The remote northern region of Vancouver Island offers a step farther beyond for travellers in search of a go-anywhere license to roam the wilderness of the West Coast. Famously scenic, lightly populated and peaceful, this region is about as far away from it all as you can get within a day’s travel. Restaurants, museums and galleries are available at Port Hardy and Port McNeill, which make for ideal bases for visitors taking holidays in Vancouver Island.
Along with the Telegraph Cove, these relaxed, come-as-you-are hubs have birthed a booming eco-tourism industry for divers, kayakers and wildlife enthusiasts. Bear and whale sightings top the wish lists of every visitor to Northern Vancouver Island, with group outings available to fulfil this quest. The traditions of the Kwakwaka’wakw First Nations people live on at Alert Bay, which is home to the tallest totem pole in the world, the potlatch collection of the U’mista Cultural Centre and the T’sasala Cultural Group dancers.