"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
om...
I'm looking for something relaxing and quiet but with some light
activities for a young family (my kids are 8 and 9). Perhaps the
Nanaimo area? Would I be better off just going to Victoria Island? Do
they have good GA service? Is the Victoria Island area nice to drive
around?

Victoria is the city. Vancouver Island is the island. To further
complicate things, the airport is actually north of Victoria, in Sidney, BC.

When I've flown to Victoria, I park over at the flying club tiedowns. They
are very friendly and easy-going. But then I've had the same easy
experience over at Boundary Bay. Because of the short distance I have to
fly, I've never had to deal with getting fuel or other services (though, I
did have to have a Sunday afternoon repair of my ignition system one time,
which went about as well as one could expect), but judging from the general
attitudes I've found, I can't imagine anyone having anything but a pleasant
experience.

As for whether it's nice to drive around, it's at least as nice as any of
the rest of the rural Pacific Northwest, which is to say it's beautiful,
with plenty of outdoor activities and scenery.

I can't say that Victoria/Vancouver Island would be any more or less
appropriate than the San Juans. Each have plenty to offer, and to some
extent it depends on how self-sufficient your family is with respect to
finding things to do. Personally, I think Orcas Island has enough to keep a
family busy for at least a weekend, if not an entire week, but if you're
looking for guided tours, museums, and other kid-friendly tourist
attractions, Victoria and Vancouver are likely to be better bets (as would
any larger city with a relatively dense population).

If you're asking about a comparison between Vancouver and Victoria, I guess
that depends. Near Vancouver it's mostly farmland, but if you head north
and west, you wind up in very similar terrain to that found on Vancouver
Island. Heading inland north, you wind up going toward the
Whistler/Blackcomb area, where they have great skiing in the winter, and the
usual outdoor mountain activities in the summer. Of course there are other
parks and outdoor areas all around.

Personally, I find Victoria and Vancouver very similar, but each with their
own unique tourist attractions and specific differences.

You might want to take a look at a map before you consider literally driving
around Vancouver Island. It's *big*.

If you do wind up driving on Vancouver Island, you might think about heading
up the southwestern coast to Sprout Lake (near Port Alberni) to visit the
Martin Mars water bomber operation.

Pete