With mountains and a glacier to the west and the Strait of Georgia to the east, this thriving lowland offers nature-lovers plenty of adventure. Well known for its air force base installed during the Second World War, Comox Valley is just as popular for wildlife tours, mountain biking over 250 trails, year-round golfing—even caving on a rainy day. Take the ferry to Nanaimo, rent a car and head north. You can’t miss it.

Bunk down. Drop anchor at the Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa, a beach resort, yoga retreat and destination spa noted for its detoxifying water circuit, the unique Pacific Mist Hydropath. Top off your visit at top-rated Ocean7 restaurant. The adjacent AQUA Bistro & Wine Bar serves more casual fare and has a nice patio overlooking a tailored courtyard garden filled with gas fire pits.

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Drink up. The Comox Valley Wine Tour will hit all the high tasting notes, including 40 Knots, the Island’s largest winery. Big on biodynamic wines—vegan and gluten-free—the winery is located on a slope facing the Salish Sea, letting its sun-soaked microclimate inform its distinct Pinot Noirs, Pinot Gris and Chardonnays. Dozens of craft breweries will keep the beer-lovers busy, but if you only have time for one, make it the Gladstone Brewing in downtown Courtenay. Pop by for lunch or a snack on the patio or in the fun tasting bar.

Knees up. There are about a million festivals in the region. These include: The Filberg Festival, four days of arts music, food and fun in Comox · Vancouver Island Music Fest, three days of outdoor concerts near Courtenay · Cumberland Empire Days, since 1891, an annual celebration with a street market and parade · Comox Nautical Days, since 1958, includes dragon boat races, music and fireworks · Comox Valley Exhibition Fall Fair, open-air markets and mainstage entertainment · Comox Valley Shellfish Festival, celebrate with local food and wine producers

Branch out. You’ve got food tours to indulge in, bikes to ride and salmon to fish. Plus, helicopter rides over the Vancouver Island mountain range and Comox Glacier will make for more than a few stories. And critters! Whale-watching and marine safaris add both inspiring scenery and wildlife adventure to your memory mix.

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Vibe: Special occasion celebrants, weekend-away couples, small groups of friends—all check in at the Kingfisher to put their feet up for a few days, relax at the spa, take advantage of the full yoga schedule at Starfish Studio and tuck into fabulous meals. The restaurant and spa are destination spots for locals, too, which makes the mixed-company mix more interesting.

Rooms: Heated bathroom floors! Spacious oceanfront rooms have large, comfortable beds, a giant wall of patio doors, two easy chairs in front of a gas fireplace, a handy kitchenette and a right-in-the-room whirlpool bath. Given the wellness focus of the resort, the tub don’t seem as naughty or cheesy as many do. A new wing of courtyard and ocean-view rooms is polished and prime, with shiny wood floors, panelled walls, leather furniture and nice cotton.

F&B: Contemporary West Coast goodness can be found in Ocean7, a fine-dining restaurant that hits all the local and sustainable notes with a focus on seafood, grain-fed meats and organic produce. The view is spectacular, made even more natural by the moss-covered, driftwood strewn rooftops of the oceanfront buildings—such a cool idea. The adjacent AQUA Bistro & Wine Bar serves more casual fare and opens up onto an expansive patio overlooking a courtyard garden complete with gas fire pits.

Extras: The Pacific Mist Spa is the real draw to the Kingfisher, with its rainfall showers and Italian-tiled everything, a nice pool and an infrared sauna. The signature highlight is the Pacific Mist Hydropath, a detoxifying hydrotherapy circuit designed like an underground cave with eight different elements, including mineral pools, waterfalls (hot and cold), a steam room and a salt-scrub tub.

THINGS TO DO: ON VANCOUVER ISLAND

Off-Site: Vancouver Island’s gorgeous eastern coastline sets the scene here, with breathtaking views of Comox across the bay and a few Georgia Strait islands off in the mist with the mountains and Sunshine Coast beyond. You are close to Comox Valley activities and wineries, and not that far from Highway 4, which leads to the west side of the island, Tofino and Ucluelet.

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Made by Victoria Distillers for the Fairmont Empress Hotel, Empress 1908 Gin is infused with the now-trending butterfly pea blossom, a perennial herbaceous plant, native to Asia. The petals lends both a distinctly blue hue and an earthy tinge to the gin, like you’re having a drink in the garden (like you do). But the real fun is that the gin turns purple when it comes in contact with anything acidic, so both citrus and the quinine in tonic water alter the pH level. Ta-da! An instant bartender parlour trick.

The backstory gets even better. The butterfly pea’s plant name is Clitoria ternatea—yes, because it looks like a clitoris. (The irony here is not lost on me, believe you me.)

Named after the grande olde dame and the year she opened, Empress 1908 is micro-distilled in copper-pot stills using eight botanicals—the pea blossom, the hotel’s signature tea, juniper, grapefruit peel, coriander seed, cinnamon bark, rose petal and ginger root. The result is elegant, slightly exotic and definitely not shy.

This is a shot of a most recent Empress 1908 tasting at the award-winning Notch8 in the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, a grande dame in her own right.

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THINGS TO DO: ON VANCOUVER ISLAND

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WHERE TO STAY: IN TOFINO

For our Tofino food frenzy, we hit the ground running with Kate McCallum, whom I love from the moment she hands me a maple doughnut with bacon on it. This is just scratching the surface I soon discover, as we meander through town learning bits of local lore and present-day news punctuated by stops at Schooner Restaurant for chowder and beer, the Paddler’s Inn waterfront patio for charcuterie and cheese, the Ice House Oyster Bar built into an ice house at the end of a pier, and Dockside Smoked Fish Store, which specializes in my precious cured and smoked and jerked salmon. At last.

I become really chummy with the wild chum salmon jerky and buy a mittful for my suitcase. No one really bats an eye when I begin talking to the food.

THINGS TO DO: VANCOUVER ISLAND

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Vibe: The majority of Magnolia guests are week-day travellers from the realms of finance, law (the courthouse is nearby), government and IT. Traditional décor is elegant but not overstated and modern touches keep it from getting mumsy. Vaulted ceilings, gleaming glass, gold accents and orchids dress things up nicely. Grey felt sofas and a gas fireplace warm up the lobby lounge area, where floor-to-ceiling wood paneling is propped up with equally dramatic patterned curtains. Tourists change seasonally, with the shoulder seasons seeing more regional guests from Vancouver and Seattle.

Rooms: Spacious rooms (starting at 300 square feet) feature multiple patterns and textures, with colours borrowed from the rest of the hotel décor—taupe, pearl, silver, grey, gold. Modern marble bathrooms all have a shower and tub, plus plenty of vanity space. Ask for a Signature corner suite for a view of the parliament buildings, a gas fireplace and a cozy corner for reading.

F&B: Opened in 2018, The Courtney Room is bright and white, an airy French bistro-style neighbourhood hub with a more casual main-floor brasserie and bar, and a smaller, upscale upstairs dining room. Expect local fish and meat with a bit of a French twist. The tasting menu is highly recommended. For breakfast, the Egg, Avocado and Crab salad will last you to lunch and beyond.

Extras: Repeat guests have everything as they like it, thanks to detailed notes from their last stay. Spa Magnolia sports seven treatment rooms, a relaxation lounge and well-equipped change rooms, its signature treatment being a 90-minute body scrub, facial and massage. The hotel also has bikes to lend guests, and has created a series of seasonal and theme-based biking and walking maps to show visitors the best of Victoria.

THINGS TO DO: ON VANCOUVER ISLAND

Off-Site: With 20 restaurants within a five-block radius and the cream of Victoria’s shopping within just seven blocks, there’s little need to get on a bus or in a cab. Victoria Conference Centre, The Royal BC Museum, the Harbour Air Seaplanes dock and the BC legislature are all a five-minute walk away. Both the Dallas Road beach and Holland Point Park are a six-minute drive away.

Rate: $$

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Vibe: Rustic comfort rules at Tofino Resort + Marina, which opened in July 2017. The five main buildings are simple but slick, lots of white and natural wood, with a pared-down Canadiana vibe. This is a rubber-boots-and-jeans kind of playground for any age and any size of wallet. The typical guest is the adventurer who just wants to spend the entire day on the ocean fishing, sight-seeing or surfing, crash right after dinner, and then do it all over again the next day.

Rooms: Frill-seekers need not apply—the focus here is on essentials only, the idea being if it’s not useful, it’s gone. (Bye-bye throw pillows.) That said, the 63 rooms are comfortable, with simple bathrooms, everything done in black and white and gray. Many of the kitchenettes from a previous incarnation have been turned into a second bedroom. Rooms on the second and third floors sport balconies with plastic Adirondack chairs.

F&B: At the sunny 1909 Kitchen, ingredients are sourced and foraged from Tofino’s oceans, shoreline and forests. Wood-fired pizza and fresh seafood rules, complemented by an assortment of small dishes, including wild mushrooms and wood-roasted vegetables. The kitchen will also happily prepare any fish you catch. Breakfast is hearty and healthy, the menu including a BELTCH—bacon, egg, lettuce, tomato and cheddar on a house bun. The rustic Hatch Waterfront Pub is the only bar in town where the locals actually hang out with the tourists.

TASTE TO TRY: TAKE A FOOD TOUR

Extras: The Adventure Centre is a big draw, setting you up with fishing charters, whale- and bear-watching tours, cultural tours and sight-seeing to all the nearby islands, forests and inlets. Go for surf lessons, crabbing excursions, scenic flights, free diving, sky diving or yoga. A water taxi can take you to hike the hilltops or swim in a secluded cove. The marina is the only full-service dock in town, accommodating boats of up to 130 feet. Harbour Air also docks here, its float planes bringing in guests directly from Vancouver Harbour. As the resort co-owners are NHL hockey players, a big state-of-the-art gym is equipped the best of everything and a hit with the locals, too.

Off-Site: Tofino is just north of a magnificent string of surf-worthy beaches and the rugged wonder of the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, a three-hour drive from Nanaimo, B.C., and a 45-minute flight from Vancouver Harbour. The resort is a five-minute walk to the centre of Tofino, with all its restaurants, surf shops and artisan boutiques. The Tofino-Long Beach Airport is a 20-minute drive south.

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First stop: Comox. Hop in a car and onto the ferry at Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo, then head north. This thriving region offers nature-lovers plenty of adventure via wildlife viewing tours, mountain biking over 250 trails, year-round golfing—even caving on a rainy day. Add a tasting at 40 Knots Winery to your list of must-dos. You’re staying at Kingfisher Oceanside Resort and Spa for the picture-postcard views of the Strait of Georgia and the unique Pacific Mist Hydropath at the resort spa. We take the waters in an almost Flintstones-like cave, guided through five different sandstone-sculpted alcoves and pools—a shower, a pool, a waterfall, a steam, an ice-cold waterfall, a hot-cold bath, a mineral soak and a scrub.

Second stop: Forest. Before you head down famed Pacific Rim Highway #4 that winds through the mountains to the Island’s west side, stock up on car snacks in Coombs, where the roadside Old Country Market has goats grazing on its rooftop pasture—not kidding. Along your two-hour drive, make time for two short walks: one at Little Qualicum Falls and the other at Cathedral Grove, home to the largest Douglas firs and red cedars in Canada. The island also has some of the oldest fir trees in the world, many commonly living up to 750 years old.

Third stop: Ucluelet. Once you reach the ocean, dip south for a night or two at The Francis, a self-contained, high-style boutique inn. It’s walking distance from the Wild Pacific Trail, a gorgeous eight-kilometre stretch of hiking through old-growth coastal rainforest. The seasonal Ucluelet Aquarium is Canada’s first catch-and-release aquarium, with an annual Release Day in early December.

Fourth stop: Tofino. Carrying on north, a few nights at the hip Tofino Resort + Marina is next on the itinerary. This combo hotel, restaurant, bar, gym, marina and outdoor adventure centre is a hub of activity night and day with both tourists and locals. Dinner at the resort’s 1909 Kitchen is a smorgasbord of taste sensations. Tofino is considered Canada’s surfing capital, with year-round waves enticing surfers to 35 kilometres of sandy coastline. Before you leave town, try to spend an afternoon with Tofino Food Tours to get in on some of the area’s top local culinary specialties. The Island produces some of the best hot-smoked sockeye and chum salmon in the world. Take some home from Dockside Smoked Fish Store in Tofino.

F&B: TOFINO FOOD TOUR

Fifth stop: Parksville. On your way back to Nanaimo or Victoria, book in for a night or two in one of the log cabins at Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort, and make sure to hit the detoxifying mineral pool at its award-winning Grotto Spa. After that, you can start planning your next visit.

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