Bowen
Cortes
Denman
Gabriola
Galiano
Hornby
Lasqueti
Mayne
Penders
Quadra
Salt Spring
Saturna
Texada
Thetis
Campbell River
Chemainus
Horseshoe Bay
Nanaimo
Sidney
Tsawwassen
Victoria
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Sidney, located on the North Saanich Peninsula on Vancouver Island,
prefers to be called by its new name: Sidney-by-the-Sea. Sounds a
little British, eh what? There's no question that it has an
incomparable location, with views of the Gulf and San Juan Islands and
a perfect position for getting everywhere you could dream of going: it's only a few kilometers, for example, to the Swartz Bay Ferry
Terminal, which services huge volumes of commuter and holiday traffic
going to and from the Gulf Islands and Vancouver on the lower mainland.
It's even closer to get to the Victoria International Airport, a small
but busy terminal with regular flights to Vancouver, the Gulf Islands,
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And even closer yet to the Washington State Ferries Terminal, just a few
blocks from downtown. From here, ferries churn past Sidney Spit on
their way to Anacortes in Washington, passing through the San Juan
Islands en route. Passengers wishing to explore the San Juans disembark
at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. It's hardly a surprise that this
busy little town is also called the "Gateway to the Gulf Islands". Fact
is, it's surprising they settled for that!
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A small passenger-only ferry also operates hourly trips over to Sidney
Spit Park, in the season, and in July and August it will take groups of
10 or more passengers to Portland Island, another popular marine park. |
Incorporated in 1952, Sidney-by-the-Sea is a thriving community of ten
thousand happy residents living in 714 hectares of paradise.
There are lots worse things that could happy to the tourist than being "stuck" in Sidney for a few hours or overnight. Several hotels service
the area, restaurants are so good that hungry Victoria residents are
known to make the half hour drive, good coffee houses, bakeries, and
shops crowd the main street, and all manner of shops are available for
re-stocking larders in your boat, RV or cooler.
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Want something to do? Check out a few excellent museums. There's a
great one at Beacon Avenue and Seaport Place which combines historical
artifacts with marine life exhibits: whales, dolphins, sea lions,
walruses and the common harbor seal. There's also the B.C. Aviation
Museum, the Saanich Pioneer Museum, and the Saanich Historical artifacts
park. Sidney also has been called the "Book Capital of Canada", Find
out why.
Or on a sunny day, enjoy the promenade by the sea, walk out on the pier,
explore the expansive and modern marina, or rent a bicycle and cycle a
little of the newly finished section of the Galloping Goose Trail. It's
not easy to be bored in Sidney.
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