy 101 outside of Beaver, WA.

I can also recommend the Forks Motel in Forks, WA - clean, inexpensive and M/C friendly.

Secondly, how are you gong to get from "downtown" Casey to Washington State? Slab it all the way? You might want to think about US 2 as an alternative. It's "slightly" more scenic than I-90/94 and you might be able to take in Glacier NP, depending on time. Check here for road information in the park: http://www.nps.gov/glac/whatsnew.htm When I went thru there last month, Logan Pass was closed, but it looks like it's open now.

Sounds like a great trip!

[Austin city limits]

LD~~~

Thanks for the great info!!!

Are you set on leaving from Anacortes? You could go up to Vancover, BC and take the ferry from there. Or are you set on seeing the San Juan Islands??

# 1 ~~~ I am not "Set" on anything but my bike... ;) BUT,,, the long ferry ride,,, and the stops after 3 hard days of riding sounded cool... Sort of "De-Tuning" my brain for taking it easy on Vancouver Island...

IF you go back via Port Angeles, Hwys 112/113 are a MUST RIDE IMHO and they will get you back to Hwy 101 outside of Beaver, WA.

# 2 ~~~ Well,,, I already KNEW,,, I could ride with you LD and be happy!!! I already had that on my "Must Do" list as the last time I was through here the group I was with would not take this Route as they were wanting to "Press On"... Well,,, as well as a pack of Harley Riding,,, Fill Up Every 120 miles,,, Stop,,, and take their Leather Chaps off,,, looks like rain,,, Stop and take the wet weather stuff off,,, get chaps as it looks like sun CAN,,, press on... :(

Secondly, how are you gong to get from "downtown" Casey to Washington State? Slab it all the way? You might want to think about US 2 as an alternative. It's "slightly" more scenic than I-90/94 and you might be able to take in Glacier NP, depending on time. Check here for road information in the park: http://www.nps.gov/glac/whatsnew.htm When I went thru there last month, Logan Pass was closed, but it looks like it's open now.

# 3 ~~~ I am heading up and meeting up with some "Fellow" ST guys in Galena for a RTE,,, and then,,, SHAZZAM!!! Taking RT 2 across... It has been 28 years since I went across on RT 2,,, so,,, I thought it would be good to ride it again... I WAS,,, heading for Denver,,, and squirrel my way up to Glacier but,,, a RTE,,, with fellow ST guys,,, on the EXACT day,,, I was leaving anyway,,, was impossible to turn down... :D

This will be the 4th year in a row that I have done Glacier Park... Came from about every road you can getting there after this year... After Glacier,,, I am heading to the Coast on Rt 20... Always a favorite of mine...

Throw out anything else you can think of!!! I need all the help I can get!!!

Thanks Again LD!!! Hope to "Ride Along" someday with you... :cool:

[CCC]

I was working in the parking lot of the James Bay Inn today and Talked with the Manager on your behalf. He is holding a room for you for the night of the 5th or the 6th for $99.00. I couldn't remember which you needed. You will be within walking distance of downtown Victoria and the Coho ferry. There was a BMW in the lot so they may be Bike freindly, most people on the Island are. Give them a call to conferm your room or let me know if you don't need it and I will cancel it.

http://www.hellobc.com/en-CA/AccommodationSpecialOffers/SearchResults/AccommodationDetail/BritishColumbia.htm?Lev1=10&ProductNameCode=James+Bay+Inn&LocationId=651&CategoryId=-1&Bookable=0&PageNum=1&OrderBy=Default&PID=e7a7b1fc-4d92-4a94-9546-e1d2c2dd59d2&FromLocationId=17&CurrentLocationId=17&Nearby=False

[Austin city limits]

Very,,, VERY cool of you CCC!!! I will give them a call,,, and get this taken care of!!!

What do you do CCC??? If you are around when I am there,,, I will buy you a beverage of your choice!!!

It SOUNDS like,,, all I am 100% still needing is,,, a place in Port Hardy,,, and I will look into that this week,,, I hope...

Again CCC,,, a VERY cool thing for you to do!!! Thanks Again!!! :)

[CCC]

No problem, I'm glad to help.

I am a concrete cutter, My company is Capital Concretre Cutting Ltd. (CCC).
I plan on being on my way home from Alaska when you are on the island. We may cross paths in or around Port Hardy as I may be coming down the Inside passage on the ferry from Prince Rupert when I come home. Look for a blue one and enjoy this wonderfull Island.

[Austin city limits]

I just made sure that I had the room there CCC and once again,,, that was VERY kind of you to get me this spoken for,,, and at a very good price too I might add!!! :bow1:

If I ever get a chance,,, and we meet up,,, the meal is on me!!! :bow1:

So,,, I have 2 nights in Tofino,,,

and this room down at the South...

Now once I get to Tofino,,, I will be looking for a good place to crash in Port Hardy...

Things,,, are looking good!!! :D

[Austin city limits]

Terry

One of the best motorcycle roads in BC is on your way to Port Hardy. If you've got time, take a left at Campbell River and head to Gold River, have coffee and return. Great ride.

Will do,,, and when I get to Gold River,,, I will tip my cap,,, and my beverage your way!!!

Thanks Again!!!

[sherob]

Port Hardy info :D

http://www.ph-chamber.bc.ca/

[Austin city limits]

Thanks Sherob!!! I,,, am NOT,,, going to reserve any more rooms on this trip though...

I will lose my "He-Man" Motorcycle Riders Tour badge... I mean,,, our motto is,,,

No Reservations,,,

No Plans,,,

No Clue...

:D

But,,, I am writting down info... ;)