We meet in Seattle on a Saturday morning and shuttle to Anacortes, Washington. After lunch and a bicycle ride through a coastal park, we catch an afternoon ferry for Vancouver Island and the city of Victoria. We spend the night at the Laurel Point Inn on Victoria’s Inner Harbor. Victoria has a beautiful downtown core centered around its Inner Harbor featuring a festive atmosphere, wide sidewalks lined with baskets of flowers hanging from light posts — perfect for walking, upscale shops and fine restaurants, and many reminders of its British heritage.

After further exploring Victoria, we head to the Butchart Gardens, a world-famous, lavishly landscaped private park. After a tour of the gardens (entrance fee included) and a picnic lunch, we cycle through farmland and attractive residential neighborhoods overlooking the water to the ferry that takes us to Galiano Island. For the next two nights we stay at the Woodstone Country Inn, an intimate B&B in a secluded, pastoral setting. Here, the beautiful accommodations are surpassed only by the superb, four-course meals.

Today we cycle to the northern tip of narrow Galiano Island, through woods and pastures, and along the rocky shore with picturesque views of the tranquil sound and nearby islands.

Tuesday starts with an optional pre-breakfast hike up to nearby Mt. Galiano. From the 1,100-foot top you’ll be rewarded with commanding views of ferries below you passing through the narrow passage between islands. Victoria, the American San Juan Islands, and the snow covered Olympic Mountains are in the distance. Eagles are often seen circling below searching for salmon. This is an exciting way to start the day. After a delicious country breakfast back at our inn, we have a short and leisurely bicycle ride past hidden coves to a ferry that takes us to Pender Island. Pender is actually two islands, North and South, connected by a one-lane bridge. We cycle past artists’ studios, pastures, and rocky coves to lunch at a waterfront park. We spend the next two nights at Poet’s Cove Resort & Spa, a luxurious, new, resort that has a full-service spa, fine restaurant, and marina located in Bedwell Harbor.

Today you'll have a chance to go sea kayaking in the morning right from our resort’s marina. Bicycle Adventures pays for a local outfitter to provide kayaks and guides for a half-day excursion. The Canadian Gulf Islands offer safe and fascinating places to explore coves, marine life and birds. No experience is necessary. In the afternoon you can relax at our inn’s nice pub, get a massage, explore more of the island by bicycle, walk to a sandy beach with headlined trails and sweeping views of Mt. Baker in the Cascades on the left, San Juan Island straight ahead, and Vancouver Island off to the right.