Scott Littlejohn
Vancouver Island Best Map Places
by Scott Littlejohn
Year after year, travelers from around the world, vote Vancouver Island one of the top tourist destinations on Earth. As a result, this is the year you've decided to cash in your ‘frequent floater miles’, catch the ferry, and visit this enchanted island. But where do you go and what should you see? You want the best because your time is limited, the Island is big (the size of a small country), and you don’t have an endless amount of time to do the research on everything there is to see and do. Time crunch problem!
If you’re like me, when you travel somewhere new, you’re looking for the places the locals know and go to - locals know the best places because they live there. Online searching can make finding the places you want to see easier, but where do you start? It’s easy to get bogged down in multiple sites that often are just a lure to promote and advertise for a particular destination or attraction. You just want accurate, concise answers to the ultimate travel questions: where do we go, what will we see, and how do we get there?
We’ve fixed this most basic, but most important of travel problems with the creation of our “Vancouver Island Best Map, Best Places” map.
The idea is simplicity itself: a Google Map of Vancouver Island with clickable placemarks of the best places to see on the Island. Click a placemark and a photo and description of that place pops up along with links to great photos/maps/videos/blogs of that spot.
By using Google Maps, this travel wiki is accessible to any desktop or laptop and many tablets and smartphones. No login, no promo, just easy-to-use information to help you decide how to explore Vancouver Island without wasting your time - information provided by Islanders who want to celebrate their favourite places by sharing them with you.
After clicking on a placemark, if that ‘best place’ looks interesting to you, the links will take you to photos. From that, you’ll know if it’s worth your time to learn more - or not. If it’s not for you – continue clicking on nearby locations until you hit pay dirt. Quick and easy, no ads, and the placemarks are colour coded to let you know if it involves an easy or hard walk to see why it’s a ‘best place’. Cycling icons are added to bike friendly places.
This is a travel tool that will only improve with age, just like fine wine. That’s because we’re asking Islanders - and an Islander is anyone who knows and loves Vancouver Island - to help us identify new additions to the map. This is a living, evolving, improving interactive tool. Check back often, as more ‘best places’ will be added regularly.
Our family moved to the Island 45 years ago, and we’ve been exploring this wondrous and wildly diverse place ever since. Wherever we go, we collect memories and photos of favourite Island places. Twenty years ago, we put our money where our mouth is, and began building Living Forest Oceanside Campground & RV, our 300-site waterfront park, and we’ve been rewarded with a place that many RVers visit, to create their own family memories.
Our philosophy is simple - we hope you will RV with us when you’re in our part of the Island and enjoy your stay. But in addition, we try to provide RVers with as much information about our own part of the Island AND the rest of the Island. We want travelers to fall in love with the Island just like we did. But that only happens if you see the best places.
Try the map - see if you like it. If you do, share the link with others who might be thinking of visiting Vancouver Island. Even better, if you know Islanders, share the link with them, to help add even more ‘best places’ to the map. And after your amazing Island adventure, share your ‘best places’. I invite you to post info or photos or video links on our Facebook page, or email map@livingforest.com.
If you’re in the area, say ‘hi’ to me at our booth at the Vancouver Island RV Sale & Show, in Nanoose, April 5-7th at the Arbutus Equestrian Centre.
Life and free time are too precious to waste on anything but the best places. Here’s an easy way to find and discover those places on Vancouver Island.