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Coming to Hakai Beach

Exclusive? Remote? Isolated? Those concepts have no romance whatsoever for people who actually live and work on the Central Coast. And in fact, we are not as isolated here at Hakai Beach as you might think. Of course, you'll have to work at it a bit to come to our place, but the journey is all part of the experience. Here are some options we can discuss with individuals or groups that are planning to visit to us.

You Get Here Fast and Then You Take it Slow

You can come by charter from the seaplane terminal near Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Seair flies 9-seater Cessna Caravans that make the trip non-stop in a couple of hours. It's an expensive option, and you miss the the context that a longer journey provides, but if you're strapped for time, this may be your best option. We will work with you to try to fill the return leg of the charter with other guests to control the cost.

Boaters: Come in Your Own Boat

What better way to come to Hakai Beach than in your own boat? Head north up the Inside Passage and hang a left at Kwakshua Channel. You can anchor your boat in Pruth Bay and spend a few nights ashore, stretch your legs, and enjoy a change of menu and and a change of pace. You've either just crossed Queen Charlotte Sound, or you're coming back from a long trip to Alaska. Either way, you deserve a nice little reward.

Come Via Vancouver Island

Some folks seem to think there are only two places in British Columbia: Vancouver and some place way out in the middle of nowhere where you fish yourself silly. In fact there are all sorts of interesting places, many of them on the north end of Vancouver Island. Parksville, Qualicum, the Comox Valley, Campbell River and Quadra Island--all great places to linger on your odyssey north. Why not spend a couple of days in Port McNeill exploring the Broughton Archipelago and looking for orcas from the deck of the mighty Naiad Explorer. The highway ends a few miles north at Port Hardy, your jumping off point for Hakai. Port Hardy also has an airport with scheduled flights to Vancouver YVR.

If your group is large, charter the Naiad Explorer. You'll be at Hakai Beach in a few hours, but only after crossing the open waters of Queen Charlotte Sound. En route you'll pass the legendary spots so revered by mariners: God's Pocket, Pine Island Light, the Storm Islands, Cape Caution, Egg Island Light. No doubt you'll see humpback whales and other wildlife. Few sights on earth can rival the magic of rugged Calvert Island rising from the mists at the end of the crossing.

If your group is smaller, charter a water taxi like our own 12-passenger Hakai Express. These high-speed aluminum workhorses form the backbone of the transporation network on the Central Coast. Built on the coast for our coastal conditions they are the marine equivalent of a pickup truck, used as crew boats for logging camps and fish farms, for ecotourism, for medical evacuation, and for transporting passengers and cargo of any description under all weather conditions. They can carry all your gear including kayaks. You'll join the facinating stream of working boats of all size and description on what is the maritime highway north to Alaska. Of course, depending on the weather, you may also experience a few interesting sea conditions but that's all part of your epic journey.

If you have a kayak, you can catch the BC Ferry, the Queen of Chilliwack, in Port Hardy. They'll 'wet-launch' you at the end of Kwakshua Channel, and you can paddle into Hakai Beach. Now, how many of your friends can honestly say they've been wet-launched from a ferry boat? Or, if you're utterly mad, you can paddle yourself across Queen Charlotte Strait--yes, some people do it.

Still like the idea of a plane? Then come in on the Goose. Pacific Coastal Airlines flies the legendary Grumman Goose from Port Hardy to just about anywhere on the Central Coast. It can take off from tarmac; it can land on its belly in the water; and like it's namesake it can even waddle ashore and shake itself off. You haven't really experienced coastal BC until you've flown the Goose a few times and seen its repertoire.

Or, Come Via Bella Bella

Now, there's a thought. There are direct flights from Vancouver YVR to historic Bella Bella, the center of the Heiltsuk culture. Spend some time and catch some of the energy of this vibrant town. Bella Bella is just an hour and a half or so by water taxi from Hakai Beach, via relatively sheltered waters. Bella Bella is also connected by BC Ferries to Port Hardy and Bella Coola.

Or, Come Via Bella Coola

Bella Coola lies at the end of Burke Channel, a beautiful fiord that opens into Fitzhugh Sound just north of Hakai Beach. Thanks to the heroic efforts of its citizens in the 1950s, Bella Coola is connected via Highway 20 to the Chilcotin Plateau, Williams Lake, and the rest of the continent beyond. Bella Coola is just a couple of hours by water taxi from Hakai Beach. Visitors to Hakai Beach who are coming from, or heading to, the BC Central Interior may therefore find it convenient to travel by way of Bella Coola. Bella Coola is also connected by BC Ferries to Bella Bella and Port Hardy, and served by direct scheduled flights from Vancouver YVR.

A Truly Bewildering Array of Possibilities

So, not only is Hakai Beach not isolated; it is at the center of a veritable nexus of transportation opportunities. Think of Hakai Beach as a hub from which all the splendors of the Central Coast are close at hand. We will work with you to put together a visit that perfectly matches your interests and objectives.