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Flights to Nanaimo

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Nanaimo is the second largest city on Vancouver Island in the far west of the province of British Columbia, in Canada. It’s grown into a centre for tourism, second only to the Island’s largest city, Victoria, and offers a vibrant atmosphere with culture, history and recreation.

Flights to Nanaimo

The Nanaimo Airport (airport code: YCD) is fairly small, and usually only handles air traffic coming from Vancouver on the mainland. So flights to Nanaimo from the UK will always have at least one connection. Depending on timetables and how long you are prepared to wait in Vancouver you could catch a flight with Air Canada to Vancouver, or a flight to Nanaimo with United Airlines going through San Francisco and Vancouver instead. There are also charter airlines who fly from the UK to Vancouver, including Thomas Cook Airlines, and Air Transat. You can also book a smaller float plane charter in Vancouver to take you into Nanaimo, or as an alternative, get a flight to Vancouver then rent a car and drive to Horseshoe Bay or Tsawwassen, catching a ferry from there to Nanaimo.

Nanaimo Tourist Attractions

Nanaimo is very much a hub for the whole of Vancouver Island. Along with a port just north of Victoria, Nanaimo is home to one of the major ports for Vancouver Island, so many people enter the island via Nanaimo, even if not panning to stay here. The city is a great place to stay though as it has plenty to see and do, and can be used as a base for exploring some of the other destinations on this part of the island.

Nanaimo Museum

If you’re interested in finding out more about the history behind Nanaimo then the museum is a good place to start your visit to the town. Like several other of Nanaimo’s attractions it’s situated on the waterfront, at the heart of the downtown area and Piper’s Park. The museum depicts life from the perspective of both the First Nation’s people and the European and Chinese who colonised. You will find out more about the original economy for Nanaimo, mining, before diversifying into forestry, and more recently tourism.

Piper’s Park is also home to some stone carvings made by First Nations people, and old miner’s cottage, and an 1890s restored locomotive.

The Bastion

The Bastion is one of Nanaimo’s best known landmarks. It’s an old fort building that was constructed by the Hudson’s Bay Company, and is their oldest free-standing fort in North America. You can visit this piece of history that’s also run by the Nanaimo Museum.

Nanaimo Downtown

Nanaimo downtown also features more historic buildings and is well known for its large number of pubs. Many of the pubs serve numerous different beers, so you can try out some of the numerous locals brews! Starting at the bottom of Bastion Street you can start following markers that guide you on a walking tour of downtown Nanaimo.

Nanaimo Festivals

One of Nanaimo’s nicknames is the Bathtub Racing Capital of the World, and yes, they really do race in bathtubs here! The annual bathtub race, held on the last weekend of July, is just one of the festivals you can enjoy when visiting Nanaimo. Others include the Nanaimo Dragonboat Festival, at the beginning of July.

When Should You Visit Nanaimo?

Nanaimo has a mild climate and for the best weather, including high temperatures and less rainfall, the best time to visit is the summer. July and August have average highs of around 24C (75F) and although rainfall can be expected there’s far less now than in the winter months.