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Salt Spring Island: A Girls Weekend Getaway
Saturday, September 19 to Monday September 21, 2026
When my friend Jessica came to visit Vancouver from Australia, the first thing she booked was a trip away from the city. She had already seen enough of Vancouver, since she used to live here, and so she invited me to tag along with her and our friend Lauren on a weekend getaway to Salt Spring Island.
Despite growing up in BC and spending my summers on Vancouver Island, I had yet to visit the southern Gulf Islands. I was looking forward to this weekend for months and, since I also happened to be getting over a nasty head cold, I was really in need of some rest and relaxation.
We packed up my car and headed off for what promised to be three days of slow exploring, local shopping and quiet evenings in the forest.
Hurry Here For:
Quiet relaxation on island time
Unplug and unwind with some lovely spa options
Lots of local businesses, farm stands and artisans
Beautiful views both at the coast and lakeside
Chill at the beach and hike a mountain the same day
Enjoy on foot, by bike or in the car
Heads Up:
There are lots of winding, narrow roads with blind corners and hills, so drive cautious and carefully
There is spotty cell service,
Almost everything is closed on Mondays
It is very hilly
Travel days may be time consuming (see below)
How to Get There
From Vancouver, the most efficient way to get to the southern Gulf Islands is to catch the ferry from Tsawwassen, BC. You can get there on public transit by taking the Canada Line on the Skytrain to Richmond Brighouse, and then the 620 Tsawwassen Ferry Express bus to the ferry terminal.
If you’re driving, follow the signs for “Vehicles” when you arrive at the terminal and look for the ticket booth that has “Gulf Islands” on their sign — it’s usually the furthest booth on the left.
The ferry takes about an hour from Tsawwassen to Salt Spring, but heed this: this route services multiple islands, and so there are limited sailings. Vehicle reservations are strongly recommended.
This also means that, depending on your plans and direction of travel, the ship may make several stops before getting to your desired island. Our journey home from Salt Spring back to Tsawwassen took just over three hours.
Despite making for a long travel day, this is one of my favourite ferry routes on the west coast. Weaving around the Gulf Islands on a sunny day promises picturesque, postcard-worthy views. I love admiring the various houses (often mansions) dotted among the trees along each coastline. Get a seat near a window to enjoy this scenic passage to the fullest. You might even be lucky enough to see some whales, like the pod of orcas we saw on our way home.
Now let’s talk about the itinerary; all the things we loved, were surprised by, would recommend and probably wouldn’t do again.
A Three-Day Weekend Getaway on Salt Spring Island
Starting Off by Taking it Easy
We arrived in Ganges, the largest town on Salt Spring Island, around 2:30 pm, just in time to catch the end of the Saturday Farmer’s Market. There are several lines of stalls in and around the waterfront park, featuring artisans, jewelry, and home goods, though not a lot of produce stands.
If you’re looking for groceries, though, don't fret. Ganges has everything you need, and plenty of things you don’t if you take the time to enjoy the eclectic local businesses and gift stores.
We took the afternoon to explore the town, enjoy the view of the harbor and poke our noses inside a few book stores. After strolling around for a few hours, we were able to check into our Airbnb—a cabin tucked away in the woods.
The property offered a short walking trail through the woods to the nearest patch of businesses. Our afternoon walk was interrupted by a giant owl flying across our path, which would be the first of several miscellaneous animals we’d find on this trip.
The rest of the evening was spent playing card games and enjoying a robust “girl dinner” of various meats and cheeses, before calling it a night. The true exploring would start the next day.
Exploring Every Inch of the Island
We started off the next day with breakfast at Café Flora, a waterfront cafe on the northern side of the island. I thoroughly enjoyed my latte with oat milk and breakfast sandwich, while Jessica said her shakshouka was tasty.
Unfortunately the chai latte Lauren ordered was a miss. There was so much cinnamon powder it was undrinkable, though maybe that style is someone else's cup of tea. But we did enjoy meeting a neighbourhood black cat named Biggie, who was prowling around the tables. There was also a long pier directly across from the cafe that offered a beautiful viewpoint even on a misty, grey morning.
Hunting for Views
Once we were fed, we hopped into the car to head to Southey Point Beach at the northern most point of the island. I had a white-knuckled grip while driving through the winding roads, and lost count of the blind turns at the top of steep hills that I had to navigate.
Google Maps took us to a small dirt road between some very large properties, and right to the edge of the beach. Given the views and tranquility, I can see why people pay millions of dollars to live here.
There wasn’t much area to explore, however. It’s a small rocky point in a narrow cove that does not offer any walking trails or much of a beach, despite the name. It is beautiful and tranquil, but we ended up only spending a few minutes here. The drive got my heart rate going more than the view.
Lovely Lavender
Because we didn’t need as much time as we planned for Southey Point Beach, we were right on time for the opening of Lavender and Black, a lavender farm. We were promptly greeted by Hannah, the german wired-hair pointer.
Co-owner Ben explained the farm, their approach to distilling the lavender into its essential oils, and invited us to walk the centre path that cuts through rows upon rows of lavender. We had just missed the blooming season, which generally occurs between May to July, but the smell of the lavender still lingered lightly in the air. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of lavender.
We relaxed in the red lounge chairs at the bottom of the small farm, gave Hannah some pats, and then wandered back to their gift shop attached to their studio.
From a glance, their studio looks like a whimsical apothecary, with a large copper distiller, a mix of metal and wooden interior decor, and natural light filling the room. We also got to meet the other co-owner Awatief, and I bought some goodies to take home.
Lavender and Black farm doesn’t need a lot of time, but I think it is absolutely worth a visit. If I were to go back I would look into taking one of their workshops to truly get the most out of this beautiful place.
A Cheesy Attraction
Our next stop was the highly rated Salt Spring Island Cheese so that we could pick up a suitable cheese to top the avocado toast we planned to make for breakfast the next day. It was another nerve-wracking drive down a narrow one-way road to reach the parking lot. There are very limited shoulders along the driveway, making pulling over rather precarious when making room for an oncoming car.
I’m sure Salt Spring Island Cheese didn’t anticipate becoming such a popular tourist attraction when the driveway was built, but I am surprised they haven’t implemented a safety feature such as a light system or flaggers to manage this better. It was a full parking lot despite it being the start of the off-season; I can’t imagine the chaos they must experience in the summer.
The property visually reminded me of an Italian villa, mixed with the wooden charm of the Old Country Market in Coombs. There was a central stone courtyard dotted with umbrella- shaded tables, and a large sprawling field at the back of the property. It also had similar road-side attraction vibes that Coombs does, as you can walk around most of the house to peer into the cheese making rooms and see their resident goats.
The store itself felt like an afterthought. It's off to one side of the courtyard, identified by a sandwich board and a small, hand-written sign that limits entry to ten people at a time.
The curved yellow cement walls on the inside of the store feeds back into the Italian aesthetic, and it was fully stocked with various crackers and Salt Spring Kitchen Co. products. They have staff on hand so you can taste a few of the chutneys, jams, and flavoured goat cheeses they sell; or you can grab an ice cream cone or order a pizza, which gets made in the small shack on the other side of the courtyard.
We’ve since heard positive reviews for the pizza, and the cheese was definitely good, but personally I would only recommend this as a destination if you plan on making the most of the food they offer and wasting some time on the patio.Visiting to go to the store on its own wasn’t really worth the visit.
Instead I would recommend going to the Salt Spring Kitchen Co. store. It stocks all of the fixings you could want for a lovely charcuterie evening, including the Salt Spring Cheese. Next door is The Woodshed, the most amazing-smelling deli I have ever walked into, and Francis Bread, one of the best bakeries I have ever found. For a strip that only offers three stores, it’s really worth the stop.
Dining Out on Salt Spring
We stopped by Wild Cider House for lunch. Service is very casual, so sit back and enjoy the scenic beauty. The tiled patio shadowed by a beautiful wooden trellis overlooking the vineyard surrounded by the mountains makes for a very picturesque afternoon. These views make it worth the visit.
My head cold was still lingering and my friends don’t drink, so we didn’t sample the cider on this occasion, but the food was flavourful. Jessica and I really enjoyed the lettuce wraps and Lauren had a great tomato toast.
Soaking and a Sauna
After picking up some last-minute grocery supplies and enjoying a bit of relaxing in our cabin, we set out for our final activity of the day — a 90 minute session at the Arbutus View Thermal Spa. Sitting atop of a very steep and winding road, the thermal spa is tucked off to the side of a bed and breakfast, amidst a beautiful forest. It felt impressively private, given that it is directly next to the house.
The circuit consists of a wooded barrel sauna, two cold plunges, a hot tub, and a fire table with lounge chairs that can be used when there isn’t a fire ban in place. The owner Michaela distinguished the two cold plunges as, “nicely cold,” and “proper ice-cold.” I am proud to say that we all tried the ice-cold plunge at least once.
The three of us comfortably fit in the sauna, though, if I’m being nit-picky I wish it had been big enough to lie down or stretch, which was difficult to find room to do even with just one or two people in there. I thought 90 minutes was going to be too long, but it flew by. I had to change in a flailing rush to get out on time.
Other than getting to hang out with my friends, this was my favourite part of the trip. It was super relaxing and helped a lot with my congestion. It was a great way to cap off our day of exploring. We ended the night in the cabin with more girl dinner and card games.
Leisurely Strolls Before the Ferry
We took our time on our final morning to make ourselves brunch, pack and clean up the Airbnb before our checkout at 11:00 am. The challenge that followed was trying to waste four hours until our 3:20 pm ferry (the only other option that day had been a 6:15 am ferry, and there was no way that was going to happen).
Wasting time isn't usually a hard task, but it becomes extra tricky when almost all businesses are closed on Mondays, including the Frances Bakery that we had been hoping to grab a snack from.
We instead headed back into Ganges and went to Treehouse Cafe, which is a funky outdoor cafe that was built around a living tree. We got some hot drinks, which came in gigantic mugs, and some baked goods.
There is a wide and varied food menu, which always makes me skeptical of a restaurant's quality, but the waitress spoke highly of it when I asked for her recommendations, so maybe it would be worth a lunch stop in the future.
We wasted a bit more time driving around the southeast part of the island that we hadn’t explored yet, and did a bit more shopping at the local artisans stores that were open. After trying and failing to find somewhere for a more substantial lunch bite, we ended our meandering at TJ Beans. They were very busy, given that they were one of the few cafes open at the time, but I can’t say I’d recommend it for food. Grab-and-go coffee, and sitting on their porch to people watch in the middle of Ganges, is more what this cafe is suited for.
The one stop I would recommend from this slow morning is Vesuvius Beach. We parked next to the public entry point and enjoyed a stroll along the rocks while watching red rock crabs scurry along their crevices.
This was a lovely spot to stop, especially on a sunny day. I wish we had come earlier to enjoy a coffee on the driftwood. At the right time of day, you might even be able to watch the ferry come and go. It was a nice way to waste time before we piled into the car once more, and headed off for our own ferry home.
How to Travel Salt Spring Island Without a Car
Having our own car meant we had flexibility to easily build our own itinerary, but it is possible to enjoy Salt Spring without a vehicle. There is a public transit system that offers nine different bus routes around various parts of the island, offering convenient access to the city hubs as well as the three ferry terminals. It can take you to some fun points of interest as well, including Café Flora.
We saw a lot of bikers on the island, but I would caution that it’s not a trip for the novice cyclist. Many of the roads have very small shoulders or are shared with cars, and there are a ton of hills (not to mention a mountain). If you’re a passionate cyclist then this could make for a great trip. Just make sure you are prepared for the potential challenge.
For those more remote adventures or specific sites that are off the bus route, such as the termal spa, there is a taxi service on the island. However, service is sparse and not guaranteed. Be prepared for long wait times or consider pre-booking the taxi where possible.
Final Thoughts
Between having run out of things to do and taking a three and a half hour ferry ride back to Tsawwassen, our travel day to get home felt very long. We chose to book the trip from Saturday to Monday due to conflicts with my day job; but if I had the flexibility to do so I would recommend Friday to Sunday instead, assuming the ferry schedules were relatively the same. This way, you can make the most out of Ganges on Saturday morning and avoid the closures on Monday. Either way, the beauty of this destination is that it forces you to slow down.
Salt Spring Island is a wonderful weekend getaway. I would consider it a must visit on a longer, multi-island adventure, which would be fairly easy to do given the ferry route. I love the slower pace lifestyle situated deep in nature, but with amenities still easily accessible. Even having seen more-or-less everything the island has to offer, I am keen to come back again, perhaps for a writing retreat or an unplugged weekend.
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