How to Spend a Day on Bowen Island
One of the things I have loved the most about living in Vancouver is the proximity to nature and cool destinations. Take Bowen Island, for example. Just a 20-minute ferry ride away from Horseshoe Bay Terminal, Bowen Island is the perfect destination for a summer day trip that feels quintessentially West Coast. Recently, I spent an amazing day on Bowen Island with two of my best friends. Here is everything we did to fill a perfect day.
Table of Contents
- Getting to Bowen Island
- Do I Need to Bring a Car?
- What to Do on Bowen Island
- More Canadian Adventures
Getting to Bowen Island
To get to Bowen Island from Vancouver, you can take a short 20-minute ferry ride from the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal. You can travel on the ferry with a vehicle or as a pedestrian. The cost of a round-trip pedestrian ticket was $11.95. The ferry is so fun because you get to enjoy the stunning views of the water and surrounding mountains. Some of the scenery is just breathtaking!
If you are travelling to Bowen Island from Vancouver, there are a couple of options for getting to Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal. The first option is to drive from the city and either park at the ferry terminal or bring your vehicle on the ferry with you to the island. The second option is to take the 257 bus from the city to the terminal.
Do I Need to Bring a Car?
Whether or not you need a car on Bowen Island depends on what you would like to do. We opted not to bring a car because all the activities we chose to do were in and around Snug Cove, which is where the ferry lets off on the island. We were able to walk to all the destinations we visited during our day on Bowen Island.
If you want to visit the other side of the island to check out more hiking trails and the different coves, I would suggest bringing a car.
What to Do on Bowen Island
Bowen Island’s main hub is the town of Snug Cove. We spent most of our day exploring this area and did not travel to the other side of the island since we did not bring a car with us. Here are some things to do in Snug Cove that we enjoyed!
Visit the Shops in Artisan Square
Artisan Square is a charming commercial hub on Bowen Island with shops selling local artisan goods ranging from fine foods to florals, home goods, and art. From the Snug Cove Ferry Terminal, it takes about 20 minutes to walk up the hill to Artisan Square. I won’t lie to you; it is a decently steep walk. If that does not appeal to you, there is a bus route that will take you up the hill.
One of my favourite spots in Artisan Square was Seabird. Although technically geared towards children, Seabird has a great mix of children’s toys and fun activities or crafts that can be enjoyed at any age. They had a good selection of jewellery-making equipment, including adorable charms and chains for making your own charm bracelets or necklaces. My friends and I were so into this. We each picked up a chain and a few charms to have a jewellery craft night.
Eat Lunch at Artisan Eats Café
Located in the heart of Artisan Square, Artisan Eats is an excellent café/bakery to grab a quick and delicious bite. I ordered The Godfather sandwich, which is apparently a local favourite. It was delicious! The sandwich had an assortment of Italian meats, pepperonata, provolone cheese, and pesto aioli. There’s tons of outdoor seating and stunning views from the patio.
Pop Into the Shops on the Pier
On the Bowen Island pier you’ll find Narwhal on Bowen and Branch on Bowen, two shops that are conveniently connected. In addition to these two spots, there are sea kayak rentals and Tell Your Friends Café. We popped into Narwhal on Bowen to admire their curated selection of home goods, textiles, and books. I loved the selection of glassware they had in the store. It would be an excellent spot to buy a hostess gift.
Explore the Coast of the Island with Kayaks
The highlight of our day was renting kayaks from Bowen Island Sea Kayaking to explore the island’s coast. We rented kayaks for two hours, which gave us plenty of time to paddle over to Deep Bay. We didn’t venture any further than that because it was a bit choppy, but if you’re feeling adventurous, you certainly can!
The staff at Bowen Island Sea Kayaking were awesome. They gave us a rundown of the different boats, suggested different routes based on the amount of time we had selected, and helped to launch the kayaks from the dock. You can rent single or double kayaks with a minimum rental time of 2 hours. In addition to kayak rentals, they also have stand-up paddleboards available. Guided tours are also available.
My personal highlight from our sea kayaking adventure was being able to get so close to the harbour seals! I’m a big harbour seal fan, so to get this close to so many of them was really cool. I spent most of the two hours looping around this rock to get as much seal exposure as I could. The views from the water were also gorgeous. Sea kayaking definitely checked a box off on my bucket list.
Take a Swim at Pebbles Beach
After spending a couple of hours in the hot sun out on the water, we were ready to cool down with a swim in the ocean. Pebbles Beach was recommended to us by the staff at Bowen Island Sea Kayaks. The beach was a quick walk from the centre of Snug Cove. All of the roads on the island were lined with huge brambles of blackberries, which were a perfect little snack on our walk to the beach.
We spent about an hour sitting on the beach and splashing around in the perfectly cool water before heading back to town for an ice cream cone to close out our day. I found so much seaglass on the beach, which I dutifully collected to bring home as a memento.
Grab Ice Cream at Branch on Bowen
After cooling off in the ocean, we walked back to the Snug Cove Pier to order ice cream from Branch on Bowen. Branch scoops Earnest Ice Cream, a Vancouver-based ice cream company that makes delicious, fresh, and unique flavours. I got a giant cone of London Fog and Oatmeal Brown Sugar. The London Fog flavour tasted just like the drink. It was honestly kind of wild! Shoutout to this man in the background of the picture above—he turned around and realized we were taking a photo and fully smiled and posed. It was hilarious.
We sat on the pier and enjoyed our ice cream before popping into the local pub for a quick drink and then taking the ferry back to the mainland. We were treated to a gorgeous, golden sunset over the mountains on our sail over, which felt like the perfect end to a fantastic day.
More Canadian Adventures
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out my other Canadian adventures:
Thanksgiving Weekend on Vancouver Island
A Self-Proclaimed Local’s Guide to Vancouver
A Friendsgiving Road Trip in Newfoundland
If you found this post helpful, please be sure to leave a review and a comment. I love to hear from you! As always, if you use this guide, be sure to tag me on Instagram.
Happy adventuring!
