Short trip is a good way to unwind and relax. I am lucky to be leaving in British Columbia where short trips are very accessible. One of my favorite day is going to Bowen Island.

I have series of posts about Bowen Island and each videos are more dedicated to particular spot or activity. This post is a consolidated summarized Bowen Island day trip. If you want a more focused detailed posts for each, I left the links at the end of this posts in the featured section. Have a look 🙂

Best time to visit

Travelling and visiting Vancouver island is always better done during Summer (July – September) season, or Spring (March – June) if you prefer a bit cooler temperature. I like visiting this place during Summer when the weather is warmer or hot and the day light is longer. This gives me more time to be outdoor, explore the place and indulge in hopping from one restaurant to another.

How to Get There

Getting to Bowen Island is easy, in fact this is one of the Vancouver Island that is easy to reach. It is very accessible, have cheaper ticket price and shorter travel time.

Buses to Horshoe Bay Terminal

If you are not travelling with a car, you can take bus 250 or 257 (Express) from Downtown Vancouver. The bus stops are steps away from each other. These 2 buses have larger capacity than regular bus but still gets full on busy season. The travel time is around 40 minutes and the fare costs 5CAD. This route gets busy so try to go early if you can.

By Car

If you have a car, take the ferry with your car. The price would be about 50CAD round trip. You will be able to cover a lot more with a car especially if you are interested to visit hiking trails that are not close to the Snug Cove

Rent Bicycle or Scooter in Bowen Island

Another option is to rent a bicycle or scooter when you get to the island. One import thing to mention is that Bowen Island road have a lot of uphill so if you are renting a regular bike, this could be a bit tougher depending on your physical condition. Electric bike or scooter is definitely better if you can.

Walk around

You can explore Bowen Island without a car or without renting bike or scooter. Your reach will be limited but it is still worth it. This is what I did for my day trip and it went well and I enjoyed the day even if I only stayed close to the Snug Cove. There are buses that travel in the island which will also help you get to some hiking trails that are far from Snug Cove. I decided to stay in the area for a more relax day trip on my own.

Where to buy ferry ticket

To get to Bowen Island, you need to take a ferry ride. There is a ferry operated by BC Ferries that goes to this island. Unlike other Vancouver islands that you have an option to buy a ticket in advance if travelling with a car, this route doesn’t have that option.

This island is not a busy as major island like Victoria and thus a smaller ferry is used to service this island. You can buy the ticket once you get to the Horshoe Bay Station. The ticket cost 11.70 CAD and the ferry ride takes about 20 minutes. It is a short trip but it was a nice one. Check the ferry schedule for sailing time and as always, check the weather before you go.

What is there to see and do?

Bowen Island is a small island but there are a lot of things you can do in this place. If you want a more quite and relax get away, this is a good place to go to. If you want a more lively, tourist island, check out Victoria.

Start the day with a breakfast @Tell Your Friends

Tell Your Friends is a small breakfast place right beside the ferry terminal. It has a very relax vibe and overlooking ok only the water. The space in the cafe is quite small and limited but they do have seating outside which is quite nice especially on a sunny day.

I was lucky enough to get a sitting inside by the window because I arrived quite early. On a sunny day, doesn’t matter if you ate inside or out, in fact sitting outside with the warmth of the sun on my face was lovely.

I ordered breakfast sandwich which is basically egg with veggies. I had my own tea with me so I had that with my sandwich.

They also have pastry the likes scones, quiche, cookie, scones, banana bread croissants and drinks.

Explore Snug Cove

Snug Cove is the closest to the ferry station. This is like a small village with quaint shops and restaurants. This is a good place to get breakfast if you are arriving early. Have a breakfast in one of the cafe and stroll around to check the shops in the area. You can also have a breakfast to go and sit outside and soak in the sun.

On a nice day, hanging out in the Promenade is a relaxing this to do. Sit on one of those wooden bench or chairs facing the water, place games in the lawn, have a snack, or just sit there and chill.

Explore the Artisan Village Square

This is a small village with shops, cafe, and hotel. This is about 20 – 30 minutes (or less) walk from the ferry terminal. A lot of post says this is about 15 minutes walk but it was actually more than 15 when I walked it.

It is smaller than I expect it, but this is where I found the best place to have breakfast, brunch or lunch. The Artisan Village Cafe have more food options as compared other breakfast places (ie The Snug Cove, Tell Your Friends Cafe).

Hike

For me, this is the main activity that I like was to do when I visit this place, on top of foodtrip (lol). There are short easy hikes that are accessible without a car, and a lot more to explore if you have a car. In this post, I will focus on the trail that you can do without a car. These 2 trails are the most popular ones because you can access this just few steps from the ferry terminal.

Dormant Point @Crippen Lake Park

Dormant point is a short hike from the promanade. It is located few minutes away from the ferry terminal which makes it very accessible without private or bus transit. It is an easy trail, about 45 minutes round trip. The trail is very well maintained and easy to follow, but be prepared for a few minutes of steep ascend as you get 200m to the top. It was not that bad considering the easy part of most of the trail. The trail is not as busy when I went there, a run into 7 people on total which is not bad.

The view was amazing from the top, and the top was not crowded at all. It was very peaceful, overlooking the water and mountains. It was such a blessing that it was a cool sunny day went I went there so I was able to stay a bit at the top to enjoy the view. It was worth the short hike. Definitely add this in your itinerary when you go to Bowen Island.

Killarney Lake

This one is an easy trail as well. There are some steep areas but not as much that it is scary. The trail is a lake loop, so there’s slim chance that you will get lost. Even for someone like me who is so bad with directions and often getting lost, I was able to do this without a hiccup.

The trail is inside the Forrest so even on a sunny day, it is not that hot. I did the hike around first week of September and the weather was fantastic. It was sunny but it was cool as well, with temperature of 15C.

The trail is pretty good with signage and marking which is again a huge plus. Most of the turn points have proper signage and direction.

There are also some good view point and stopovers where you can sit and relax. This one here is my favorite, this is about 1 km away from the end, which is the picnic area. It was such a great view to see after walking inside the lush forrest.

From the picnic area, it’s about 25 – 30 minutes back to the Snug Cove. It’s not that far but after walking almost whole day, I just cannot wait to be back in the cove to have lunch.

There’s always time for food 🙂

Cod Bowl 🍚 @Bowen Island Pub

I opted for Cod Bowl, which is basically a rice bowl with veggies and cod. I love fish and although Salmon is my favorite, I was happy with this dish. Just what I needed to keep me fed .. I was really hungry 😋

Bowen Island is a small place so choices for restaurants are not that many but I managed to find one that I like. After a long day of walking, almost 15K, I was ready for a filling meal. I wanted a seafood dish, something with rice and The Bowen Pub Have just what I was looking for.

Cod Bowl 🍚 @Bowen Island Pub

This bowl tasted as good as it looks. I had something else in mind, like a seared cod but this one was like a battered fish, similar to fish and chips without the chips. I love the salad that it was served with, and the sauce was so good with a kick of spicy heat. The fish was perfectly cooked and seasoned. Overall, it was a rice bowl that really made me .. HAPPY 😃 after a long day of walking.

There’s always space for Ice Cream 🙂

My trip will not be complete without having ice cream 🙂 This has been a delicious habit of mine whenever I go on short or long trip. Having a scoop or two of ice cream is a must if the weather permits.

There are few places you can get ice cream at Bowen Island and one of them is on the “Branch on Bowen”. This is a pretty small store few steps from the ferry terminal. It is actually besides “Tell Your Friends Cafe”. This store has a very nice vibrant interior. People visit this place mostly for ice cream and tacos.

Few Food Places Recommendations

These are few of the cafe and restaurant that I had noticed when I was there, I tried some of them while others are on my list to try

• Tell Your Friends Cafe – breakfast and brunch
• Branch – snack
• The Snug Cove Cafe – breakfast and brunch
• Doc Martens – lunch, dinner
• Barcelona Tapas and Wine Bar – dinner
• Bowen Island Pub – brunch, dinner
• Artisan Eats Cafe – breakfast and brunch
• Cocoa West – snack

Other Hiking Activity Recommendations

• A short hike away from the crowd at Wild Coast Nature Conservatory
• Cannot miss the Lighthouse at Cape Roger Curtis
• No effort hike at Sea Walk

How long do you need to allocate for the visit?

This is a good day trip activity if you do not have enough time. Regardless if you have a car or not, you will have enough time to enjoy this place. You can of course cover more area if you have a car, but a day trip works as well. If you have a full day to spare, an overnight trip will be great too. This will give you more time to relax and enjoy the place. A time to experience sunrise and sunset in the island, have a morning wall or yoga, and a good meal on one or more restraints and cafe.

Highlights of the Visit

Depending on what want to do, the highlight of the day trip will vary. In my case, I only did a day trip without a car and so the highlight of my trip were the Killarney & Dormant Point Hike, and stroll in the Artisan and Snug Cove.

Tips in Visiting

1. As always, check the weather before you go. Bowen is an island, so weather could be a bit changing. When I went there, it was supposed to be sunny but the day started with an overcast weather so it was a bit cooler.
2. Plan your day ahead. It is always advisable to plan ahead to maximize the time you spend there, even more if you are only doing a day trip. Day trip without a car will not require as much planing as when you are driving as there as limited place you can visit which are mostly accessible by foot.
3. Bring water and snacks. There are restaurants and cafe in the snug cove and artisan village, but it won’t hurt to bring light snacks and drink with you in case you got hungry while on a hike.
4. If you are going for a hike, always inform someone where you are going. Although this is a small island and day trip hikes are easy, it is still better to be safe than sorry.
5. Last but not the least, ENJOY!

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Bowen Island Videos:

• A Ferry ride from Vancouver to Bowen Island
• Easy 45 mins Hike to Dormat Point
• Good hike close to the ferry terminal – Kilarney Lake Loop Trail
• Quick stop for snack at Tell Your Friends Cafe
• A lovely promenade to relax at Lady Alexandra Promenade
• The BEST brunch place, The Artisan Eats Cafe
• A stroll at the Artisan Village Square
• A short hike away from the crowd at Wild Coast Nature Conservatory
• Cannot miss the Lighthouse at Cape Roger Curtis
• No effort hike at Sea Walk

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