Travel

Travel Note

Free camping at Maple Grove Guest House

Maple Grove Guest House offers free on-site camping for wedding guests. If you have not already told us you are camping, please let us know. The campsite includes shower and bathroom facilities. There is only one shower for the campsite, so please plan out your showering needs accordingly! Guests who are camping with tents should park in the field adjacent to the main house and walk down along the trail to the reception area. Guests with mobility issues may have difficulty with the trail and are permitted to drive down to the campgrounds. There will be parking attendants on duty to provide instructions when you arrive. Maple Grove Guest House also permits RV camping, so please bring your caravans to the party! However, please note that the Guest House does not provide free power hook-ups. You can plug into the hall for power at a charge of $20 per unit, if you can provide your own extension cord. Please ask in advance about this so we can make arrangements with Maple Grove staff.

Hotel

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Best Western Cowichan Valley Inn no longer available for booking

For those of you who were thinking about staying at the Best Western. We received some rather unfortunate news this week. Due to delays to ongoing renovations at the hotel, they are unable to honour our block-booking and cannot accept any more reservations. We are working on finding additional rooms in Duncan and will post here when know more. Until then here are some links to local accommodations: Duncan: https://www.super8duncan.com/ http://www.thunderbirdmotorinn.ca/ Cowichan Bay: http://www.eaglenestmanorcowichan.ca/en-gb http://oceanfrontcowichanbay.com/

Hotel

Ramada by Wyndham Duncan Cowichan Valley

We have block-booked a number of rooms at the Ramada for wedding guests to reserve at a special rate for the nights of September 14th and 15th. The hotel blocks off 5 rooms at a time before pre-booking additional rooms. For those who know your dates of arrival, please contact them as soon as possible so we can pre-book more rooms for other guests. The hotel has pre-booked rooms with either 1 king bed or with 2 queen beds and offers these at a discounted rate. Please call the hotel directly at 250-748-4311 and say you are part of the Hortsing / Brown Wedding to ensure you are offered pre-booked rooms at the group rate.

Discount Code - Hortsing / Brown Wedding

House Or Rental

AirBnB in Duncan, BC

The link below takes you to a list of all Airbnb locations in Duncan, BC. Just click the link, enter your dates and peruse the places you can book. Also look at the map option to see how close it is to Maple Grove Guest House! If you need any help looking for a place to stay, just let us know!

House Or Rental

Airbnb in Cowichan Bay, BC

If you cannot find a place in Duncan, Cowichan Bay is a mere 17 minute drive down Highway 1. They also have some lovely little Airbnb locations and the link below will give you a list of all of them! Just click the link, add your dates and take a look. Again, if you need help navigating the Island, just let us know and we can provide some advice.

Travel Note

Finding Places to Stay

We have done what we can to book available hotels in the area. There is also free on-site camping at the Maple Grove Guest and many Airbnbs are available in the area. However, Duncan is not a big city and we recognize it may be challenging to find a place to stay. If you are having trouble and/or would be interested in sharing accommodations with another guest, please just let us know and we will do what we can find a solution.

Travel Note

BC Ferries

We are getting married in Duncan, which is located on Vancouver Island. If you are flying into Vancouver, this means you will need to catch a ferry (unless you are interested in catching a flight; see the Harbour Air travel note). Don't worry, it's a beautiful trip that takes about 1 hour 40 mins, and BC Ferries runs smoothly with sailings every 1-2 hours between 7am and 10pm. See the link for general scheduling details, and read below for specific information about how to get to Duncan. To get from Vancouver to Duncan there are two options: Take the ferry from West Vancouver to Nanaimo (Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay), then drive to Duncan (https://www.bcferries.com/schedules/mainland/hbna-current.php) OR Take the ferry from Vancouver to Victoria (Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay), then drive to Duncan (https://www.bcferries.com/schedules/mainland/tssw-current.php). You will notice both options mean driving to Duncan. You will need a car or else look at transit options through BC Transit.

Flight

Flying into Vancouver Island or the Lower Mainland, BC

The closest airport in the area is Victoria International Airport (YYJ). This airport is located on Vancouver Island and is about a 1hr10min drive from Duncan. There are also two other airports located on the mainland, Vancouver International Airport (YVR), and Abbotsford International Airport (YXX). If you fly into one of these airports, you will need to take a ferry or another flight to get to Vancouver Island.

Flight

Harbour Air Float Planes

If you are coming from out of town, you may want to look into Harbour Air to catch a flight directly from Vancouver to Victoria, downtown to downtown. These flights are more expensive than the ferry but provide a view of BC that is hard to beat. Plus, it cuts that 1h40m ferry trip down to a 35 minute 360 degree view of mountains and ocean as far as the eyes can see! Click the link below for more information.