As golf courses across Canada begin to prepare for their winter slumber, you might not be ready to put away those golf clubs just yet – particularly if you’d typically be packing up right now for a trip to sunnier climes for a month or more. Fortunately, a year-round golf option exists without international travel, simply plan a golf trip to Vancouver Island this winter. With average temperatures in Victoria hovering around 8°C through January and February, throw on an extra layer, grab your golf clubs and hit the links at a local golf course during your long stay winter vacation.
In addition to world-class golf courses, visitors to Vancouver Island will discover a range of golf courses, accommodation options, amenities and activities to keep busy when off the green, or simply a place to relax and call home this winter. International airports are available in multiple locations along the Vancouver Island Golf Trail for those travelling by air, while an incredibly beautiful ferry ride is just the ticket for BC locals looking to shake off the winter doldrums as they take in crisp ocean air (and even perhaps spot a whale or two!).
Take your pick from a selection of accommodation options from one end of the island to the other. Make one your home base while you explore nearby things to do, or pick a few and take on the whole Vancouver Island Golf Trail!
Top Long Stay Accommodations in Victoria
Victoria long stay accommodations include The Royal Scot Hotel & Suites, Inn at Laurel Point and Hotel Grand Pacific – all conveniently located in Victoria’s downtown core, so you can explore museums, galleries, take a whale watching tour or sample the Victoria Ale Trail during your stay.
Further afield, the Arbutus Inn is located close enough to downtown for a night out, but also offer better access to nearby trails and attractions outside of the city. If being in the thick of the golf action is your idea of an ideal winter golf long stay, then the Fairways Hotel on the Mountain is the perfect fit – just steps away from two of Canada’s top golf courses on Bear Mountain. Sensing the need for long stays during winter this year they’re encouraging travellers to “Head West, it’s the New South” with a selection of Victoria golf packages ranging from one to three months.
Additional Victoria golf courses include Highland Pacific, Olympic View and nearby Arbutus Ridge – directly surrounded by nine wineries – all within a short drive from Victoria so you can stay, play, and enjoy golf and activities throughout the winter months.
Long Stay Accommodations in Parksville & Qualicum Beach
Further north, explore Parksville and Qualicum Beach with a stay to remember at Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort, where your oceanview suite will be all you need to forget that winter even exists. Break up your golf game with a visit to their exceptional spa, complete with a mineral pool and relaxation lounge. If you want more fresh air, their 22 acres of forest await, along with 3kms of sandy beach. Nearby, the Bayside Oceanfront Resort offers guests clean, comfortable rooms on their oceanfront property, where you can end the day watching the sunset over the Salish Sea.
Besides beachcombing and watching the tide come in, Parksville and Qualicum Beach offer plenty of attractions and things to do. Several nearby Provincial Parks offer innumerable trails for hiking and biking, while local small businesses provide quaint, handmade goods and locally-sourced food, including Little Qualicum Cheeseworks, Mount Arrowsmith Brewing Company, and Morningstar Farm.
Three Parkville and Qualicum Beach golf courses nearby offer long stay guests a plethora of opportunities to hone their game over the long winter months. Take in oceanside golf and a welcoming community at Fairwinds or play another iconic Les Furber design at Morningstar.
Long Stay and Play in Courtenay & Campbell River
At the furthest end of the Golf Trail, in Courtenay, set yourself up for a golf-centric long stay at Crown Isle Resort. Just minutes from Comox Airport, take in resort-style relaxation in one of their Villas, or reserve a fairway room so you can watch the action when you’re not on it yourself.
Tee off right from your home away from home on Crown Isle’s wide, rolling fairways and subtle undulating greens, or choose from a range of near year-round golf options in nearby Campbell River, including the newest golf course in BC, Campbell River Golf & CC or Storey Creek Golf Club where golf and nature become one. Take a short (and free) ferry ride for a change of pace and play a picturesque round at Quadra Island Golf Club.
When you’re finished golfing for the day, you’ll find plenty of things to do in Campbell River including hiking and biking trails, the Discover Fishing Pier, and Rotary Sea Walk. If you arrive prior to early November, make sure to check out the Fall Salmon Run along the Campbell and Quinsam Rivers, it’s quite a sight!
Of course, you can plan an extended winter golf vacation to tour all of the golf courses on the Vancouver Island Golf Trail – simply get in touch with our golf travel experts to have them craft a custom long stay golf trip to Vancouver Island and start packing!
October 20, 2020, by: Golf Vancouver Island