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Not Luxe ☼ Travel
  • ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL
  • WHY “NOT LUXE”
  • Cambodia
  • Australia
  • Travel
  • Teaching ESL
  • Move Abroad
  • Travel Insurance

kalamalka lake

    man looks out upon vernon bc canada from his car

    Things to do in Vernon BC

    by Nick & Raychel December 28, 2020

    Ahh Vernon, the small town located in BC’s southern interior. What is there to do in Vernon BC? Well you’re in luck, because there are many things to do do in Vernon BC!

    We had been living about 25 minutes outside of Vernon for the entirety of the summer finishing up our ambulance conversion and spending time with our newborn niece. We love the Okanagan, and we found ourselves enjoying the many sights and attractions that Vernon has to offer. 

    Below you will find our tried and true list of the top things to do while in beautiful Vernon British Columbia.


    Feel like watching instead of reading? Find our YouTube channel here!

     

    Kalamalka Lake

    An Okanagan classic! 

    This is the main attraction of Vernon BC. Boaters and swimmers alike flock to the lake of a thousand colours from all over Canada. It’s especially popular with Albertans!

    Rotary Pier at main beach is the most popular hangout spot boasting a big sandy beach, some trees for shade and a volleyball net. The views here are incredible, showing the mountainous landscape that slopes down into the water. Feeling hungry? There’s Kal Lake Food Services, a little Mexican themed concession located on the beach (there are veggie dogs available as well!) Need to cool off? Check out Kalavida Surf Shop located just northwest of the beach where you can rent a stand up paddle board. If you happen to be going in mid-late August you can catch the Kalamalka classic stand up paddle board festival as well. Make sure to get there early to get a spot as it gets busy quick!

    For those of you looking to get away from the crowds there are plenty of smaller beaches and hideouts all around the lake worth exploring for. We would typically hike around Rattlesnake Point to look for a secluded place to hangout and have a picnic. Rattlesnake point itself is a beautiful view as well! 

    girl looking over kalamalka lake in vernon bc

     

    Ellison Provincial Park

    A fantastic spot for camping, swimming and rock climbing!

    That’s right, rock climbing! There are quite a few spots located all around the beach and throughout the trails, we’re not climbing experts ourselves but we have spent many days at the beach watching the climbers ascend the boulders. 

    The beach itself is sandy with lots of large trees and picnic tables around. This beach is much less busy than rotary pier at Kal Lake and it’s located on the other side of Vernon on Lake Okanagan. It’s about a 10 minute walk from the parking lot to the beachfront (stroller friendly).

    Davison Orchards

    A great place to start your day if you’re cruising around Vernon in our opinion.

    Davison Orchards is a quaint little orchard nestled just west of the city centre where you can start your day with a coffee from the farmhouse cafe, and grab something sweet or savoury from the farmhouse bakery. All of the produce is locally grown so make sure whatever you’re after is in season!

    A fantastic place for children. Davison orchards features a 1 acre wide playground with treehouses, slides, hay stack tunnels and even a barn with farm animals for kids to feed. Sure to keep your kids busy so you can enjoy your coffee. 

    BX Falls 

    A short hike with an incredibly photogenic and mellow waterfall!

    BX Falls is a gorgeous little waterfall and a great spot to take some photos and enjoy the view. Located just 12 minutes from downtown Vernon it’s worth the trip if you’re keen to see some BC waterfalls! It’s a good place to bring kids as the trail is wide and mostly flat followed by lots of steps (not stroller friendly). Be careful if you’re going when its wet or below freezing as the wooden steps can be slippery. Like we mentioned its a great place to get some photos of your kids or to get that impromptu insta shot. We’ve even seen wedding photos taken down here!

    girls looking over bx falls in vernon bc

    BX-Press Cidery

    Our favourite cidery in Vernon!

    The BX-Press Cidery is a 5 minute drive from BX Falls meaning if you’re going to one, you’re going to the other! You could also sneak a cider or two to check out the falls if you’re feeling cheeky (not that we recommend it *wink*)

    BX-Press features a wide range of different ciders to choose from. All of the ciders are grown from local apples right on their orchard. Enjoy sitting out in the orchard while eating one of their variety of wood fire pizzas which complement and pair well with the ciders (all of which can be made vegan). Be sure to ask if they have anything special that season as they often have a one-of-a-kind drink for that year. 

    flights of cider surrounding wood fire pizza at bx press in vernon bc

    BX-Press is also kid and pet friendly lots of fun options for your little ones to enjoy. Enjoy the “Big Bug Walk” through the orchard and see if you can spot all the ladybugs. They also feature live music every night on the weekends!

    Silver Star Mountain Resort in Vernon, BC

    Great in the summer or winter!

    Perched over 5000ft above sea level is Silver Star Mountain Resort, a cute little mountain village featuring bars, clothing shops, bakeries and sporting good stores.

    Silver Star is a ski/snowboard resort in the winter and a mountain bike park in the summer with over 40 trails to ride down. Not a fan of action sports? Silver Star Resort is still a great place to grab a coffee and hop on a gondola ride to see the beautiful views of the forest from above. 


    All in all, Vernon BC is a great little city to live in or explore. If you’re interesting in moving to Vernon or the Okanagan Valley in general, find our write up on what it’s like here!

    Is the Okanagan too snowy for you in the winter? Same. We also wrote about our experience living in Vancouver, BC. You can find that here!

     

     

     

     

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Nick & Raychel
Nick & Raychel

In 2018, we sold everything we owned and moved to Cambodia to teach English.

Let’s make this clear: this journey didn’t start with money. This journey started with a desire to see the world and to do something different for a change.

We’re not going to fool you with photos of floating breakfasts and private jets. We know what it’s like to be on a budget. Although we like to take pretty pictures, we aren’t going to wake up at an ungodly hour to give you unachievable travel jealousy. We aren’t going to censor ourselves or lie to you.

What we are going to do is stay in cheap hostels, find ways to make money, give the advice that we would want to hear, and share our experiences with you honestly.

Are you in?

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ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL

About Us Hi! We’re Nick & Raychel, the Canadian travel couple behind the brand ‘Not Luxe’. Far before we were married (and on a mission to see the world), we were working…

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Instagram

  • Every choice comes with sacrifice. We chose to use our money that we work for to travel, and we continue to make that choice every day.

But making that choice means we haven’t been able to do other things that another 30 year old couple would maybe do. We sold our car, all of our things, we don’t have a stable place to live, we haven’t started a family, we don’t own a home.

We work overtime to afford our travels, and we have very little money for anything else. 

And of course, we must acknowledge that we have huge amounts of privilege to even be able to make that choice. Our strong passports allow us to see much of the world, we were born into a country where our currency is valued worldwide, and we always have a friend or family member’s couch to crash on if we need it.

So this post is not meant to complain, rather show: everything comes with a sacrifice - and if you’re considering giving up your stable life for full-time travel, there may be some things you have to leave behind.

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__

Tags: #notluxe #traveltips #budgettravel #cheaptravel #budgettraveltips  #girlslovetravel #travelgram #getoutstayout #livetoexplore #travelblogger #canadiancreator #vancouverblogger #vanlifesociety #vanlifediaries #traveldiaries
  • We’ve lived on 3 continents by travelling slow and working when we end up 🫶🏼

& somehow our travels brought us back to our home city for the summer this year for the first time in 6 YEARS! Damn.

But we’ve said it once and we’ll say it a trillion times, we will do almost a n y t h I n g in the name of travel.

Any questions?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__

Tags: #notluxe #traveltips #budgettravel #cheaptravel #budgettraveltips #gapyear #travelgirls #travelgirlsgo #girlslovetravel #travelgram #granolagirl#getoutstayout #livetoexplore #travelblogger #vanlifeculture #vanlifediaries #vanlifeideas #liveoutdoors #vanlifeliving #vanlife #homeiswhereyouparkit #tinyhome #canadiantravel #ohcanada #canadiancreators
  • If you want to live in a van in 2023/2024, here is our roadmap for getting started with van life. 

⇾ Embrace minimalism and downsize your possessions

⇾ Research different van options that fit your lifestyle and budget

⇾ Set a realistic budget for your van purchase or build

⇾ Plan your layout and storage needs

⇾ Learn about solar power and sustainability

⇾ Source materials and supplies for your build - you can learn on YouTube

⇾ Talk to insurance companies and classify your van as a motorhome

⇾ Download iOverlander and create a budget for your travels

⇾ Connect with the van life community and attend meetups

⇾ Hit the road and embrace the freedom of van life 

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__

Tags: #notluxe  #vanlife #vanlifemovement  #vanlifegirl #tinyliving #vanconversion #vanconversionideas #vanbuild #camperlife #homeonwheels #vanlifers #vanlifecouple #travelcouple  #granolagirl #vandwellers #explorecanada #travelcanada #yvrcreators #canadiantravelbloggers #outdoorscreator
  • How much I spend in a day living *basically* rent-free in Vancouver 

As many of you know, we live in a van, but we also do housesitting with @trustedhousesitters 

Transit with a compass card is $2.50 which I use frequently - especially to visit my parents who also live in Vancouver 

This day we checked out To Live For Bakery @tolivefor.bakery which I highly, highly recommend to anyone who is cruising through the city and ends up on Nanaimo 

Also popped by @welksonmain for some N/A drinks from  @sobercarpenter & @getgruvi 

And our Trusted Housesitters membership is $11/mo totalling $0.38 for rent per day

& the one day total was $18.23 

Any questions?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

Tags: #notluxe  #vanlifeculture  #traveldiaries #travelgram #livetoexplore #vanlifeculture #budgettravel #worktotravel #traveljobs #travelblogger #vandwelling #discovercanada #vancitylife #bcadventure #canadiancreator #vancouverfoodie #veganfoodie #outdoorsycreator #minimalism #housesitting
  • Things we would have never done if we had listened to ✨ fear ✨(and these are just a few)

• quit our jobs to teach English in Asia
• sold everything we owned (twice) 
• moved to a country we’d never been to before (twice)
• converted an old ambulance into a tiny home with no experience
• drove from Canada to Mexico in our van 
• met up with people from the internet and became best friends 

But mostly, taken a chance on ourselves.

We do our best to not let fear or the opinions of others lead the way. 

Do you have any to add?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__ 

Tags: #notluxe #vanlifecouples #tinyhome #vanlifers #vanlifevirals #vanlifedistrict #vanlifeideas #vanlifediaries #vanlifeideas #liveoutdoors #vanlifeliving #vanlife #homeiswhereyouparkit #travelgirlsgo #exploretocreate #travelcouple #traveltheworld#travelcreator #travelblogger #canadiantravel #ohcanada #canadiancreators
  • Is van life really cheaper than renting? Van life costs vs. monthly expenses living in an apartment.

Not to mention the average price in Vancouver now is $2,700 - so not sure where we’d find that $1,300 rental anymore.

Any questions about van life?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

—

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