Welcome to Our Place

If you’re looking for a home away from home, you’ve come to the right place. You can get both an incredible and relaxing experience you won’t soon forget. We look forward to seeing you!

Thank you for choosing to stay at our house, we are very grateful and hope you enjoy.

We are Pam and John. We bought this house in 2021 from the absolute sweetest women who had lived here happily for many years with her husband.

We live in Duncan full time and decided to buy this house as a place we could get away to and create memories for years to come with our kids and grandkids.

We fell in love with this house and the location as soon as we saw it and we hope you will enjoy your stay equally as much.

If you have any questions during your stay, please do not hesitate to contact us. As well, please leave any suggested improvements as we truly want to create something special here that we can share.

Please note that it is a steep driveway and that parking is at the bottom.

Enjoy!

How to Get Here

Gabriola Island is approximately 5 kilometres from downtown Nanaimo and primarily accessible via a scenic 22 minute ferry ride aboard the Quinsam operated by BC Ferries.

Ferry: We are a 2 km (5 min drive) from the ferry. We will provide specific directions as part of the welcome package email. Visit bcferries.com for ferry schedules. Gabriola’s Ferry Advisory Committee produces a helpful guide on the best times to travel. Visit gabriolafac.com for details.

Float Plane: Gulf Island Seaplanes operates flights from Vancouver International Airport to Silva Bay. Visit gulfislandseaplanes.com for details.

Personal Watercraft: Gabriola Island is accessible by personal watercraft with full-service marinas located in Silva Bay. Visit silvabay.com pagesresort.com/marina for details.

Getting Around

Walking and Hiking: Walking is possible but be aware that there are no sidewalks on the island. Walk single file on narrow road stretches and practice pedestrian safety such as wearing reflective clothing and carrying a light at night. Locals are always keen to help you reach your destination too. A trail guide is published by the Gabriola Land and Trails Trust. Visit galtt.ca for details.

Community Bus Service: Ride GERTIE, the local community bus service that operates on a limited schedule Monday to Saturday. Visit gabriolacommunitybus.com for details.

Taxi: Gabriola Island Taxi operates on a limited schedule. Note that only one cab serves the island; it is best to pre-arrange pick-ups and drop-offs rather than call when needed. Call 250-247-0049 for schedule and availability.

Driving: Gabriola’s default speed limit is 50 kilometres per hour and there is a stretch of North Road and South Road with a speed limit of 60 kilometres per hour. Exercise caution on all roads because you are sharing them with cyclists, pedestrians and wildlife.

Bicycles & E-Bikes: Ride single file and be aware of narrow road sections, poor road conditions and uneven edges. Exercise caution as there are no dedicated bike lanes.
If you are cycling the North-South Road loop, consider heading down South Road first to go downhill on the steep Brickyard Hill unless you are up for a challenging hill climb.

Directions & Parking

When you get off the ferry; make a right just as you pass the parking lot; road is called Easthorn Road. It is very narrow in spots…heads up.
Turn left onto Harrison Way.

You can follow this to the shared access driveway we enjoy with our neighbours. There is a sign on a tree with the house numbers. Our driveway is very steep so you can park at the bottom and walk up the stairs if you prefer.

Alternatively, if you would like to park and access from the back of the house you would follow the same instructions but on Harrison Way you would make a right on McGillvary Ave and follow that until the very end of the cul-de-sac. There is a sign posted on the electrical shed that says Whitton’s. You could park there and walk down the stairs to the house. That access is much less steep and my favorite, but not great for anybody not steady on their feet. We have lots of work to do up there but it is my favorite part of the yard…. the little trail down to the house is lovely.

Getting In

Please access using the doors that are nearest to the top of the driveway. The lock to use is the one at the top.

Please note we have arranged only to use the top lock for our guests so if any of the other locks are adjusted, they likely won’t be able to get in so please be sure just to use that top lock. Also, on the single door in the living room, please leave those locks the same way you found them. There are notes on them to be a friendly reminder.

House Stuff & Pets

We believe all the essentials are included in the house, but please ask if you can’t find anything.

If we have missed something, please let us know.

For kids toys and games, we have a few things in and around the trunk in the living room. Enjoy.

We are very much a pet friendly house but would really, really, really (yes, 3 really’s) appreciate it if animals were not on the couch or pillows at all. There is a dog bed beside the fire and a box of dog toys. Feel free to let your pet enjoy them. There should be dog treats in the cupboard…. help yourself.

Departing

We hope very much that you have enjoyed your stay.

In an effort to keep the house clean and sanitary, we have written a list of things that to be done before final departure. Nobody loves this part, but it has to be done in order to keep the house presentable for the next lovely guests just as the previous people did for you. Our wish is that every guest leave the house just a tiny little bit better than how they found it and this way we will always ensure happy guests who will hopefully return for another relaxing get-away.