Where to stay · Point No Point (Shirley / Sooke)
Sunny Shores Resort, Motel & Marina
A cheerfully unreconstructed motel, campground, and working marina where the date can include a boat launch.
what it is
motel + waterfront camping (budget / solo)
the damage
from ~$120/night
from Victoria
~75 to 90 min by car
Sunny Shores is not a boutique anything. It is a family-run motel, campground, and working marina on the Sooke Basin, about 30 kilometres west of Victoria, where the amenity list runs to a swimming pool, mini golf, horseshoes, a playground, and a bait and tackle shop, in roughly that order of romance.
The motel rooms are simple housekeeping units with cable TV, priced well below the oceanfront resorts farther up Highway 14. The marina is the real draw: a boat launch ramp, moorage, gas and diesel, and boat repairs, which makes this the pick if your idea of a second date involves a crab trap.
Be honest with yourself about what you are booking. Recent reviews are mixed, with regulars praising the friendly staff and the launch ramp while others suggest the whole place could use a fresh coat of everything. The owners prefer the phone to email, which tells you which decade the charm is calibrated to.
The setting
On Sooke Road (Highway 14) at the eastern approach to Sooke, right on the Sooke Basin about 30 km west of Victoria, a few minutes' drive from Sooke's town centre, with the Galloping Goose trail corridor running nearby.
Getting there
Drive Highway 1 out of Victoria, then Highway 14 (Sooke Road) west for about 30 km; allow roughly 40 minutes outside rush hour. No ferries. You park beside your room or campsite. Ambitious car-free couples could arrive by bicycle via the Galloping Goose, or by boat, which is very on brand.
good to know
Why it works
- Working marina with launch ramp and moorage
- Swimming pool and mini golf on site
- Budget rates a short hop from Sooke
- Pets welcome on leash
- Open year-round