Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada

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Nanaimo is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It covers 91.3 sq km (35.25 sq mi) and has a population of 84,000 people (2012 estimate). The city is located on Vancouver Island, across the Strait of Georgia from the city of Vancouver, which is on mainland British Columbia.

Guide to Nanaimo Hotels

Here's a list of hotels in Nanaimo that you can book online, with full description, star rating, address, location map, evaluation, and prices as offered by different booking sites. This helps you to make your room booking with the site that offers the best price.

Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
Author: KenWalker (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)

More on Nanaimo

Nanaimo was inhabited by various First Nations tribes until the arrival of the first Europeans, the earliest probably being Russian fur traders. The first officially sanctioned expedition was that of Juan José Pérez Hernández in 1774. In 1778, Captain Cook arrived and promptly claimed it for the United Kingdom.

In 1791 Spanish explorer Francisco de Eliza arrived at Nanaimo Bay. A settlement appeared here in the early 19th century. It began to develop when coal was discovered in the area. The mining for coal as well as gold brought an influx of Chinese immigrants. They built enclaves, or Chinatowns, that emerged with each of the four successive waves of Chinese arrivals in the area.

Nanaimo experiences a Mediterranean climate with dry summers and wet winters. July is the warmest month, with average high temperatures of 24.9°C (76.8°F). January is the coldest month, when average low temperatures drop to -0.8°C (30.6°F). Annual rainfall is 1978 mm (42.5 in) with November being the wettest month, receiving 190 mm (7.5 in) of rain.

Visiting Nanaimo

Most visitors come by way of Vancouver. There are ferry services that carry both passengers and cars from Tsawwassen, on the Vancouver side, to Duke Point in Nanaimo. The ferry ride costs $47 per car and $14 per person and takes slightly over one and a half hours.

Places of Interest in Nanaimo

Bathtub Racing - This is an annual race using bathtubs converted into boats. It takes place at Nanaimo Harbour.
Nanaimo seawall
Pioneer Plaza
Swy-a-lana Lagoon Park - Saltwater lagoon.
The Bastion - oldest free-standing Hudson's Bay Company fort dating to 1853, following discovery of coal.

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