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Hello! Jenn here. This post comes to us from Canada expert Kelena from The Traveling City Girl. Kelena is based in beautiful British Columbia, so she knows all about how you can plan an amazing 10 days in British Columbia itinerary. And because I believe travel should be for everyone, I’ve added some fantastic wheelchair-accessible tours and hiking trail info so those with mobility issues can enjoy the splendor of stunning British Columbia. So, without further ado, let’s jump into Kelena’s 10-day British Columbia Itinerary…

On the West Coast of Canada, British Columbia has many beautiful locations, National Parks, stunning views, and unique communities. It's also one of the best places in the country to explore the great outdoors and enjoy fresh seafood or any food.

As a local from British Columbia, I can help you with a 10-day itinerary that will take you to places outside and within the Vancouver area, as well as Vancouver Island.

While you may only have 10 days in British Columbia, there are many places to see. I encourage you to come back and explore Vancouver and this beautiful province more with further road trips.

Quick Overview

This is a quick overview of where this road trip itinerary will take you on 10 days in British Columbia.

Day 1 — Vancouver

Day 2 — Squamish & Whistler

Day 3 to 5 — Tofino & Ucluelet

Day 6 — Nanaimo

Day 7 to 9 — Victoria

Day 10 — Vancouver

10 Days In British Columbia Itinerary

Day 1 — Vancouver

Your British Columbia travel itinerary begins with exploring Downtown Vancouver. The first day is always the most disorienting and tiring, especially if you have an early morning flight or a red eye.

Downtown Vancouver has many places to see, such as restaurants, gift shops, and other trendy spots. Although downtown is compact, seeing every neighborhood in a day is challenging but doable.

However, these are the top places to see in Vancouver, and they're connected by walking or a short Aquabus ride.

Top Downtown Vancouver Tourist Spots

Gastown
Coal Harbour
Stanley Park
Granville Island

Gastown

A historical neighborhood in Vancouver, it's one of the only places in the city with a mix of cobblestone and brick streets and sidewalks. There are walking tours that will take you around Gastown and stop at prominent locations, including this amazing wheelchair-accessible walking food tour of Gastown.

There are also many restaurants to choose from, such as MeeT, one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants (even though I'm not a vegetarian, I have friends who are). Tacofino Taco Bar, a franchise from the Tacofino Food Truck in Tofino, offers Mexican food with a West Coast twist.

From Gastown, you can walk 20 minutes to Coal Harbour.

Click Here For A Wheelchair-Accessible Walking Food Tour Of Gastown

Coal Harbour

Coal Harbour is known for its marina and beautiful views of the Northshore. It's also where all the cruise ships dock in Vancouver.

Events and festivals also take place in Coal Harbour because of the Vancouver Convention Centre and, during the winter, the Vancouver Christmas Market. The torch from the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics in Jack Poole Plaza can also be seen here.

Coal Harbour is also one of the starting points of the Stanley Park Seawall.

Stanley Park

Stanely Park is the most beloved park in the city. There are many things to do and see, such as the world-famous Vancouver Aquarium, Totem Poles, Prospect Point, and more throughout the park.

Also, you can't forget the Seawall, where you can walk, bike; there are bike tours available that will take you around Stanley Park, or rollerblade the 10-kilometre pathway. You can also take a wheelchair-accessible self-guided tour of Stanley Park via your cell phone.

There are also notable viewpoints and points of interest to see along the Seawall, like the Nine O'Clock Gun, which fires off every day at 9:00 PM, Siwash Rock, Girl In A Wetsuit, and more.

From Stanley Park, you can walk along the Seawall to an Aquabus stop at the end of Sunset Beach, and it can take you to Granville Island.

Click Here For A Wheelchair-Accessible Self-Guided Tour of Stanley Park

Granville Island

Granville Island isn't an island but a peninsula under the Granville Bridge. It's well known for the arts, with art shows, small businesses, local Indigenous artisans, and restaurants (many with seafood options).

The main attraction in Granville Island is the Granville Island Public Market. Here, you can find local businesses selling everything from produce to meat and other goods.

There are also a couple of popular restaurant booths in the food court where people like to eat, such as A la Mode for pot pies and Market Grill for burgers.

Day 2 — Squamish & Whistler

One of Vancouver's most common day trips is to Squamish and Whistler. Both locations are along the Sea to Sky Highway corridor. The drive is rated as one of the best and most scenic drives you can do in British Columbia.

Squamish is halfway between Vancouver and Whistler. It's roughly a 1 hour and 25-minute drive from Vancouver. Squamish can be a day trip of its own, as you can do many outdoor activities. It’s also a nice way to break up the drive from Vancouver to Whistler.

At the entrance to Squamish, you can find the famous Stawamus Chief, or The Chief as we locals call it, where you can hike or rock climb, the Sea to Sky Gondola, and Shannon Falls Provincial Park. The Sea to Sky Gondola is wheelchair-accessible.

In town, there's Cleveland Avenue, where you can find many coffee shops and cafes; Eagle Run Vista Point, where you can see bald eagles, many hiking trails, and more. If you’re looking for an easy, wheelchair-accessible hiking trail, try Alice Lake Loop.

If you head another 52 minutes from Squamish, you'll arrive in Whistler. Known as a world-renowned ski resort, Whistler is at the top of many tourists' lists of places to ski or snowboard in the winter.

If you visit Whistler in the summer, you'll find many mountain bikers as the slopes turn into mountain biking paths. All the restaurant patios are open during the summer, and you can swim in Lost Lake or hike around Whistler.

Day 3 to 5 — Tofino & Ucluelet

While you're in British Columbia, you'll have to travel to Tofino and Ucluelet. The two towns on the West side of Vancouver Island are beautiful locations that are on many people's bucket lists. Did you know British Columbia is home to close to 25% of the world’s temperate rainforest? It’s true! And this Pacific Rim National Park area is the perfect spot to view it.

Tofino, in particular, is one of the most sought-after places in British Columbia. Known as the "Surf Capital of Canada," you can find many surfers. Because there are no barriers in the ocean to break the waves in Tofino, powerful and massive swells crash onto the beaches.

While there are other things to do in Tofino other than surfing, there's hiking, enjoying the Tacofino food truck, beachcombing or walking along one of the many beaches, like the famous Long Beach, Chesterman's Beach, or Cox Bay Beach, storm-watching, whale-watching, and more.

Ucluelet is only 37 minutes South of Tofino. I want to say that I enjoyed visiting Ucluelet more than I did Tofino because the surrounding area was more rugged and quieter than Tofino (at least when we went because they're both popular locations in the summer we went in April).

Ucluelet Lighthouse Loop

The Ucluelet Lighthouse Loop is a beautiful, wheelchair-friendly trail with many viewpoints and points of interest. Depending on how many stops you make, it will take 30 minutes to an hour to complete the loop.

I enjoyed the trail a lot. Also, it can be windy and a bit chilly near the ocean, so if you have a jacket or hoodie, I'd bring it with you.

To get from the mainland to Tofino and Ucluelet, you can take the ferry from the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal to Departure Bay in Nanaimo. It's a beautiful 1-hour and 40-minute non-stop trip. Driving from Nanaimo to Tofino will take approximately 2 hours and 55 minutes.

Day 6 — Nanaimo

I threw in Nanaimo as a one-day visit because the drive from Tofino to Victoria (one of the last stops for this ten-day Vancouver itinerary) is 4 hours and 10 minutes. I know some people won't mind the drive, but I recommend taking the day in Nanaimo to break up the drive to roughly 2 hours if needed.

Nanaimo is home to the famous West Coast dessert, Nanaimo Bars. They have a smooth chocolate layer on top, a custard or vanilla butter-icing in the middle, and a chocolate bottom, usually mixed with crushed nuts and graham crackers.

You can walk along the Harbourfront Walkway from Museum Way and Front Street to Stewart Street and Cypress Street or explore Neck Point Park or Pipers Lagoon Park.

Day 7 to 9 — Victoria

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia. It's another common day trip location, a long weekend getaway, or a daily commute for locals to work.

Victoria is a beautiful coastal city on the south of Vancouver Island. It has many historic buildings and locations, such as the Fairmont Empress Hotel, Craigdarroch Castle, and Victoria's Chinatown.

Victoria's Chinatown

Victoria's has the oldest Canadian Chinatown and it has a lot of history behind it. Walking tours will take you through Chinatown and explain its history and culture in more detail. This wheelchair-accessible downtown walking food tour of Victoria comes highly recommended.

You can also explore Fan Tan Alley, North America's narrowest commercial street. Once used for illegal gambling and drug-related activities in the early 1900s, you can now find small businesses within the alley.

Other popular spots include the BC Royal Museum, Fisherman's Wharf, colorful floating homes, Inner Harbour, Beacon Hill Park (where there are free-roaming peacocks), Butchart Gardens, and much more. You could also take a wheelchair-accessible whale-watching tour.

If you're looking for things to do in Victoria in winter, you'll only have to brave the rain, as snowfall rarely occurs in the city. The temperature in Victoria is mild overall, rarely hitting below 0° Celcius.

Click Here For A Wheelchair-Accessible Whale Watching Tour

Day 10 — Last Day In Vancouver

Since this is your last day in Vancouver, I'd like to think of it as a day to do whatever you want to and see or even do again if you had an excellent experience at a local spot. From whale watching to shopping, this is the time to enjoy everything you missed on your first days in Vancouver.

However, if you're still looking for more touristy things in Vancouver, below is a list of two options combined with what's possible to do in a day. You don't have to do the groups. You can pick and choose where you want to go. But they're based on proximity and ease of getting from one location to another.

Option 1 North Vancouver Spots

Lonsdale Quay/Shipyards
Capilano Suspension Bridge Park
Grouse Mountain

Lonsdale Quay (pronounced KEY) and Shipyards are across the Vancouver Harbour in North Vancouver. It has a beautiful view of the Coal Harbour skyline and is an excellent place to grab lunch on a sunny day. It's easy to get to as you can take the Seabus ferry ride across the water from Waterfront Station.

From Lonsdale, you can take the 236 bus to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, where you can cross the 450-foot (137-metre) suspension bridge over the Capilano River, a Cliffwalk, learn about Indigenous history and culture, and more.

The park is decorated in the winter with Christmas lights and other festive displays.

After you have visited the park, you can retake the 236 bus to Grouse Mountain. You can ride up the Skyride to the summit of Grouse, where you can find activities like ziplining, the grizzly bear habitat, and scenic views.

If you're feeling up for a challenge, you can do the Grouse Grind (open in summer only) up the mountain instead. It's a steep 2.5-kilometre incline with 2,830 stairs that takes roughly two to three hours to complete.

It's not for the faint of heart, as it's highly recommended that you're in good physical health and shape to do the Grouse Grind, as well as wearing the proper footwear.

Option 2 The Gardens

Queen Elizabeth Park
Van Dusen Botanical Gardens

Queen Elizabeth Park is located in the heart of Vancouver on top of the city's highest hill. It's a locals' favorite spot to walk around the park, take pictures in the Rose or Quarry Gardens or from the top of the park, or enjoy the Seasons In The Park restaurant, which offers stunning views as you enjoy your meal.

There's also the Blodel Conservatory, a glass-domed aviary with over 100 exotic birds (some rescued) and over 500 plants.

A 15-minute walk from Queen Elizabeth Park is VanDusen Botanical Gardens. It's 55 acres of land in the middle of the city with over 5,000 plant species from all over the world.

Van Dusen Botanical Gardens and Blodel Conservatory Volunteer Guides offer walking tours and golf cart tours for those with mobility challenges. A limited number of tours may be available between 1-4 pm daily from April 1st to Thanksgiving, on a first-come-first-served basis.

During the holiday season, VanDusen is transformed into a beautiful Christmas display, with the entire grounds decorated with Christmas lights and other decorations.

Best Time To Visit Vancouver

Summer is always the best time to visit Vancouver because of the weather, and many tourist attractions are open. However, there are downsides to visiting during the summer, such as it can be quite busy, prices are higher for accommodations and excursions, and there are forest fires.

If you're looking into visiting Vancouver on a budget, I'd suggest visiting during the spring or fall. While you may get more rain during those months, places tend to be less crowded with tourists.

Local Tips For Visiting British Columbia

One local tip I have is to utilize the public transportation system (transit, as we like to call it) in Vancouver. It may take some extra time to get to places, but driving in Downtown Vancouver can be a nightmare. The same goes for finding parking, which can be expensive.

Vancouver has an extensive network of buses that'll take you to just about anywhere in the city. The SkyTrains will take you to popular stops like Granville Street and Waterfront. Plus, the Canada Line will take you to and from the airport.

Vancouver's public transit is fully accessible to people of all abilities. TransLink, which operates Metro Vancouver's transit services, offers a variety of accessible options, including:

Buses: Have ramps at the front for boarding and exiting, and operators can deploy lifts at wheelchair-accessible stops upon request. Buses also have assigned spaces for wheelchair users.
Community shuttles: Have ramps at the rear for boarding and exiting.
SkyTrain and Canada Line stations: Have elevators and escalators that provide access between the station entrance and platforms.
SeaBus Terminal: Has an elevator at the north end of the skywalk.
West Coast Express: The commuter rail service between Mission and Vancouver is fully accessible.

My second tip is to dress for the rain. A rain jacket and rain boots with a couple of layers under will keep you dry. Also, don't forget an umbrella—that's the key.

My third tip is to experience things that aren't trendy locations or tourist spots found on social media. I know I listed popular places to visit, and I feel like tourists should still visit those places, but there are also many non-touristy things to do in Vancouver.

Conclusion

As you can see, you can visit a lot of places in only 10 days in British Columbia. This itinerary had things to do and see, from Vancouver Island to the mountains towards Whistler and everything in between. I hope that you enjoy your time in British Columbia and visit again to explore more of what this beautiful province offers.

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