Here is an itinerary for spending 2 days and 3 nights in the Comox Valley. The Comox Valley is located on Vancouver Island. This itinerary focuses on the areas around the cities of Comox and Courtenay.
Getting There: If coming from Downtown Vancouver, the most convenient way to get there is by Harbour Air. Harbour Air operates a fleet of seaplanes and departs from Vancouver Harbour and takes you to Comox Harbour. The scenery on both the inbound and outbound flights are incredible.
Getting Around: Rent a car. National has an arrangement with Harbour Air where they will bring a car to the harbour in Comox and leave the key with the Harbour Air agent. To return the car, just bring it back to Comox Harbour and leave the keys with the Harbour Air agent. Easy and convenient.
Where to Stay: One of the main reasons we chose to visit the region was to stay at the Kingfisher Oceanside Resort and Spa. I would recommend you get an Ocean Courtyard Room on the second floor so you will have a view of the ocean. These rooms have been recently renovated, and they did a very good job. Marble walk in showers and heated floors.
1st Night
Assuming you arrive in the evening, the first night can be used to explor the resort grounds and have a drink by one of the outdoor fire pits before dinner at Ocean 7.
Day 1
On the first day, order room service for breakfast. Then head to the first stop, the Royston Seaside Trail to see the shipwrecks.
Next make your way to Fanny Bay, stopping along the way to take some drone shots along the coast.
Then, stop at the Fanny Bay Inn for lunch.
On the way back to the resort, stop at Rosewall Provincial Park. When we went, we intended to hike but could not find the trail. We did come across an abandoned railway which made for a nice picture. Maybe you will have better luck finding the trail.
After Rosewall, stop at Hot Chocolates in Courtenay. I highly recommend this place. I bought some ham and cheese croissants for next day’s breakfast as well as some pastries and chocolates.
For dinner we had a reservation at a restaurant called locals. It was disappointing and I would not recommend it. I will post a review in the future.
Day 2
On day 2 wake up early to watch the sun rise on the beach of the resort and have your croissant from Hot Chocolates the day before, and a coffee from your room. We were lucky the morning we went because the sun was a bright red color.
After getting ready, make your first stop Nymph Falls Nature Park where you can check out the falls and do some hiking. I would highly recommend this. The falls are beautiful.
After the falls, check out a couple more beaches before going on a wine tour at 40 Knots (book prior to your trip). The first beach stop was Goose Spit Park. Unfortunately, it was very foggy so we could not see much that day.
Next, make your way to Kye bay, and stop along the way whenever there is a beautiful coastline.
At this point, it will be time to head to 40 Knots winery for a noon tasting. We opted for the Premium Tasting which included 5 wines and some small bites (including some delicious local cheeses). I was very impressed with the wines. They were complex and interesting. I believe 3/5 were estate grown. The last two, including a port style wine, were not. I ended up buying some of each wine we tasted.
After the tasting you can walk around the vineyard on a self guided path.
After the tasting and walking around the vineyard, it will be time for lunch. We headed back to Courtenay to try Nikkei Ramen Ya. I was not expecting to find decent ramen in a small city of 25,500 people, but it was surprisingly good, and run by some Japanese ladies from what I could tell.
A couple stores down from the ramen shop is Hot Chocolates so you can pick up some dessert.
After this full day, the best thing to do is return to the resort for a spa treatment. They have massages and other typical spa treatments, but I recommend you do the hydropath. It is basically a circuit of about 8 different water areas. You start in a hot tub, then move to a water fall, then steam room, salt bath, cold bath etc. Afterwards, we felt very relaxed.
For dinner we went to a Greek restaurant called Yiamas. They had typical Greek items on the menu and it was good. Below is the saganaki (fried cheese), calamari and chicken souvlaki.
After dinner, head back to the resort and get a good night’s sleep for your flight back to Vancouver the next day. The flight is only about 45 minutes so you can leave early in the morning and be back in time for work!
Such a wonderful experience ❤️