James Hammond (00:00)

Hello and welcome to today's episode and today is an updated 2026 travel guide to Hornby Island. So I'm heading back to one of my favourite places in Canada for an updated itinerary and travel guide for you to visit. If you followed the channel before, you might remember my first episode on Hornby for my first trip there, and I've been back a couple of times since.

And I've released a more recent immersive soundscape episode too. So you've got both options there. But today's episode will have the updated prices and this time I'm doing it all.

breaking down the exact costs for every part of the trip, how to navigate the double ferry route again, our top tier beach picks and essential activities on the island. plus we need to talk about our favourite campsite.

And a very important change that you need to be aware of if you plan to stay here in the future. Hornbeat is firmly locked into my summer plans every single year, but be warned, BC locals know you're gonna have to book campsites and ferries months in advance, so it's only fair for you to know that too. So let's dive straight in.

James Hammond (01:00)

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James Hammond (02:17)

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James Hammond (02:37)

So let's dive straight in.

James Hammond (02:38)

Okay, location. Let's get to the basics here. It's nestled in the Salus Sea, so it's between Vancouver Island and the BC mainland. And it's one of the most northernmost Gulf Islands, just southeast of Courtney and Comox. And it's also dubbed mostly the Hawaii of the North because it's peaceful, it's got a horseshoe-shaped community that spans a heavily wooded landscape renowned for its dramatic sandstone cliffs.

some cool ecosystems and a world-class southern facing white sand beach like Tribune Bay. I'll be back to that in a second. Nearly 40% of its land is protected in parks, and it has a famously laid-back creative artisan culture. It does feel like a world away from the mainland, I must admit, despite being quite close to home. So, how'd you get there?

so the most popular route is the journey from Horseshoe Bay. So if you get to Horseshoe Bay on the North Shore, you're gonna book a ferry there Nanaimo return. And you have to book ferries at Horseshoe Bay these days. You cannot turn up and wing a spot on the ferry. So for us on this weekend, which was a long weekend in September, it was 263 Canadian dollars.

Return ticket for two passengers and a small car. To define a small car, it needs to be under seven feet in height, or two point one three meters, and less than twenty feet in length, So six point ten meters.

Horseshoe Bay is very busy, and if you get a ticket, be sure to get there 30 to 60 minutes before the sailing. I would actually recommend 45 minutes because it's a busy place. And to get a cheaper ticket for the ferry, obscure times or days in the week are generally better for that. But for us, it's a long weekend in BC, so we had to pay premium for the ticket. So getting to Horn Bee isn't easy. It requires a bit of dedication and a double ferry shuffle.

So making a journey is part of the adventure. If you're coming from the BC mainland,

you get across to Nanaimo, and you drive an hour north to Buckley Bay, which is a nice little drive actually if you go along the ocean road. You can stop off in Quadricum Beach for a nice coffee and a bit of breakfast too. We actually stopped off this time at

Cafe Floresta, unbelievable Shakshuka and the coffee tasted great too. Dog friendly outside, quite a quiet location, but it's about halfway up, would highly recommend it.

So once you get to Buckley Bay, you then take a short 10-minute ferry across the Denman Island. You drive across that island and hop on a second local ferry to Hornby's Shingle Spit. Summer line-ups can be notoriously long and vehicle space is

limited so timeing your connections is pivotal but you can't book a ticket for these ferries you have to turn up and join the queue so it's the same for Demon Island and the same for Hornby Island. If you are a resident you can use your BC experience car that'll get you fifty to seventy percent off a ticket for these ferries but for a normal person a standard car is twenty four dollars and seventy five cents. Adults is ten dollars fifty five cents each

And kids $5.30. It's a one cost only. It all includes return trips. And that's the best thing about here is getting across to the island without having to do admin, the other side to get back. Now, what I will say is that we did turn up this time about 12:30 to get the 1245 ferry and we didn't get on first time ever. So please be sure to give yourself

twenty to thirty minutes brace because they do run every thirty minutes normally on a busy schedule.

so once you get across from Buckley Bay to Denman Island, it's a quick 15 minute drive to the ferry terminal. Pretty much everyone on that ferry from Buckley Bay is going to Hornby Island, I say. Maybe 90% of people. So there'll be a big queue just following each other. No rush. Don't speed and make sure you get to the next part safely. Because on this trip, bit of a story.

We arrived there, we parked up. So when you park up to go to Hornby Island, waiting for the ferry, if you're not one of the first ones, you are parking on the road. And the road isn't built for essentially three or four lanes of traffic. it's just two lanes, right? One each way. So on this side of the road that you're going towards, you have to park on the right hand side as much as you can. I don't think this person knew this.

So he came speeding round the corner. He probably didn't realise that cars were parked on the right forward's ferry. He realised too late.

He slammed on the brakes, but it's way too late, and he bashed into the car in front of him, who then bashed into the car in front of them. were standing about six, seven cars in front. We turned around, an almighty sound of crushing metal, and a woman screaming, my god, that's my car. She was the car in the middle. Luckily, she was out of the car, and her car was an absolute write-off. And someone in front of us thought it was their car getting smashed up. So all bit of a drama.

And by the time that we figured out what was going on in terms of if everyone's alright and what the car situation is, the ferry was then about to board. So we all had to run back to our cars and drive onto the ferry. Unfortunately for the poor lady, she had to stay there and get towed away the next couple of days. So just be careful going around that bend when you queue up for the Hornby Island ferry. Once you get across Hornby Island, it's then,

on where you're staying, either a two minute drive or a fifteen minute drive.

the campsite we stay at is the Tribune Provincial Park. And it is the only BC Parks campground on the island. But this is new as of 2026. Previously, it had been a private campground, which you can find out about on the previous episode, but now it's a BC Parks operated campground. This is the prime place to stay

Homby Island for sure, because its pricing's not too bad and it's right next to

Tribune Bay Beach, but you need to get on it early to book. This campsite can be booked three months in advance to the day, which is critical for the summer because people will log on at the earliest time at 7 a.m. to book their slot. We booked our site on April the twenty first for camping on the September the fourth for three nights and we got lucky. Despite logging on at seven AM, every site was pretty much booked out apart from one. So we booked at ASAP.

paid for it and got in there. Prices in twenty twenty six are one hundred and seventy two Canadian dollars for three nights and that can house one car and four people on the site. If you want an extra vehicle, you'll need to pay twelve Canadian dollars per night.

The campsite is dog friendly. different types of people are welcome. So we had families, we had youngsters, we had people with dogs, everything you can imagine. But a campsite does look very different now compared to previously. So you can imagine BC Parks going in there. They bought the campsite off the private owners before, and they've absolutely demolished it and rebuilt it. So it looks like

dead trees everywhere because they're brand new trees been planted. So I can imagine in five to ten years it might look awesome. But right now it's a really eerie, weird location. And we spoke to another camper who's been going there for decades. And bear in mind we've been going for a couple of years and they said they're absolutely devastated at what it's become and what it looks like. But I think you do have to give it time because once all the trees have grown and people got used to the location, it'll be fine. I did find it much more spacious this time.

The sites were huge, easily enough space, whereas last time I felt it was a bit urgent trying to fit some cars in there. But last time we had shade from the bush, from the trees, but here at the minute there is no shade. So bear that in mind. And that sun did get to us a little bit over the weekend. of course, the location is the prime reason people stay here. You are about a five-minute walk from Tribune Bay Beach, and that is arguably one of the best beaches in Canada, so

you can see why these guys get full. So just bear in mind, three months to the day that you're going, have to calculate that on the calendar. You then have to log in at 7 a.m. to get your spot. It's stressful, it's annoying, that's what the summer in BC is like in terms of booking popular places. Another option that we've saved up before Is Brad's Dad's land.

And this is a popular family-oriented campground located right on the bluffs overlooking Lambert Channels. This is right near the ferry terminal on the west coast of the island. probably about a two-three-minute drive. It's really, really quick. And it offers around 50 sites, ranging from unserviced tent spots to full hookup RV sites and some glamping options, too. Which does remind me at the BC Parks campground now at Tribune Bay, there are

cabins there that can be booked. And obviously they're going to cost more money, but they can house five people. So that's an awesome option if you're a family too. But back to Brad's dad's. The property features standard campground amenities like flush toilets, cool and operated hot showers, a laundromat, a playground, and a beach access. The beach is okay, stony, not amazing compared to Tribune Bay, But it's good enough.

So for some of their rates, I've got here service sites are $55 to $86 per night. These are all Canadian dollars, by the way. That includes 50 and 30 amp power stations. They've got partial service sites, so they're $58 to $78 per night. So power and water. And they've got the unservice sites at $53 to $73 per night.

you want one of the glamping or vintage trailers, you are paying $150 to $400 per night.

so the RV and tent base rates include up to four guests, eight dollars per person per night extra if want. A pet fee here says eight dollars per pet per stay, maximum of three pets per site,

Yeah, a decent campsite. I enjoy staying there, but I definitely prefer Tripping Bay. So back to the new campsite at Tripping Bay Provincial Park. You have coin operated showers. There's more showers this time. And that is two dollars for three minutes. Not too bad, but you do have to get a move on.

At the minute there was no access to the hub. Before you used to be able to walk through to the hub which only took a few minutes, but now you have to go all the way to the front of the campsite and back down the road. So we're situated at the back by the hub, but we could not get through, which was a bit annoying as well.

So there is some campsite options that we've stayed at.

James Hammond (12:08)

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James Hammond (12:52)

So favourite beaches, let's get to that. Obviously, Tribune Bay is a favorite down the road from the campsite called Little Hawaii, as I've said.

a wide stretch of white sand and very shallow crystal clear water

In the summer months the water here actually gets quite warm, so you can lay in it and it's absolutely dreamy.

It's a great beach to unwind, and at different times, in terms of the tide, it gives you different things. So at low tide, you can walk all the way out, pretty much for 100 to 300 meters to right to the edge. And that's pretty cool. When the tide's in, you probably only have 10 meters of sand. It's quite urgent, and it gets quite busy in the summer.

so my recommendation is going all the way to the left hand side. So you have to walk 10, 15 minutes down the beach, much quieter and much more space, I find. there is a dog part of the beach.

on the extreme left hand side and extreme right hand side of the beach. Bear that in mind. In the middle is obviously the busiest. So my recommendation is there's a trail behind the beach. You can walk for 10, 15 minutes, walk down there, very nice.

and get to the left hand side of the beach, you can also just get down to the beach and walk along the water too. It's great for swimming, paddleboarding, relaxing, and there's public bathrooms to access as well. Parking is available if you're driving there, plenty of spots and there's easy trail access from the main road.

The white sand squeaks, the clear water is a dream, it's warm, it's so nice to sit in. And even in September when we went, very warm in terms of the temperature outside, nice and sunny, and the water was fresh but not cold.

Just a short distance away is another beach that we love and it's called Whaling Bay. Different experience. it's not as incredible as Tribune Bay,

But it has flat sandstone shelves and tide pools that are exposed at low tide. Much quieter, more rugged spot. Great for marine life, walking along the rocks, watching the sunset, and if the tide is out, a huge beach to sit on. It reminds me of Tefino, actually, by how big this beach is, or down the west coast of the US. Mostly used by locals because they have like Airbnb cabins and cottages behind. But as a visitor, much

much less crowds and great for dogs too. People let their dogs off the leash there and they go running around the huge beach. Honestly, when we went there, no one there. Maybe like twenty people on the beach. It's absolutely huge. And we spoke to a few locals as well. this is definitely the local beach and it's something to think about to get away from the crowds at Tribune. If you're gonna drive there, it's about five minutes. It's really quick.

So that's the two beaches, the activities. We love going to Fossil Beach Farm. It's a historic 100-year-old family farm set right on the water. So this is quite near Brasdad's Land. And during the summer, it turns out to be one of the best hangout spots on the island because they have a farm-to-table barbecue serving up grilled burgers, salmon and pulled pork.

And it's paired directly with their own craft cider from their own orchid apples and their most amazing, amazing potato salad. That is one of the best potato salads I've ever had. I cannot stop thinking about it. And it's an absolute highlight for Hornby Island because I'm obsessed with food. But honestly, you need to go there and try it. A burger with potato salad.

Gonna cost you 24 to 26 dollars with cheese on it, and a cider is gonna cost you six dollars. Now, I don't love cider, I don't really drink it, not a fan, but I will say there was a passion fruit cider that I tried, couldn't believe what I was tasting. if I wasn't driving, I would have had more for sure. So the passion fruit cider was amazing. The rest of our group had

All the different sides you can get. You can get a little taster.

Set of siders, which is four drinks. I that comes to about ten, eleven dollars. It's really good value and it's a great place to sit there, have a burger, sit down with your drinks and watch the local band play all summer. So they host live music events for the outdoor Sunday sessions, sometimes on a Saturday too, and that's great for a weekend

activity.

Also, what we'll say about the burgers, the food, is I would get in there a little bit early to queue and to order. It would take 45 minutes, you get a little buzzer, because the queues are quite long and there's not much staff compared to the queue. And they will run out of food. As soon as they run out, that will be it. They won't cook anymore. That's all they can do. when we got there, we ordered a little bit later and they were running out of stuff as we ordered. So we'd get there.

Put it at five thirty to six, get your order in and it'll be forty five minutes. So in the meantime, drink the cider, watch the band and wait for your food.

there's an amazing grassy area to sit down where the band will play and just behind that is great sunset views at the back of the farm. That is awesome as well.

So what we do is we drive there, we park up, loads of parking, take our camp chairs, go and order a burger with a potato salad, get a cider, sit down, and watch the band. And then as the sunset comes in, watch the sunset, get the footage of that.

then by eight thirty, it's all wrapping up, maybe by nine when the darkness sets in, and drive back to the campsite. You can also stay there, you can glamp there.

But it's gonna cost you between two hundred and thirty to three hundred and thirty dollars per night, but the clamping pods look absolutely insane.

that's an option two for accommodation.

We also did Hornby Islands Farmers Market on a Saturday morning. So this is part of the island's culture and runs through the summer on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 30am to 1.30 pm. It's located in the Copse on Solon's Road, right behind the community hall, and it features dozens of local growers, bakers, and artisans. It's an open-air market where you can pick up fresh local produce, handmade crafts, artwork, hot food, coffee.

T-shirts, merch, everything you can think of. It's a great hub, it's very, very busy. So parking is a little bit tight on the road. But one of the most buzzing activities there on a weekend for sure is like the whole island turns out for that morning. And you get to see real local people who live there, who work there, who sell stuff and make a living there. So that's your opportunity to meet local people. I bought two t shirts there last time, so I felt great contributing to the local community and economy.

There's also a a local community shuttle bus to get there. I'm not sure what route that does around the island, but we did see it a few times. So I think if you're there without a car, that is possible too. But this is right bang in the middle of the island, so you're gonna be a twenty to forty minute walk if you're gonna walk as well from wherever you're located.

So back to the campsite and just around the corner from there is the hub. This is where the co-op is, and the old co-op is still there, but there's a brand new one being built. It looks like double in size, and that's gonna be where most people hang out because there is coffee shops, clothes stores,

There's a few property businesses, there's a post office, there's a pharmacy, there's a petrol station, gas station is down the road, couple of eateries, and multiple shops. So this is the hub. It's a great little hangout. but people come from all around the island to get their supplies and hang out for a coffee or a drink or a bit of food. So this is where the main functioning area of the island hangs out, is based and works as well.

It's very concentrated area. You can't miss it on the island. But if you do, it's on Central Road and St. John's Point Road.

And what you could do is you could turn up to the hub, get a coffee or an ice cream or a cake, whatever, then walk down to Tribune Bay, which would be about a ten, fifteen minute walk, sit at the beach and have your stuff. Not a bad little option, I must say.

These two activities are a bit of a nod to the last episode,

they have more information, but we did do our first time there, Mount Jeffrey, so that's the highest point on Hornby Islands, about 330 metres above sea level. Quite an easy walk, a bit of a tough climb towards the top, but great viewing points at the top. And the most common trail starts near Ford Cove or the Heliwell Provincial Park. So it's a steady, moderate hike up through the dense forest.

You get great panoramic views over Lambert Channel, Vancouver Island and the surrounding Gulf Islands.

So next there, as I said, is Ford's Cove. And that is a historic seaside marina. It's got a general store, small campground there, a little beach, and a popular waterfront restaurant where visitors can grab fish and chips like we did the first time. And it has huge windows, so you can sit in there and just watch the sea at the back. Epic views, but it's not dog-friendly FYI. And that leaves me Heliwell Provincial Park.

Again, we did this the first time around and it sits next door to Fords Cove, actually on a dramatic rocky headland at the eastern end of the island. It's a five kilometre walking loop that takes you through a mix of forests and open grassy bluffs and overlooks the ocean. One of the best spots on the island for coastal views and wildlife watching as well, like bald eagles. So it's a great spot. Again, an easy five kilometre route if you want to do it, and about a five, ten minute drive.

From wherever you are on that side of the island.

Just keep in mind that bikes are not allowed on the trails and you have to stay on the path to protect the ecosystem.

So Mount Jeffrey and Heliwell Provincial Park, they're both free. And that wraps up my travel guide for the island. I don't think I've missed anything out. All the standard prices for coffees and food are your generic Canadian prices. So coffees are four to five dollars. Like I said, the burger at the farm is $25 on average. If you're going to go to co-op, you're going to

whatever they have in store in season. So it's not loads of options. So I would advise if you're camping to take.

as much as you can in your camper van or in your car. Be sure to take your cool box and you can buy ice there as well. You need to top that up. No worries of bears here, so I think people do

Make sure they do the right protocols for food, but don't worry about it too much. And what I will say for the new campsite is take something to give you shade. It's open air. The sun was beating down on this weekend. We had twenty to twenty-two degrees. Amazing weather, don't get me wrong. But I think I was a little bit caught out by how sunny and how hot it would get during the day. So it wasn't the best thing for me because I got a few headaches, but

that is what it is.

And just a note, so we left Hornby Island and we gave ourselves good time because you're doing a double ferry shuffle again. My actual advice is not to get there for the rush hour, if you like. So on the last day of a weekend, people are gonna check out of their campsite or even the place they stay at between like half eight and half ten. they're gonna head straight to the ferry point. There's gonna be queues to get on, they probably won't get on the first time round.

So my advice is check out 10 even 11am and then go and get your ferry because

queues won't be that bad. and as it happened, we actually got on the ferries that we waited for each time. So it wasn't too bad getting back. The first time we went, we had to queue twice to get a ferry back to Demon Island. so once you get to Demon Island, then you're almost there to Vancouver Island. Again, it's an hour down to Departure Bay.

And then you get on the ferry back to the mainland. If you're not on Vancouver Island, a great trip. I love Hornby Island. I love the clear warm water. I love the white sandy soft beach.

I love the laid backness of the whole place. I love the different places you can go and see and do. I love that farm. We love going to that farm on a Sunday session, having a few siders and a barbecue outside on our deck chairs in great weather and watching a band. Absolutely amazing. And we go back every year. It's the only place I think I can remember where I've actively made plans to go back every year. And that's throughout the world. So it's quite a unique place for me. It's a favourite in BC, arguably Canada.

And if you visit BC, please add Hornby Island to your itinerary. You won't regret it.

That wraps up my travel guide. I'll see you at the next episode and I think for my next Canadian travel guide.

That won't be until next year, I don't think, because I have no more plans to see anything, Canada, as the summer is over. I got distracted by kidney stones in the summer, so couldn't see Texado Island that well. So next year I'll go back to a few more places and provide some more travel guides for you to visit in the future. Thanks for tuning in. Don't forget to rate and review the podcast on any podcast app that you have. Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox, Podcast Addict, whatever it is. Five stars is great. A written review is even better.

Please leave a comment if you loved the episode or if it helps you out. And you can buy me a coffee for five dollars at buymeacoffee.com forward slash winging it if you want to help with the production costs of the podcast. And I'll see you at the next episode. Ciao.

James Hammond (24:30)

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