Day Trips & Getaways
Pender Island Cozy Cabin Escape: Otter Bay & Bedwell Harbour
Two islands stitched by a wooden bridge, an Airstream in the woods, and a hot tub pointed at the stars.
Otter Bay & Bedwell Harbour
More infoDay Trips & Getaways
Two islands stitched by a wooden bridge, an Airstream in the woods, and a hot tub pointed at the stars.
Otter Bay & Bedwell Harbour
More infoIf Salt Spring is the Gulf Island that posts about itself, Pender is the one that turns its phone off and means it. North and South Pender are stitched by a wooden bridge, with 61 km of coastline hiding coves. Check into a restored Airstream at WOODS on Pender, soak in the hot tub whenever you please, and taste at Sea Star Vineyards and Twin Island Cider the same afternoon.
From Victoria, drive (or walk on) to Swartz Bay and take the BC Ferries sailing to Otter Bay on North Pender - the direct sailings are about 40 minutes, but some make multiple Gulf Island stops and run 2 hours, so check the schedule and reserve the car deck at bcferries.com (Southern Gulf Island sailings are fully bookable and fill on summer weekends). Settle into your cabin and slow right down: paddle a kayak out of one of the calm bays, find hidden beaches at the road-end accesses, and cross the little wooden bridge between North and South Pender. Taste local at Sea Star Vineyards and Twin Island Cider, grab lunch at Jo's Place or the Hope Bay cafe, then soak in a hot tub as the light goes gold. Couples: book the Airstream or a cabin at WOODS, or splurge on an oceanfront cottage at Poets Cove with a spa treatment and dinner at Syrens. Don't miss sunset from Mortimer Spit or Port Browning and the short climb up Mount Norman for the big Salish Sea view. Solo me-time? A cabin, a kayak and a vineyard afternoon is bliss alone. Short on time? Otter Bay plus a vineyard tasting and one hidden beach is a lovely car-light day trip.
Been here? Share a useful detail from your visit, or ask what you want to know before going. Reader experiences are self-reported.
door to door
~40-min direct ferry from Swartz Bay
from Victoria
30 km
how long
Weekend
best window
May-September (quiet and cozy into fall)
BC Ferries Swartz Bay (Victoria) - Otter Bay (North Pender): direct sailings ~40 min, multi-stop sailings up to ~2 hrs, up to 8 round trips/day. From Vancouver, take Tsawwassen - Southern Gulf Islands or a thru-fare via Swartz Bay. Southern Gulf Island sailings are fully bookable - reserve the car deck at bcferries.com when you book your cabin.
books out
