The Sunshine Coast

For the longest time, my husband and I have been wanting take the kids over to the Sunshine Coast. We've heard non-stop from friends how amazing it is over there and we finally booked a hotel and planned a few days away to explore the beautiful Sunshine Coast. Our good friends are Coast experts and we were given a long list of restaurants, places to visit and instagram-worthy scenes (they know me well!).

It was the kids first time on a ferry and they loved it! We didn't have much time to explore since the ferry ride was about 45 minutes, but we did enjoy the upper deck. I'm not going to lie, it was a little scary at first and with two very active kids, I was super nervous but they were so good and explored within arms length of mommy and daddy. The wind was fierce but the kids really enjoyed the scenery. For the trip back home, we ended up staying in our car. We got a quick nap out of it, which was great because our trip was all go-go-go!

My advice for all parents planning on going to the Coast with kids:

- If you're going in the summertime, dress your kids in their swimsuits and coverups and bring extra "nice" wear if you plan on going to dinner afterwards. When I mean nice wear, I mean a pair of shorts and a tee. This place is so incredibly relaxed!

- Pack a pair of water shoes/Natives/Crocs for the kids. A lot of the beaches are rocky!

- While driving down the Coast, take note of the signs (they're small!) along the road that say Beach Entrance. This is how we discovered most of our beaches!

- Bring a camera!

- Bring toilet paper! I accidentally left a whole pack of toilet paper in the back of our SUV and I'm thankful I did because most of the beaches we visited had no washrooms. We were also on the road a lot so we made frequent stops for the kids.

- The following are must-haves in your car: Beach towels, sunscreen, bug spray, a first-aid kit, hats, sunglasses, a picnic blanket and extra clothing for every family member

- Fun little tip: If you plan on catching the sunset, order a large cheese pizza to go and take it with. Dinner on the beach is AMAZING.

In no particular order, here are some shots of our visit to the island!

Our first stop was at Gibson's Landing. It reminded us a lot of Steveston, Richmond since there were so many cute shops, tourists and food! We found that this was the place with most of the hustle and bustle. We walked around, got some ice cream, took some photos and took in a lot of the unique landmarks.

There was a Canadian television show called the Beachcombers and this was their ship,

The Persephone.

Us at the wharf!

We were so bummed out that one of the restaurants, Lunitas, that was recommended to us was closed for our entire stay! We couldn't believe it. All the more reason why we need to visit again ;).

We crossed off Mike's Place off our to-do list! Lots of ice cream and the store is family-run. You will often find Mike running the cash while his daughters scoop the ice cream.

Bonniebrook Beach was our first visit and it took our breath away. It was only a 10 minute drive away from our hotel. We actually loved this place so much that we visited it all three days.

Ruby Lake is about an hours drive away from Gibson's Landing. If you aren't staying at their lodge, this little slice of beach is the only place you have to hang out at. Unfortunately, there were several large groups with little space left for us to comfortably set up and so, we decided to take a few pictures and head back towards familiar territory. The drive was amazing and we were able to visit a few other beaches on the way back that we would have not stumbled upon had we not made the drive out. Ruby Lake is absolutely stunning!

The Sunshine Coast is chock full of lakes, this was one we stumbled upon while looking for more beaches. This one looked like it was a private space for the local residents. What a dream it would be to live here!

We found this beautiful place called Mason Beach on the drive home from Ruby Lake. We took photographs upon this massive rock. The kids loved it and H and I managed to pick a bucket full of berries for the ride back.

On our list we had Secret Beach to visit and unfortunately, true to its name, we could not find it! But it wasn't a total loss, during our search we stumbled yet another secret beach that was absolute perfection. We hung out on the big rock for a couple of hours and enjoyed the scenery. The kids really enjoyed the beach and playing with the rocks.

Beautiful Bonniebrook Beach

Mason Beach

On most of the beaches we visited, there were always some of these cool forts!

The kids were totally into it and it made for excellent photos! WIN-WIN for Mom since the kids are NOT into taking photos as much anymore. Hah.

The Gumboot Cafe was on our list and thank goodness this place worked out because it was the cutest little cafe I've seen! It felt like it was in the middle of no where and then all of a sudden, there's a little hustle and then you see the bustle, it was pretty adorable.

The kids at Davis Bay! We found drove by this place on our way to Ruby Lake and made sure to stop off before we went home. It's such a lovely place and a great little walk-way out onto the bay where you'll find a ton of fisherman.

This was the cutest little secret beach we came across. I wish I could tell you where exactly it's located but I really don't have a clue. What I do know is that if you can't find the actual Secret Beach, you may or may not come across this one. I hope we can find it again!

Mom doesn't reaaaally like being in front of the camera, mostly behind it!

One night we were by Bonniebrook and decided to drive all the way down. We came across these stairs and it led us to this amazing little slice of beach heaven.

We arrived just in time to watch the sunset

It was absolute perfection

Last day on the island and we can't wait to be back!