Based in Vancouver, Canada, Chris McBeath is an award-winning freelance travel journalist whose credits include various book titles for Frommers, Ports of Call (Alaska), Time Out, and Fodors as well as Travel Guides to Canada. She also has bylines in publications such as Trips, Holiday Maker, Spa Business, Pacific Wave, and the LA Times . Most articles feature offbeat and cultural adventures, such as hiking through Peru or wandering the plateaus of a living volcano in New Zealand.
It’s a 4 hour-drive between Kamloops and Vancouver (357km), via the jaw-dropping scenery of the Coquihalla Highway (Hwy-5), but there’s another route… The cross-country journey via Whistler (using Hwy-1 & Hwy-99) is equally spectacular and adds the chance to explore one of North America’s premier mountain resorts. This option adds around 1.5 hours to the drive and is recommended only...
Explore Vancouver‘s foodie and gastro side. Vancouver is nothing short of a glorious safari of freshness, flavor and ethnic origins that have foodies salivating at every turn. The city’s dynamic, multi-cultural culture, coupled with Vancouver’s eat fresh ethos – the 100-mile diet originated here – and you’ll find something to satiate the most finicky taste-spuds. Foodie Trucks & Tours in...
With 3 days you can explore much of Vancouver. Follow the Iconic Vancouver itinerary on Day 1 and the Downtown & Mountain Adventures itinerary on Day 2, and then use this itinerary on Day 3 to explore more far-flung neighbourhoods, gardens and First Nations heritage. Vancouver’s beauty and vibe really start to shine away from the downtown core. This itinerary showcases vibrant...
48 hours in Vancouver will give you a chance to see many of the sights. After following our Iconic Vancouver itinerary on Day 1, it’s time to explore the city more deeply with a mix of sightseeing, shopping and mountain adventures. Morning: Gastown & Chinatown Start again in Canada Place, but this time head east into historic Vancouver. The first...
So little time, so much to see … but with this one day itinerary, you’ll hit Vancouver‘s top sights and iconic high points. Getting Around Vancouver Vancouver is arguably one of the most beautiful, safe and easy walking-cities on the planet. Bicycle rentals are plentiful (it’s deservedly popular to tour Stanley Park’s seawall) and if you get tired, a 10-minute cab...
Though the drive between Vernon and Vancouver can be done in under 5 hours (440km), there are so many possibilities along the way – hundreds of wineries, extraordinary trails, lakes, gardens, desert and still more wineries, it’s easy to spread the journey over five enjoyable days. Day 1: Vernon Explore Vernon: stay at Sparkling Hill Resort, North America’s only European...
Plan a Whistler perfect day, from outdoor activities to city sights. Internationally famous for two ski mountains, Whistler and Blackcomb, Whistler Resort is a veritable cornucopia of outdoor adventure. Whatever the season its the activities that make people flock here. In winter most people come for its world-class snowboarding, skiing and host of other winter activities from snowmobiling to snowshoeing....
Although Vancouver has plenty to offer, on any longer stay you will almost certainly get the urge to leave the city to experience the beautiful countryside that beckons all around. Of all the day-trip possibilities heading along the Sea-to-Sky Highway to Whistler is the most popular and rightly so, since the drive is fantastic and the resort town boasts not...
This Vancouver Island itinerary is a ‘teaser’ of the Wild West Coast where nature still has the upper hand and takes you on a mesmerizing journey from Victoria to Tofino and beyond — over mountains, through orchards and sky-high forests, by seashores and past fast-moving rivers. The West Coast of Vancouver Island is like no other landscape. A car is...
From Victoria you can visit Washington’s San Juan Islands. Washington State Ferries run a daily service between Anacortes and Sidney, just south of Victoria with stops en route in the San Juan Islands. With a bit of planning, this getaway makes for an ideal addition to any Victoria trip. Remember your passport as you’ll be crossing the border. Day 1:...
Victoria is a walking city and you can get the flavor of the place by hanging around the Inner Harbour. A good pair of shoes also will allow you to discover alleyways and historic squares. If you’re happy to pedal, too, then you’re poised to find out why city’s sometime dubbed Canada’s Biking Capital. Tour companies proliferate and you also...
The Gulf Islands sit midway between the mainland and Vancouver Island and are as easily accessed from Victoria (Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal) as from Tswwassen Ferry Terminal, just south of Vancouver. With a bit of planning (using ferry schedules), you can explore all the islands within a few days. Each island has a different ambiance. Accommodations range from lavish country...
The drive north (Hwy 99) from Vancouver to Whistler is stunning. It’s dubbed the Sea to Sky Highway and although it’s only a two-hour trip, we recommend taking all day because of the stellar must-see attractions en route. Britannia Beach & Shannon Falls In addition to many “Kodak moments” (or iPhone moments as the case may be), stop at the...
Whistler is not so much a resort as a phenomenon. It’s hard to believe that only a few decades ago the site was a garbage dump prowled by bears because today its two mountains, Whistler and Blackcomb, are among the world’s top ski destinations. High praise indeed and the kudos never let up. In 2010, Whistler hosted the Olympic Winter...
Located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Victoria is often described as being more English than England. The city was named, after all, for Queen Victoria and its colonial heritage is one of British Columbia’s top tourist draws. As is the world-renowned Butchart Gardens. Although the city is heavy on historical sights – including museums, old houses, hotels, and...
Tucked into a breathtakingly beautiful and unspoiled corner of the Pacific North West, Vancouver is consistently ranked among the top cities in the world to live. But beyond its spectacular mountain, ocean and forest backdrop this is a city of enjoyable anomalies where youthful vitality pits modernity against tradition, and multi-ethnicity is restyling a colorful heritage. All this combines to...
Catching a ‘collectivo’ (shared cab) to cross the mountainous jungles of Peru (home of various drug lords), and managing to barter my way through their militia checkpoints. I arrived at my destination safely, albeit surrounded by 10-foot maze in the middle of nowhere … but that’s another story.
Albania – though development is changing the country at the speed of Mercury from the country’s Italian north to its Greek south. It has fabulous Riviera beaches, great affordability, and a largesse of history, Roman and otherwise. The people are terrific.
I tend to travel solo because like-minded meanderers aren’t so easy to find. But when I do, we wander together and separately which makes for double the autonomous adventure.
Go with the flow. Not everything goes to plan. Smile. Share food. Ask to take people’s photos. Always.