Strategies

5 To Know: British Columbia

Take some time in Vancouver on the way

It’s a beautiful city with much to offer, including excellent farm-to-table restaurants. Be sure to do like the locals and go biking along the sea wall at Stanley Park. There are cafés along the way for a quick break.

The travel logistics are hopelessly complex

Getting to one of the wilderness resorts may require a combination of commercial flights, cars, sea planes and boats. Some are not accessible by road at all. Even properties that seem close to each other as the crow flies are most likely not an easy transfer. Indagare knows the best ways to get from one place to another and is here to help, so contact our Bookings Team if you are interested in planning a trip.

There’s no need to dress up ever

Even at the poshest lodges, attire is casual and outdoorsy. Leave the jewelry and cute flats at home; you won’t wear them. Instead, focus on bringing lots of layers and warm clothes, including a fleece and windproof jacket. Even in summer, it can get quite chilly in the evenings and mountain weather is always unpredictable. Like San Francisco, it is typically foggy and brisk in the mornings, then clears up by lunchtime. As one local quipped, “It’s only summer in the afternoons here.” You will be grateful for rugged hiking shoes that can get muddy. Lightweight quick-dry hiking pants are a godsend (Mountain Hardware makes excellent ones).

Expect no cell service and minimal WiFi

Most lodges have painfully slow WiFi (think dial-up speed and just enough bandwidth to check email for a few minutes), but it’s patchy and unreliable. When I was at Clayoquot, the wifi went out for two days because a bear ate some wires. Luckily, being forced to disconnect from the world is a blessing and central to the experience.

It’s all about the excursions

The best part of being in British Columbia is being deep in the wilderness. This is a place to challenge yourself and go outside your comfort zone. Embrace adventure. Try it all. Do the yoga in the morning, go kayaking, the hiking. You will feel amazing at the end of the day.