Location
Vancouver Island
Nanaimo
is located on spectacular Vancouver Island on
the west coast of Canada.
It is a harbour city sandwiched between island mountains and the ocean.
It is 1 hour west of Vancouver,
1 1/2 hours north of Victoria,
and 2 hours south of the rugged and scenic west coast. This allows us
to explore the
#1 non-tropical island destination in the world and still be
home each night! You can also enjoy touring many of the small
surrounding islands on a day trip from Nanaimo.
Nanaimo boasts clean air
and excellent drinking water. This coastal area offers a
Mediterranean-like climate with moderate temperatures and rainfall in
the winter and dry sunny days in summer. In fact, during the summer of
2003, Nanaimo had the most
amount of sunshine hours of over 100 cities in Canada!
The previous winter had Canada's
second warmest average temperatures.
Click the picture to see current Nanaimo
weather.
The temperate rainforest surrounding the city provides wonderful
varieties of plants and animals, many unique to this area. Nanaimo's
population is growing and is about 80,000 people.
The City
Being a regional center, Nanaimo
offers an international airport and a floatplane airport, 2 car ferries
and a passenger-only fast ferry to downtown Vancouver,
a train station and a regional bus depot. There are also many shopping
opportunities including Vancouver Island's
largest shopping mall and big box stores such as Costco, Staples, etc.
as well as specialty stores. At one time, Nanaimo
boasted the highest square footage of retail space per person anywhere
in North America. We also have a regional
hospital, a university-college and 3 public libraries.
As a tourist center, Nanaimo
offers many activities including hiking (25 km of paved trails, many
others unpaved), swimming, kayaking, diving amongst sunken ships or
with the seals, biking, bungy jumping or even rock climbing. The city
has its own national junior hockey team and university basketball and
football teams. We have a wide variety of ethnic restaurants and pubs
to try when you are hungry. Our arts and culture facilities include a
new 800 seat theatre and several art galleries. Come to Nanaimo
to enjoy our relaxed lifestyle and many recreational activities! There
is much to do.
Click here to see how to get to our school.
Places to Stay in Nanaimo
Need a place to stay in Nanaimo?
The Painted Turtle Guesthouse,
located in Downtown Nanaimo, offers short-term and longer-term
accommodations.
Our International
School
The Mains Way to
Learn English is located within walking distance of the city center for
restaurants and pubs. We have parks nearby for those who enjoy long
walks or roller blading along the waterfront.
The school itself is located on a large property with several fruit
trees, a basketball court, 2 patios and a sundeck. Our new classroom is
now being built and should be ready for January!
Note: you want to arrive via the Tsawwassen-Duke Point
(Vancouver-Nanaimo) ferry.
Tourism Nanaimo
We are a member of the Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce.
Copyright 2003-2007 The Mains Way.
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