How awesome would a ocean kayaking/camping trip in B. C. be?
Where would one go for maximum wilderness feel, but minimizing driving?
Is the weather liable to make it kind of sucky, even in late May?
Is it liable to be crowded and kind of restrictive (permits, restrictions, tour group crowds etc )?
Very awesome.
How much driving is acceptable? If 4-5 hours isn’t too bad from the airport, you can get to some incredible spots around Tofino/uclulet. Alternatively.head to port Renfrew or bamfield as a starting point. On the east side of the islnd id imagine you would want to start around Campbell River.
May can be cold, miserable and stormy. If bad weather turns you off, Vancouver Island isn’t the place for you. We have maybe 2-2.5 months of warm, calm weather a year. The rest of year is largely a toss up. Nothing that can’t be mitigated with proper equipment though.
No. You can get away from it all fairly easily. However, getting away from it all means you’re in the company of bears, wolves, cougars etc. They are very common here. Also, currents around the island can be pretty fierce, and people do die every year on such trips. Being remote also means far from help. What’s your experience level like?
Unless you are expert kayakers I think it’s best to plan on a base camp and do day trips from there when weather cooperates. Better to move base camp with a car if you want to explore more areas. Unless you are experts you can’t count on continuous days of weather that would be safe to kayak in, especially fully loaded, and even the tides can be troublesome. The result could be that you are stranded somewhere, or worse. That’s my experience kayaking in Puget Sound with my family…not beginners but certainly not pros.
What BCtriguy says.
I took a 4 day guided trip out of Tofino one July. I don’t remember seeing anyone once we got out of the immediate area of Tofino.
There are rough camp areas on a number of the islands around Tofino, but I have no idea if there is a reservation system (because we had a guide).
If you want to minimize driving, but still drive between camp sites, you will be on the east side of The Island/west coast of the mainland. The Pacific side of The Island has few roads or developments
We did a road trip on the Sunshine Coast 2 years ago. We went up to Lund and Desolation Sound. It was amazing. Check it out,
That’s because there isn’t anything outside of the immediate Tofino area 
. That place is magical. It truly feels like the edge of the earth.
I have done a fair amount of dangerous wilderness kayaking and have some experience in heavy surf.
I wouldn’t say I am expert at storm navigation or tides, however.
And maybe it would be nice to have a car somewhere near by in case of cold and wet.
Glad to hear that Tofino is not too crowded
Is that the most scenic area?
This is what I hoped it would be like.
The opposite of the southern AZ deserts.
I will say - Tofino itself is very touristy. But it is small and most tourists check out the main 2 beaches and never venture far from town. So it is easy to escape.
Uclulet to the south is less scenic, more rustic and quieter. Still has a few high end resorts and restaurants/trappings.
If you want a remote base camp area I’d check out bamfield. It’s the northern end of the west coast trail.
The trip I took left from Tofino and went around Vargas Island. We camped at two different spots on Vargas. The same company had 7 and 10 day trips. One cool one was a 7 day ending at a hot springs, then boat back to Tofino. I have no idea if you can do that self-supported.
Kayaking with sea otters. That would be awesome. I’d do it with an outfitter for minimum organizational hassle. This trip they pick you up in Comox which I think has a commercial airport. So you can fly in.