If you have a day to spare, take a scheduled seaplane flight from Vancouver Harbour to either Victoria or Tofino. It's a relatively cheap ticket to the absolute best way to appreciate the British Columbia coast.
Tofino is a small town on the outer coast of Vancouver Island. It offers outstanding ocean beaches, and a great place to spend a day. The Mears Island trip offers a visit to true old-growth forest (nearly all gone), whale watching is excellent and overall, it's a great coastal experience. The flight is about 45 minutes.
Victoria is a middle-sized city on the south end of Vancouver Island. It's foot-accessible from the inner harbour and has plenty of neat things to see in a day. You can arrive in the morning and depart the same (late) afternoon and have a great time. Overnighting would be even better. Plenty of accommodation within walking distance of your seaplane dock.
Seaplane fights from downtown Vancouver's harbour to Victoria's inner harbour are one of the best sightseeing values in North America and a great flight adventure. To round out the tour, take the bus back to Vancouver and ride the inside passage on a superb, two-hour ferry ride through the Gulf Islands. Time it so your crossing is at or near sunset.
http://www.harbour-air.com/ http://www.bcferries.comCall in advance and find out what equipment is being used on each flight. The most fun ride is in a DeHavilland Beaver, a single engine float plane that carries about four passengers. You can even sit up front with the pilot, if you're lucky. They also operate DeHavilland Twin Otter aircraft. These seat about ten and offer a completely different (albeit comfy) flight experience. Both flights, Tofino or Victoria offer extraordinary value (IMHO) speaking as a 50-year veteran of Vancouver living.
In downtown Vancouver, the gondola ride to the top of Grouse Mountain is a good trip, too. Do it around the sunset hours.
Have a blast in the best province in Canada.
