Vancouver-Vancouver Island-Victoria

We enjoyed a short week in Vancouver without a car by staying in a centrally located downtown hotel. Transportation from YVR is simple and economical via the Canada Line metro. Downtown Vancouver is very walkable and transit served. We rented bikes from a downtown shop two blocks from our hotel for a day of biking including Stanley Park and Granville Island.

Any guidebook will cover the areas you're looking for because these are places that are well known and will be the staple of any guide book...try Rough Guide, DK, etc. I would go to the library and just pick out what they have - I'm sure it will answer all of your questions in addition to the tourism website (that's a great resource as well - you can even order a hard copy guide book by mail). It's been decades since I've been to Victoria so I don't remember the details about the car and ferry.

While in Vancouver, you should seriously consider seeing the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus. It's outstanding in terms of learning about the culture of the area and its peoples, as well as an architectural showpiece. You can even get there easily by bus from downtown if you don't have a car.
http://moa.ubc.ca

As the previous poster remarked, you don't need a car downtown and it will be quite expensive to have one due to parking costs. The metro is very easy to use and I just bought a 7-day ticket booklet for our trip from a convenience store. A car is useful if you want to reach out-of-the-way destinations. You can easily access North Vancouver via ferry if you have interests there.

You don't need a car in Vancouver. I would take the ferry as a walkon- cheaper than taking a car and rent the car once you are in Victoria after you have taken a day or 2 to tour the city.There are lots of rental car offices in the city.

If you belong to the AAA or know anyone who does,then you should get the Tour Book for Western Canada which included BC. As for sights on Van Island,there is no end. Obviously,Butchart Gardens and then the drive to Tofino and all the sites along the way.

I work for BC Ferries and live in Victoria. If you are traveling light, like Uncle Rick advises, it is easy to transition from downtown Vancouver to downtown Victoria via public transit. Take the Canada Line from Van to Bridgeport station. Transfer to bus #620 which goes to the ferry terminal at Tsawwassen where you will walk on the ferry ($17.20). When you reach Swartz Bay, walk off the ferry, out of the terminal and get on either bus # 70 or 72. Both go to downtown, and take between 60-90 minutes. Fare is $2.50. It's usually a double decker bus. Sit upstairs and enjoy the view! Perhaps someone from Van can chime in on the Translink fare to Tsawwassen. Ferry reservations are not available for foot passengers. Be careful: you want Tsawwassen - Swartz Bay. (Horseshoe Bay is another ferry terminal that services Vancouver - Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. You don't want that one.)

If you are traveling heavier, or just don't want to fuss with public transit, you can take the BC Ferries Connector bus. Downtown to downtown, $44.95 each, but you still have to pay the ferry fare of $17.20.

If you choose the rent a car and drive, ferry fare for car, driver and 2 passengers is $90.85. Reservations, which are optional, are extra. Price ranges from $15 to $22 depending on how far in advance you book. Although reservations are not necessary, if traveling at peak times, be prepared to wait for the next sailing. If it were me, I wouldn't bother with the car. Rent a car in Victoria if desired. Whether you are walking on or driving, check the schedule online at bcferries.com. You will be traveling at shoulder season when we are transitioning from hourly sailings to every other hour.

Important: October 10 is Canadian Thanksgiving. This is historically one of the busiest weekends of the year on the ferries, both for walk ons and drivers. Plan accordingly if traveling October 6-10. Thursday, Friday and Monday will be exceptionally busy. Saturday and Sunday not so much.

If you would like further info, please PM me, happy to help!

Good information from Kathleen regarding ferries. (My experience is limited to the US to Victoria ferries). If you drive, you should buy the reservations and any either case need to arrive early. If you walk or bike, just stroll up or ride up before boarding time. Walking or biking is a lot quicker.

We just returned from an 8-day trip in BC, including Vancouver Island. This was a camping and hiking trip, so we did not spend any time in Vanvouver or Victoria. But we did go some places that you might enjoy in the 3-4 days you have between Vancouver and Victoria, so I will mention them.

Option 1 ( more expensive): rent you car when you are ready to leave Vancouver. Drive up to Whistler and spend a night, with the opportunity for short hikes and some very good dining. Then drive back to Horseshoe Bay and take the ferry to Nanaimo ( reservation advised). From Nanaimo, drive out to Tofino or Uclulet on the west coast. It is about 3 hours; you can stop on the way for a short hike at Little Qualicum Falls ( beautiful) and/or the Cathedral,Grove of old growth Douglas firs. Spend two nights there---there is a range of accommodations from yurts to rustic cabins to B and B's to fancy spa hotels. Tofino is popular place for surfing and whale-watching, and has recently been "discovered" by major travel mags so it can be crowded, but by late September that should abate. There are some nice beaches for walking both within and without the Pacific Rim National Park, which lies between the two towns. We did not make it to Uclulet so cannot describe that.

I had the best fish and chips in my life at the Wildside Grill, a take-out place at Tofino. Panko-crumbed ling cod, perfectly cooked. We may go back in September ourselves.. . .

Option 2: follow the directions above to take the ferry from Tswassen to Schwartz Bay without a car. Pick up a car at or near Victoria and head out of town for 2-3 nights. You could either head to Tofino as above, or drive the south coast of the island, staying at Sooke or farther west, and walk sections of the Juan de Fuca trail, which is a combination of beaches and forest trails.

I liked the Moon Handbood on British Columbia for planning this trip.

Ditto to the recommendation for the UBC Museum of Anthropology. The Provincial Museum in Victoria (not sure of its exact title) also has an excellent section on the native cultures.

I liked Victoria much more than Vancouver. Do check carefully how much time you want to spend in Vancouver and what you want to see there.

At the end of September 3 years ago, a friend from Seatlle and I took a "road trip" around Vancouver Island in her car. The only time we used the car in Victoria was on a day trip to Butchart Gardens. We used the car because [1] we had it and [2] we went for a wine tasting in the middle, then returned to the gardens. There must be convenient public transportation from town. We were sorry we only had time for 2 dinners in Victoria (recommended by locals - Pagliacci and Il Terrazo), we had 2 excellent meals and passed so many other enticing restaurants. Nor did we have time for a harbor cruise. Then we drove along the coast, stopping to see First Nations sights and cider tasting, spent one night in Port Alberni and saw salmon runs on the way to 2 nights in Tofino, including a boat trip for bear watching. There's really only one road from Alberni to Tofino, but if memory serves, between Alberni and Victoria, a good part of the way you can go through either wine country or along the coast. Sights we enjoyed in Victoria included a walk through the Empress Hotel public rooms (not worth the inflated price for tea), the Miniature World, Craigdarroch Castle, and the Royal BC Museum (all in one not very tiring day). We had a very nice afternoon tea at Butchart Gardens on the veranda overlooking the gardens and an especially good one at the White Heather Tea Room - which we drove to. There's a lot more that we didn't see/do on the island than we did see/do.

I lived in Vancouver for three years and still return a couple of times each year to visit family and friends. I usually rely on public transit in the Vancouver area, known as "the lower mainland." www.translink.ca will give you all the information you need about routes, fares, etc. Purchasing day passes either at a skytrain station, or from a vending machine at certain locations like London Drugs are often your best value. For example, a day pass is cheaper than one return trip if you are riding three zones.

I would also follow Kathleen's advice regarding walking onto the ferry and then renting a car in Victoria, unless you wish to take side trip elsewhere - like Whistler, the Sunshine Coast or one of the gulf islands (Salt Spring Island is the largest and most populated).

It's hard to go wrong with Vancouver Island. It is scenic just about everywhere and there are great restaurants with a lot of delicious, locally produced food. You can follow the tourist crowd to Tofino or take a day hike to a quiet secluded beach along the Juan de Fuca Marine trail. Courtenay/Comox is a delight for foodies. Personally I was disappointed with Butchart gardens but if you head that way, my mother-in-law and I loved the nearby butterfly house.

Are there any interesting stops between Vancouver and Whistler?

As you say you like cities, I would stay just in Vancouver and Victoria, there is enough to enjoy in both. From Victoria you can do day trips to Butchart Gardens, but also down to Sooke with Mystic and China beach that has some lovely short hikes into. This would be a lot closer than going to Tofino.
We enjoy staying near Cook street, last year we stayed at the Beaconsfield Inn, a bed and breakfast with great food. It was near Beacons HIll park and Cook Village. We didn't bother to rent a car for that trip , but just enjoyed walking the park and along the ocean on Dallas Road.

I visited Vancouver Island many times. My relatives live in Nanaimo. You have already got excellent advises especially from Kathleen and Lola. If you have time drive north of Nanaimo via Campbell River to Strathcona Provincial Park. Such a beauty. Anywhere else it would be a national park. Then continue to Gold River and Nootka Bay. Much less touristy than other mentioned destinations. You would feel back in time. Check this website: http://www.getwest.ca/cruises/ .
Guide books: there are many so it depends what you decide to do.