Vancouver Island makes list of world's best island getaways
Vancouver Island is the only Canadian destination to make this year's list of top island vacations in the world, according to travel website Conde Nast Traveler.
Vancouver Island was chosen as a top vacation spot alongside other islands in Vietnam, Hawaii, Spain, Ecuador and beyond, according to Conde Nast's list of "16 Best Island Vacations in the World, According to Our Travel Specialists."
The travel website is quick to point out that the island has a range of activities to offer beyond spending time in B.C.'s capital city.
"Many people don’t realize, however, that Victoria is at the southern tip of the island and that the island is nearly 300 miles long," writes travel editor Sheri Doyle, who contributed to the list and owns travel website Pacific Northwest Journeys.
"One of my favorite places on the island is Tofino, a small town on the far west coast about halfway up the island that’s a great destination for outdoor adventures with fantastic food and lodging," she wrote.
Other classic island activities include visiting Butchart Gardens and watching whales off Victoria or Tofino, as well as black bear watching in some of the more remote areas of the island, according to Doyle.
While not mentioned on Conde Nast's list, another Vancouver Island community has been growing into an up-and-coming whale-watching spot.
Residents of Port Alice on northern Vancouver Island have been watching a family of humpback whales visit the village year after year.
The whales spend much of their time in the village's sheltered inlet and can be seen from the shoreline.
"The whole community gets excited," said Port Alice resident Jacqueline Mackenzie in late January.
"You see people coming down to the marina, coming down along the sea walk and just checking it out – it's great," she said.
The frequent visits have even brought tourists to the small village, with visitors coming from as far afield as Europe, according to resident Marnie Chase.
"We just have to figure out some accommodations for them other than the B&Bs, they fill up quick," he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.