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SALTSPRING (pop. 9240), sometimes spelt Salt Spring, is the biggest, most populated and most visited of the islands - its population triples in summer - though if you're without transport think twice about coming here on a day-trip as getting around is pretty tough. It's served by three ferry terminals: Fulford Harbour , from Victoria's Swartz Bay (ten sailings daily, more in summer; 35min; foot passengers $6 return, cars $19.25) and Vesuvius Bay (from Crofton, near Duncan on Vancouver Island; 13 daily; 20min; same fares) provide links to Vancouver Island; Long Harbour connects to points on the BC mainland via other islands. In the past the Saltspring Island Bus service has connected the ferry terminals with GANGES , the island's main village, but check with the Victoria infocentre for the latest. For more complicated journeys, call up the Silver Shadow Taxi (tel 537-3030) or consider renting a bike from the Bike Shop (tel 537-1544) on McPhillips Avenue in Ganges or a scooter from Saltspring Marine Rentals (tel 537-9100) next to Moby's Pub - a popular local hangout - also in Ganges. Locals are a particularly cosmopolitan bunch, the island having been colonized not by whites but by pioneer black settlers seeking refuge from prejudice in the US. If you're here to slum it on a beach , the best strips are on the island's more sheltered west side (Beddis Beach in particular, off the Fulford to Ganges road), at Vesuvius Bay and at Drummond Park near Fulford. Ganges, close to Long Harbour, is armed with a small infocentre at 121 Lower Ganges Rd (daily 10am-4pm; tel 537-5252 or 537-4223, www.saltspring.com ) and a rapidly proliferating assortment of galleries, tourist shops and holiday homes. Community spirits reach a climax during the annual Artcraft (late June to mid-Sept), a summer crafts fair that displays the talents of the island's many dab-handed creatives. Ganges' infocentre is the place to check out the island's relatively plentiful accommodation . A lot of independent travellers are lured here by the prospect of the official HI-affiliated youth hostel , the lovely Salt Spring Island Hostel , set amidst ten peaceful acres on the eastern side of the island at 640 Cusheon Lake Rd (tel 537-4149; up to $40-80). Under your own steam from Victoria, take the #70 Pat Bay Hwy bus ($2.50) to the Swartz Bay ferry terminal. Catch the ferry to Fulford Harbour ($5 return) and ask car drivers disembarking the ferry if they're headed past the hostel on Cusheon Lake Road: if they're locals, most say yes. You can choose between dorm rooms ($15.50-19.50), tepees, tents, tree house and private family room ($40-70) - 22 beds in all. Note, however, that's there's no camping. It's just a short walk to Cusheon Lake or the ocean at Beddis Beach. Otherwise you can choose from the multitudinous (but often exorbitant) B&B options (owners can arrange to pick you up from the ferry) or one of the so-called "resorts" dotted round the island - usually a handful of houses with camping, a few rooms to rent and little else. Each of the ferry terminals also has a range of mid-price motels. Some of the more reasonable include the twelve-unit Beachcomber Motel at 770 Vesuvius Bay Rd at Vesuvius Bay 7km from Ganges (tel 537-5415, fax 537-1753, gball@saltspring.com ; $40-60); the Harbour House Hotel , 121 Upper Ganges Rd, Ganges (tel 537-5571, harbourhouse@saltspring.com ; $80-100), and the 28-unit Seabreeze Inn in a park-like setting above Ganges harbour at 101 Bittancourt Rd (tel 537-4145, seabreeze@saltspring.com ; $60-80). One of the island's better-known places to eat is The Vesuvius Inn (tel 537-2312) alongside the ferry at Vesuvius Bay, blessed with live music nightly and a great bar deck overlooking the harbour where you can eat seafood and the usual range of pastas, chickens and salads. In Ganges, there are numerous cafes and coffee shops: try the popular Sweet Arts Patisserie Cafe at 112 Lower Ganges Rd (opposite the fire station) for high-quality sandwiches. The island's best hiking and its top campsite are to be found in Ruckle Provincial Park. The campsite ($12 in summer, $8 in winter) is at Beaver Point, and is reached by following Beaver Point Road from the Fulford Harbour ferry terminal (9km). There's further walking and good views on and around Mount Maxwell.
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