Tourism Nanaimo

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Tourism Nanaimo Welcome to Tourism Nanaimo's official page - your gateway to Nanaimo. Discover urban art, cultural depth, and natural escapes.

Here, you'll find an independent, creative community, surrounded by the raw beauty of nature. The city of Nanaimo is a classic West Coast community, offering natural beauty at every turn, and vast recreation potential. Nanaimo has one of the longest shorelines in Canada, and a forested mountain backdrop just outside downtown. Here, you can go from the wilderness to the city centre in just a few minutes, and spend more time in the places you want to be. Tourism Nanaimo, through communication, leadership and enterprise, delivers visitor services and industry development opportunities. We provide economic benefits for our members, city and region by attracting visitors and ensuring that their time here surpasses expectations. Please visit our stakeholder facing channels for industry news: on Twitter, and Tourism Nanaimo on LinkedIn.

A Nanaimo getaway doesn't need to be complicated. 🌊Grab your favourite people. Start somewhere by the harbour. Find a ca...
10/15/2026

A Nanaimo getaway doesn't need to be complicated. 🌊

Grab your favourite people. Start somewhere by the harbour. Find a café you haven't tried. Wander into a vintage shop because something in the window caught your eye. Take the long way back because the ocean looks particularly good that afternoon.

Maybe you had a plan.

Maybe Nanaimo added a few things to it. 👀

That's part of the fun around here. Good days have a habit of coming together one stop, one neighbourhood, and one unexpected detour at a time.

So come for the coastal views, the food, the shops, the parks, whatever gets you here.

We'll leave the rest for you to discover. 😎

📸: cfananaimo on Instagram

Go ahead and clear the calendar. Halloween has plans for you this year. 🎃From October 29 to November 1, Nanaimo is givin...
10/14/2026

Go ahead and clear the calendar. Halloween has plans for you this year. 🎃

From October 29 to November 1, Nanaimo is giving you four days to make the most of spooky season, and there is a lot happening around the city.

Take the kids trick-or-treating through the Old City Quarter. Brave the haunted lantern tours and Coal Mine scares at the Nanaimo Museum. Head to Diana Krall Plaza for the family-friendly Boo Bash. Or get dressed up and hit the dance floor at the Nanaimo Pride HalloQueen Dance. 👻

And that's not even the whole weekend.

So maybe Halloween starts a little early this year. Maybe the costume gets more than one outing. Maybe you make an entire weekend out of it.

We see absolutely no problems here. 😎

Nanaimo's getting spooky. You coming?

Check out the full Halloweekend lineup: https://tourismnanaimo.com/harbour-city-halloweekend/

10/13/2026

Sometimes you want the view without making an entire day of getting to it. 👀

Enter Sugarloaf Mountain.

Tucked into Departure Bay, this little Nanaimo lookout delivers some seriously big views for a relatively short trip up.

Head to the top, find your spot, and take in Departure Bay, the surrounding neighbourhoods, and the Salish Sea stretching out in front of you. 🌊

Our suggestion? Pick up something delicious from a local spot on the way, bring a blanket, and turn it into a sunset picnic.

Good food. Great company. One heck of a view.

Sometimes the simple plans are the good ones. 😎

And as always, help keep it looking this good by packing out what you pack in.

📹: bernard_pelser_9999 on Instagram

10/12/2026

Nanaimo is pretty good at giving you options.

Start the morning somewhere delicious. Spend a few hours outside. Wander into a shop you've never visited. See what's happening around town. Then find a good dinner spot and squeeze in a sunset if the timing's right. 🌅

Or do approximately half of that and take your sweet time. There are no prizes for efficiency around here. 😎

Whether you're visiting for a getaway or you've lived here long enough to think you've seen it all, there's always another corner of Nanaimo worth checking out.

So pick a starting point and see what you find.

We've got a feeling you'll come up with something. 👀

📹: coastalislandrealestategroup on Instagram

10/11/2026

Not to influence your travel plans or anything...

But Nanaimo has ocean views, forest trails, island adventures, good food, great coffee, plenty of places to wander, and a sunset or two that tend to show off. 👀

Do with that information what you will.

Although if a Vancouver Island getaway suddenly finds its way onto your calendar?

Well, we certainly won't take the blame. 😎

10/10/2026

What kind of Nanaimo day are you having? 🌲🌊

Maybe it's an early start on the trails at Doumont. Maybe you're heading to Ammonite Falls and accepting that you're probably going to get a little misty along the way.

Maybe you're taking it slower, wandering the shoreline, keeping an eye out for an encounter like this one, and working a Nanaimo Bar stop into the day because, well... you're in Nanaimo. It would be rude not to. 😎

That's the nice thing about exploring here. Adventure can mean getting muddy on a mountain bike, chasing waterfalls, or simply finding somewhere beautiful to wander with a little treat waiting at the end.

There's plenty to fill a day.

And probably tomorrow, too. 👀

📹: island_ish on Instagram

10/10/2026

If you haven't been to Buttertubs Marsh lately, fall is making a pretty good case for a return visit. 🍂

Tucked right into Nanaimo, this peaceful wetland is an easy escape when you're craving some fresh air without making a whole expedition out of it.

Take a wander along the trail, watch for birds and other wildlife, enjoy the changing colours, and give yourself permission to stop approximately every five minutes because something caught your eye. 🌿👀

It's quiet. It's beautiful. And it's a pretty solid reminder that you don't have to go far in Nanaimo to find a little nature.

One thing to know before you head out: dogs aren't permitted at Buttertubs Marsh, so your four-legged adventure buddy will need to sit this one out.

Maybe bring home a treat as an apology. 😎

📹: littleadventurers_vi on Instagram

Thanksgiving weekend on Gabriola Island is going to look a little more colourful than usual. 🎨From October 10–12, the Ga...
10/08/2026

Thanksgiving weekend on Gabriola Island is going to look a little more colourful than usual. 🎨

From October 10–12, the Gabriola Thanksgiving Studio Tour returns for another year, giving you the chance to do something you don't normally get to do: step right inside the spaces where local artists create.

And there are a lot of doors to knock on this year.

64 artists are participating across the island, welcoming visitors into their studios from 10 AM–5 PM each day. Meet the makers, see works in progress, discover something completely unexpected, and maybe head home with a piece you weren't planning on buying. 👀

For more than 30 years, this tour has been a Thanksgiving weekend tradition on Gabriola, and with the island just a ferry ride from Downtown Nanaimo, it's an easy addition to a fall getaway.

Grab the tour map, catch the ferry and see how many studios you can make it to.

All 64? Ambitious.

We respect it. 😎

Learn more about the Gabriola Thanksgiving Studio Tour in our blog: https://tourismnanaimo.com/blog/post/the-2026-gabriola-thanksgiving-studio-tour/

10/07/2026

Some places are worth building a little extra time into your Downtown Nanaimo wander.

The Vault Cafe is one of them. ☕👀

Stop in hungry and settle in for brunch or lunch. Grab a coffee, something iced, or something fizzy. Then, before you head back out, make your way upstairs to browse a collection of goods from local makers.

Suddenly that quick bite has turned into food, coffee and a little shopping.

Funny how that happens. 😎

Whether you're exploring Nanaimo for the first time or looking for an excuse to shake up your usual lunch routine, consider this your reminder to see what's happening at The Vault.

And yes, brunch on a Wednesday is still completely acceptable.

Actually, we encourage it.

📹: prairie.spoon on Instagram

10/06/2026

This is your reminder that a walk in the park can mean a little more in Nanaimo. 🌲🌊

You can start under the trees, wander your way toward the water, spot a little wildlife along the way, find a lookout you didn't know was there, and somehow still be exploring the same park.

No complicated itinerary required. Just a good pair of shoes and some time to wander. 👀

It's one of our favourite things about Nanaimo: there are pockets of nature tucked all over the city, and sometimes the best way to experience them is simply to pick a trail and start walking.

Although fair warning... the “quick walk” you had planned might not stay quick for very long. 😎

📹: liliia_liushnenko_photography on Instagram

Address

101 Gordon Street
Nanaimo, BC
V9R5J8

Telephone

+12507511556

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