Vancouver Island Adventure Travel

Deciding to leave home for the first time is a very big decision. Even if you are not moving out permanently it is difficult to choose when would be the best time to leave on your first overseas expedition. Should you leave right after high school graduation? Or would it be better to complete a few years of college or university, then take a break? Or would the smartest thing to do be to graduate with some form of secondary education then reward yourself with a lengthy trip overseas? How is a person to decide?

After extensive pondering I decided to take a year off after graduating with a degree in economics. I then had to decide where in the world I wanted to go. I thought the first decision was hard enough but now I was forced to choose from hundreds of different locations, while taking into account my financial situation and what type of trip was actually plausible at this time. My parents always told me that decision making was a part of growing up; I guess I tried to put it off for as long as possible. Sometimes I wish I could have stayed in high school forever.

After months of serious debate I finally decided on the West Coast of Canada as my choice destination. I chose the west coast because I had heard extensively about the beauty of British Columbia and the thought of living close to the water and the mountains was very appealing.

After choosing BC as my new home for the upcoming year, I began researching all the towns and cities I could potentially live in while on my trip. Firstly I considered Vancouver. It sounded great but I opted against it. I then considered Whistler, Big White, Silver Star, all the major ski resorts in BC. Over time I became frustrated as I was not finding a place to live and work that really excited me. My frustration continued to grow until the day I stumbled across a blog on one of the hundreds of travel website.

All the comments I read were ubmitted by young travellers raving about Vancouver Island. People described it as "The adventures capital of the west coast...so much to do, I ran out of time" and referred to it as "One of the most beautiful islands (they had) ever visited... a new type of paradise". I was instantly intrigued. The thought of living on an island that was full of life, adventure, and beauty sounded perfectly wonderful. I spent a great deal of time researching Vancouver Island and its adventure offering, which quickly reinforced my decision on living there.

I no longer cared about finding accommodation and a well paying job; all that concerned me was how I was going to get to the island and if there was going to be enough time to do everything once I got there.

While researching on the internet I found a young traveller's ideal adventure guide, www.viadventures.net. It acts as an information directory for most of the adventure activities Vancouver Island has to offer. The site, www.viadventures.net is awesome. I have already planned out several trips because the website made it easy for me to find the adventure operators that cater specifically to the activities that interest me. I haven't even left home, yet I know I will be spending the first week on the west coast kayaking around the Gulf Islands before heading to the waters of the coast of Victoria to check out some of the world's best known diving sites.

# posted by Adventure Explorer : 10:00 AM