Nanaimo
Nanaimo is the central hub city of Vancouver Island in BC, Canada. It is the second largest city on the island and has the second biggest harbour. In many ways it is the smaller cousin of Victoria. Like much of Vancouver Island it has moved from being primarily an industrial town to a tourist city that attracts a large number of retirees from the rest of Canada.
Understand
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Get in
Most travellers to Nanaimo will arrive from Vancouver. BC Ferries operates car ferries to Nanaimo from Tsawwassen (South of Vancouver) to Duke Point in Nanaimo, and from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay. These ferries run about every 2 hours and the Horsehoe Bay route is by far the more scenic. The ferry ride is approximately 1 hour 40 minutes long. It costs about $47 for a car and $15 per person each way for the ferry. Reservations are never required, but recommended for vehicles during peak travel times. There is a $20 charge for reservations.
The Departure Bay ferry terminal is served by Nanaimo Regional Transit to Nanaimo. Greyhound (Phone: 1-800-661-8747) operates a coach service from Vancouver that meets the Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay Ferry. The cost is $22 plus ferry fare and is timed to meet every ferry departure.
Seair and Harbour Air operate float plane service from downtown Vancouver and Richmond (YVR) into Downtown Nanaimo. Seair flys the De Havilland Beaver and the Cessna Caravan and operates from a terminal near the Departure Bay ferry terminal. Harbour Air operates the De Havilland Otter and operates from a larger terminal on the downtown waterfront. Harbour Air services operate hourly from about 7AM to 6PM and Seair operates less frequently. The cost is about $55. Seair flights using Beavers are small planes heavily used by business travellers so reservations are recommended. From May through September, Kenmore Air also offers daily scheduled seaplane service from Seattle to Nanaimo.
Air Canada Jazz operates air service from the Vancouver and Calgary airports to the Nanaimo airport. The cost to add this onto an Air Canada flight into Vancouver or Calgary is often minimal. Westjet also operates flights from Calgary to Nanaimo. The Nanaimo airport is about 20km from downtown Nanaimo.
Travellers may also come to Nanaimo from Victoria. It is about a 90 minute drive from Victoria. Vancouver Island Coach Lines operates a coach service from Downtown Victoria to Nanaimo.
Get around
There is a transit system in Nanaimo, but it is not particularly convenient for getting around much of the city. If you plan on using it, make sure you know the schedule. Otherwise you can spend a long time waiting at a bus stop.
If arranged ahead of time, cars can be rented at the downtown harbour, Departure Bay ferry terminal or the Nanaimo airport.
See
- Bathtub Racing - An annual race of bathtubs that have been converted into boats and race through the harbour of Nanaimo
- Swy-a-lana Lagoon Park Swy-a-lana is a saltwater lagoon that makes use of the tide's natural ebb and flow, creating a home for marine life. An arched foot bridge crosses the lagoon, leading to Maffeo Sutton Park, where you'll find a sandlot playground, a fishing pier, picnic tables, benches and grass fields. Both Swy-a-lana and Maffeo Sutton Parks offer commanding views of the waterfront, Gulf Islands, and coastal mountains.
- Nanaimo seawall -- a pedestrian walkway that winds along the waterfront from Cameron Island to the Nanaimo Yacht Club. Visitors especially enjoy the section of the seawall near the Bastion, where craft shops and restaurants dot the path.
- The Bastion. The Bastion, built in 1853 as an original Hudson’s Bay Company outpost is now a museum that gives great insight into the way of life a century ago. Historic cannons are fired daily at noon throughout the summer. Admission is by donation.
- Pioneer Plaza -- at the foot of Bastion Street, you'll find markers for a self-guided walking tour of the downtown core.
- Nanaimo Museum. Nanaimo Museum is located at 100 Museum Way in the heart of downtown. Discover Nanaimo's fascinating history & modern day contributions to Canada's West Coast in the 1,486 sq m (16,000 sq ft) museum located in the Vancouver Island Conference Centre. Stroll through time in the main gallery to get a sense of what life was like for Nanaimo's earliest settlers & hear stories of the Snuneymuxw First Nation. Feel what it was like below the surface in the replica Coal Mine exhibit. The Museum’s feature exhibits change three times a year and exhibit everything from vintage undergarments to shellfish to the history of radio in Canada. Admission is Adults $2, Seniors/Students $1.75, Children $0.75, and Children under 5 are free.
- Nanaimo Dragonboat Festival. An annual 3 day event held in Maffeo Sutton Park. Over 70 teams and 1,400 participants take part in this annual event.
- Departure Bay Beach. There is a small park for the kids just south of the main beach. Dedicated swimming area during summer months.
Do
- Bungy Jumping, TreeGo and Ziplines. At WildPlay Element Park (Formerly known as the Bungy Zone). (About 10km south of town)Summer Hours: Open 7 days a week 10AM-6PM. Check website or call for off-season hours. North America's first and many say best permanent legal bungy jumping site. TreeGo Aerial Tree Course $20-$40 Bungy Jumping $100.
- Camping/Hiking on Newcastle Island. Newcastle Island Provincial Marine Park offers spectacular trails through beautiful forests and along its wild coastline. The island used to dig coles in the back days, and many historical places are left to see as well. Only a 10 minute ferry ride from downtown.
- Scuba Diving:. Nanaimo has world famous cold water scuba diving.
- Nanaimo River. In the summertime, this is the most beautiful thing you could ever imagine.
Buy
Nanaimo is the largest city that can be easily accessed by most of Vancouver Island. As leaving the Island to do shopping is expensive and time consuming, Nanaimo has become the shopping center for Vancouver Island. According to a 1990 Time Magazine article, it has more square meters of retail space per capita than any other city in North America. Much of this shopping is in the large number of malls and big box retailers on the outskirts of the City. However, most of the interesting shops are in the downtown core. Here you will find...
- Nanaimo.
Eat
- The Green Olive, 150 Skinner St (downtown Nanaimo), ☏ +1 250 716-0030. All dishes are made to serve 4-6 people, and as a result, makes this place the most affordable gourmet restaurant for groups, with entrees averaging $22.
- Thirsty Camel Café, 14 Victoria Crescent, ☏ +1 250 753-9313. closed Sundays and holidays. A self-service Mediterranean restaurant in the downtown area, 2 blocks from the harbour. The falafel and pita sandwiches are a full meal for under $10. Posters at the entrance tell you what is happening around town.
- Gina's Restaurant, 47 Skinner St, ☏ +1 250 753-5411. A Mexican restaurant in a bright pink building on the hill in downtown Nanaimo. Excellent food $10-15 for an entree.
- A number of good inexpensive Vietnamese restaurants are in Nanaimo. And a fine Vietnamese sandwich shop is a block away from Malaspina College.
- Acme is a more modern restaurant lots of fun and awesome food!
- Discovery Room is a secret fine dining restaurant hold inside of Vancouver Island University (Known as Malaspina University-College)
- La Famiglia Ristorante Italiano, #1-321 Wesley St, ☏ +1 250 591-1321. 11AM-10PM. Open for lunch and dinner, seven days a week. They provide a casual lunch, offering panini, soup, salads, and pastas. Dinners are served in a candle lit setting, with traditional Italian favourites such as veal parmigiana and chicken cacciatore. $10-$20.
Drink
- The Old City Station, 150 Skinner St. Has excellent drink specials every day, 20 beers on tap (they serve a FULL pint of beer, as opposed to other bars in the area...), as well as live music on weekends. It's huge, has a dozen flat panel TV's, aesthetically pleasing, and the menu is to die for because they share a kitchen with a gourmet shared dining restaurant, The Green Olive. It's easy to walk to (just up the art gallery alley off Commercial Street), and super affordable.
- 1 Power House Living Foods (Power House Living Foods), 200 Commercial St (Downtown Nanaimo). 10-6. Organic Raw Vegan Foods in downtown Nanaimo. In a city with very limited selection and high food prices this might be an option you want to explore. 10-15.
Sleep
- Bev and Sandy's Place, 2734 Camcrest Dr, ☏ +1 250 758-4983, +1 250 616-2636 (cell), bevsandy@shaw.ca. Check-in: 4PM or by arrangement, check-out: 10AM. A two-room B&B offering personal service. On the northwest side of town. Accept cash or cheqe but not credit cards. Most pets welcome. $55/night one person, $65/night two people; discounts for weeklong stays.
- Buccaneer Inn (Buccaneer), 1577 Stewart Ave (3 blocks south of Departure Bay Ferry Terminal), toll-free: +1-877-282-6337. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM. The Buccaneer Inn features comfortable, plush beds with down duvets in a separate bedroom, full kitchen facilities, ensuite bathrooms, full coffee and tea making facilities, games and books basket and local art all in a spotlessly clean room. Free wireless internet and free use of the front desk laptop, secure gear storage for scuba diving gear, dive gear rinse station, storage facilities for bikes and kayaks, BBQ deck. Ranked #1 on TripAdvisor.com since 2004! AAA 2 Diamond and Canada Select 3.5 Star accommodation. Across from 5 restaurants and pubs including waterfront dining. Beautiful walk along Harbourside Walkway to downtown. Central Nanaimo location; great for seeing all of southern and central Vancouver Island including Victoria, Tofino, Oceanside, Chemainus and Comox Valley. $60-199.
- Coast Bastion Inn, 11 Bastion St, ☏ +1 250 753-6601, toll-free: +1-800-716-6199, fax: +1 250 753-4155. An upscale hotel in the heart of downtown Nanaimo. $145-$275/night.
- Graycliff Cottage Bed and Breakfast, 7550 Lantzville Road, Lantzville (Just follow the Department of Highways' B&B signs), ☏ +1 250 390-3203, toll-free: +1-888-801-1822, info@graycliffcottage.com. Check-in: Between 3:30PM-6PM or by arrangement, check-out: 11AM. From your bedroom window, your deck, or the hot tub, watch eagles, seals, sea lions, cruise ships, or beautiful sunsets. Or take a quiet walk along the secluded beach. All suites self contained and include: Private exterior keyed entrance; Queen size bed with down duvet; Ensuite bath; Cable TV & VCR; Small refrigerator & coffee bar with complimentary coffee, teas & hot chocolate. Fresh full breakfast served every morning in the dining room overlooking Georgia Strait. Wireless high-speed internet available. From $103 Double occupancy. $20 extra per person.
- Painted Turtle Guesthouse, 121 Bastion St (corner of Commercial and Bastion Streets downtown), ☏ +1 250 753-4432, toll-free: +1-866-309-4432, stay@paintedturtle.ca. A simple but friendly hostel aimed square at the backpacker set, in the heart of downtown Nanaimo, around the corner from The Old City Station Pub, and The Green Olive: Nanaimo's Premier Shared Dining Experience. Rooms are free of phones or televisions, but free wireless internet covers the hostel. Double room $75/night for two people, Dorm bed $25.25/night; less in off season.
Go next
Nanaimo is a hub city for the island, as such it provides good access to a number of locations on the island.
Ladysmith, along the Trans-Canada Highway to the southeast, is a picturesque tourist town.
It is about a 3 hour drive to Tofino and Long Beach Unit of Pacific Rim National Park.
North of Nanaimo is Campbell River, Telegraph Cove and Port Hardy.
The beaches of the Parksville-Qualicum Beach region are a short 20-minute drive from Nanaimo. This region also includes Coombs, offering some wonderful rustic and exotic shopping and this is where you find the goats on the roof. It's a favorite spot for locals and an excellent stop for tourists. It's about a 30 minute drive from Nanaimo.
| Routes through Nanaimo |
| Victoria ← Ladysmith ← | S  E
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→ ferry Template:Rtarrow West Vancouver → Vancouver |
Campbell River / Tofino (via  ) ← Parksville-Qualicum Beach ←
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N  S
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→ END |