Vancouver Island Hostels

Vancouver Island is a large island that measures 280 miles from end to end and is between 30 and 50 miles wide. So before booking your Vancouver Island hostel, you must decide what cities and towns you wish to visit in order to decide where to stay. Generally speaking, the southern part of the island is more urban, and the further north you go, the more remote it becomes. In order to best enjoy all that the island has to offer, it's best to allocate some time to the southern, central and northern regions.

British Columbia's capital, Victoria, is on the southern tip of the island, and has a number of centrally-located hostels. The city's bus system is quite good, with connections from both the airport and ferry terminal to the city center, which takes about an hour. Buses operated by private companies take a significantly shorter time. Victoria can be used as a jumping-off point for short trips to Vancouver (on the mainland), Port Angeles and Seattle, both in Washington, all of which can be reached by ferry.

Vancouver Island is well-known for the opportunities it presents for outdoor activities, such as camping, hiking and surfing. The island's surfing centre, Tofino, is connected to Victoria by the "Tofino Bus", which runs daily. However, truly enthusiastic surfers should take advantage of the hostels in the town of Tofino to best maximize their time there. Staff should be able to help with arrangements.

Vancouver Island's central region is home to several lovely beaches in the Parksville/Qualicum Beach area. Visitors staying in the hostels in the town of Nanaimo can easily visit these beaches for the day, and shouldn't miss the market in the settlement of Coombes, which is famed for its goats, which live on the building's roof.

Finally, for visitors seeking a more northerly and remote experience, there is the town of Port Hardy. One Greyhound bus a day does the nearly 10 hour journey from Victoria with stops along the way.

In order to best take advantage of all that Vancouver Island offers, visitors are advised to rent a car and make the journey between hostels that way. Many small towns up and down the island may have centrally-located hostels, but the various attractions may not be, and so the easiest way to visit the island is with a car.