Moon Victoria & Vancouver Island Coastal Recreation, Museums & Gardens, Whale-Watching

Discover a place where the rugged and the cosmopolitan blend seamlessly. Inside Moon Victoria & Vancouver Island you'll find:

• Flexible, strategic itineraries, from a long weekend camping with the family to two weeks exploring the best of Vancouver Island
• Unique outdoor experiences: Hike along the rocky coast, stand-up paddleboard through protected fjords, and experience the thrill of hooking a giant salmon
• The best local flavor: Feast on seafood fresh from the ocean in downtown Victoria and admire the city's timeless architecture. Wander the colorful Butchart Gardens or learn about the region's natural history at the Royal BC Museum
• Honest advice on when to go, where to stay, and how to get around from expert writer Andrew Hempstead
• Full-color photos and detailed maps throughout
• Thorough background on the culture and history, wildlife, and geography

Find your adventure with Moon Victoria & Vancouver Island.

Hitting the road? Check out Moon U.S. & Canadian Rocky Mountains Road Trip. Craving more of Canada's wilderness? Try Moon Canadian Rockies.

About Moon Travel Guides: Moon was founded in 1973 to empower independent, active, and conscious travel. We prioritize local businesses, outdoor recreation, and traveling strategically and sustainably. Moon Travel Guides are written by local, expert authors with great stories to tell—and they can't wait to share their favorite places with you.

For more inspiration, follow @moonguides on social media.

Kayaking around Bowen Island, enjoying a powder day at Whistler Blackcomb, chowing down on pancakes at the Elbow Room, joining the mid-day crowd at Butchart Gardens, and surfing on the west coast - Andrew Hempstead has done all of this and more. He's out there not because it's part of compiling a guidebook, but because he loves Vancouver and Victoria. These diverse experiences, coupled with a deep respect for nature and an interest in local history, have been essential in his creation of Moon Victoria & Vancouver Island.

Andrew spends as much time as possible out on the road, and rather than having an itinerary laid out for him by local tourism offices, he travels incognito so he can experience the many and varied delights of Vancouver and Victoria the same way his readers do.

Since the early 1990s, Andrew has authored and updated over 60 guidebooks, contributed to dozens of major magazines, supplied content for online clients like Expedia and KLM, and been employed as a corporate writer for Parks Canada. His photography has appeared in a wide variety of media ranging from international golf magazines to a Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum. Andrew has spoken on guidebook writing to national audiences, and he has contributed to a university-level travel writing textbook.

Andrew and his wife Dianne own Summerthought Publishing, a regional publisher of nonfiction books. He and his family live in Banff, Alberta.