A Comox Valley Escape
Back of the ferry all to ourselves
Two weekends ago we sailed off to the Comox Valley for a lovely 4 day weekend just the three of us (or 4, I guess?). We booked a last minute airbnb in Union Bay, about a 15 minute drive to Cumberland and Courtenay and it was the perfect base for our stay. We took a leisurely 11am ferry over to Nanaimo and made a couple stops along the way once we docked. First stop was lunch at Crow and Gate Pub about a 15 minute drive south from the ferry. This is by far my favourite pub as it feels very authentically English inside and has the loveliest dog-friendly garden patio in the back. Food is classic pub grub done well. After filling up we decided to find a dog-friendly beach for Penny to run around and take a swim. We lucked out with Invermere Beach, a little hidden gem not far out of Nanaimo. A 45-minute drive later and we arrived at our airbnb in Union Bay which was right across from the water ie. had an amazing view (which I forgot to capture!). After settling in we headed into Cumberland for dinner at Riders Pizza (not super dog friendly but we made it work). We capped the night off with ice cream at Love’s where I vowed to come back every single day for the rest of the trip.
The grounds at Crow and Gate Pub
A stop at Invermere beach on our way to our Comox Valley
“Downtown” Cumberland
Love’s ice cream in Cumberland
Sunset in Union Bay
Saturday was Ben’s mountain biking day and so after dropping him off at the bike shop in Cumberland, Penny and I ventured out for the day. I had a quick iced chai and cookie at Laneway Coffee before we drove over to the Comox Valley Farmers Market. Unfortunately and unbeknownst to me, the market wasn’t dog friendly and so I made my visit quick. Highlight was definitely the baked goods at Honey Grove Bakery. (where my cookie from Laneway also happened to be from) A beach swim and romp around was in order so we drove over to dog-friendly Kye Bay where the tide was way out and much frolicking was had. By 1pm it was time to make our way back to Cumberland to pick up Ben and I took the scenic drive back, stopping by Goose Spit Park and driving through the town of Comox.
We had lunch on the patio at Biblio Taco back in Cumberland which was 5 stars and even a bonus star because Penny was allowed to sit with us. As I vowed the night before, we stopped for another ice cream at Love’s before hitting up Saratoga beach for the rest of the day.
Saturday morning at the Comox Valley Farmers Market
Farm stand stops on our way to Saratoga beach
Farm fresh beach snacks
Cooling off at Saratoga beach
Jam stand a couple blocks from Saratoga beach
We enjoyed Saratoga beach so much that we decided that’s all we really wanted to do on Sunday, our last full day. We had come ill-prepared for the beach (though we made it work the day before) and stopped by Walmart and Canadian Tire to pick up a swim suit for me, a couple beach towels and a beach umbrella (wow, game changer). But before camping out at the beach for the day, we stopped into Courtenay for coffee and donuts at Bigfoot Donuts, a little perusing at States of Summer and lunch at The Yellow Deli (another dog-friendly patio - yay!). If we had more time in Courtenay I would have liked to check out Blue Spruce Ice Cream, Gladstone Brewery and Wildflower Mercantile - next time!
The rest of the trip was spent on the beach at Saratoga, a chill bbq dinner back at the airbnb and a leisurely drive back to the ferry on Monday :) We enjoyed the Comox Valley so much we already started talking about our next trip back!
