Visiting Nanaimo BC (Updated in 2023)

nanaimo landscape

Keep in mind while reading this that I’m writing as someone who just visited Nanaimo BC for the first time and I’m writing for people who have never visited there but plan to in the future. First, before I talk about my experience there, I would like to answer the question “Why would anyone want to visit Nanaimo BC?”

Why Would Anyone Want to Visit Nanaimo, BC?

I have 3 very good reasons why someone like me would want to visit Nanaimo. The first two have to do with ease of travel, but I’ll start by saying that if you grew up in a landlocked province in Europe like me then it might be enough just to see the ocean. I have better reasons, though, so here we go.

  1. There is a ferry you can take directly from Vancouver to Nanaimo, which makes traveling there easy because yo can fly to Vancouver from anywhere in the world.
  2. If you decide to visit Nanaimo by taking the ferry from Seattle, that means you’ll need to land in Victoria BC first and that’s the best excuse I can think of for not just visiting Nanaimo but south Vancouver Island in general. On the highway from Victoria to Nanaimo there is so much to see that I would almost recommend this route to American tourists who have more time on their hands.
  3. Like I said earlier, Nanaimo is a great place to visit if you’re not used to being by the ocean. This is because Nanaimo is a small city right by the ocean and they have some of the most beautiful dockyards and ocean views in all of British Columbia.

Now that we’re done talking about the three reasons why going to Nanaimo may be easier than you think and how you can do it, I’m ready to talk about my own experience and why I went there recently.

Why I Visited Nanaimo, BC

The truth is often more exciting than fiction, or stranger as some say it, but not in this case for me. The boring truth is that I visited Nanaimo BC because my great aunt retired there and I hadn’t seen her in years. Our visit was magical, something I’ll never forget. The reason I’ll never forget it, however, is not because my great aunt is a fabulous host, but rather because Nanaimo was so kind to me and I met many wonderful people and shared many fabulous experiences that I didn’t expect before hopping on the ferry.

I never expected that the technician I called from Appliance Repair Nanaimo to fix my great aunt’s deep freezer would become my tour guide and show me all the best pubs in Nanaimo to check out that night. I also didn’t expect that our taxi driver would be joining us for drinks after he got off work. Nanaimo loves tourists more than most places I’ve visited in the world, and they enjoyed showing me around, I’d guess, more than I myself enjoyed being showed around. It was a great time!

One thing I discovered while there was the best recipe for Nanaimo bars I’ve ever tasted, and, you guessed it, that recipe was made by my great aunt herself, a family secret – so don’t expect me to ever repeat it! I ate so much sugar while I was with my great aunt that I still weigh myself in the bathroom every morning partly regretting it to this day (t was only a week ago).

The last thing I want to say before I let you decide for yourself whether Nanaimo is worth visiting or not, is this: If you didn’t have enough time to visit the place in 2021 then consider waiting until the summer of 2022 because summer is by far the best time of year to visit because this is when the ocean is so pretty to spend time at. There is so much to do in the surrounding area, from ATVing in the woods to sailing around the coast, I’m sure you’ll have nearly as much fun as I did 🙂

I highly recommend it… In 2023, Nanaimo is very worth visiting!