Dreamscapes Travel & Lifestyle Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dreamscapes.ca/i/725964
OPPOSITE LEFT: Sunrise at the cottages at Wild Renfrew is a great way to start the day in the up-and-coming town of Port Renfrew. Destination BC/Rick Graham OPPOSITE RIGHT: The Scottish Highland cattle at Bird's Eye Cove Farms in Duncan are photogenic as can be. Jim Byers Photo LEFT TOP: The renovations at the Fairmont Empress in Victoria give the hotel a clean, modern and trendy look. Courtesy Fairmont Empress LEFT BOTTOM: The emphasis is on fresh vegetables and local food at the newly renovated Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria. Try to get a table on the patio overlooking the harbour. Destination BC/Rick Graham TRAVEL PLANNER For information on tourism on Vancouver Island, visit vancouverisland.travel. You can fly directly to Victoria from Vancouver as well as from other Canadian gateways. There also are ferries between the Vancouver area (Tsawwassen) and Victoria (Swartz Bay, north of the city). Winters are mild on Vancouver Island, with daytime highs in Victoria in the high single digits. Spring and fall are ideal with comfortable temperatures and not so many crowds as summer. The Fairmont Empress is one of Canada's best hotels, with plush rooms and an ideal location next to the har- bour. Forty minutes west of Victoria, the Sooke Harbour House has a wonderful waterfront setting and lush land- scaping. You also can try the stylish Prestige Oceanfront Resort in Sooke. In Port Renfrew, Wild Renfrew offers lovely cottages on the water. In Sidney, the Sidney Pier Hotel has a nice restaurant and rooms overlooking the harbour. Bird's Eye Cove Farm in Duncan also has rooms. Victoria Distillers in Sidney produces some of Canada's most-awarded gin (less juniper taste than many gins you'll find) and other spirits. They've added a lounge and a café with an outdoor patio and have a great waterfront location in a town filled with fun shops and inde- pendent bookstores. Merridale cidery and distillery in Cobble Hill makes fine cider as well as vodka and other spirits and has lovely grounds and a restaurant, as well as yurts in which you can sleep. IF YOU GO