Vancouver

I'm not from Vancouver but for the short time you'll be there I recommend Stanley park and the sea wall. Kitsilano is also a beautiful area which will be close to Grandville Island. Grouse grind is also a great workout with a spectacular view at the top. However at that time of year it's not likely there will be a view because of low cloud layers.
I don't know the transit system well enough to know how accessible everything is though.

If I remember correctly, Tofino is around a 3 hr. drive from Naniamo. Again, I don't know what kind of transit choices you'll have to get there.
Victoria is about 1 1/2 hrs. south of Naniamo so I highly recommend visiting there as well.

Go the the Canucks training facility and melt the ice...  

After that, there are several great places to hike.  If you can make it up to Lake Louise or to Banff, it is beautiful..  We asked the local bartender to suggest hikes.  We were not disappointed.  

Have a great trip!

Great suggestion but L.L. is close to a 13 hr. drive from Vancouver.

Hi.  It doesn't sound like you've got a lot of time for a trip to Tofino but it is quite something to see.

As Peby says I'm not from Vancouver either but I can tell you that the skytrain connects from the airport to Richmond and Vancouver/Burnaby/New Westminster so you can likely get anywhere you want by skytrain (look it up online and you'll get an idea of where it goes).

Leave Tofino for when you can plan to stay longer and have a better look around.  Otherwise you'll just spend all your time travelling there and back.  Just my opinion.

Stanley Park is interesting and so is Grouse Grind.  Granville Island is also worth some time looking around and you may be able to rent kayaks there as well (a search online should tell you all you need to know about renting kayaks in Vancouver).  In the area of the Grouse Grind there is also some hiking trails and a couple suspension bridges - google: Suspension bridge North Vancouver.  Without a car or driver they're harder to get to but by taxi shouldn't be too bad.  From skytrain you should be able to ride a ferry across to Lonsdale Quay in North Van and then get info on how to get where you want to go.

If you take the skytrain into Richmond to the end of the line you could either take a bus or a taxi to Steveston.  It's a popular area on the docks for strolling, seafood, fish and chips etc.  You can also walk around Garry Point for easy hiking, running.  Richmond is very Asian and their restaurants are plentiful and very good.  I particularly enjoyed The Thai House near Lansdowne Mall.

On the docks in Steveston there is a floating take away restaurant Pa Jo's that sells some pretty good salmon or halibut and chips (and many other restaurants in the area).  This area is used in a lot movies and tv shows currently including "Once Upon a Time")

I'll try and think of some more ideas.  Weather wise it is a hard time of year to predict.  You could get warm and sunny or cool and wet.  Plan for 15deg C (69degF) and have a good sweater.  If it is raining you can buy umbrellas pretty much anywhere.

KIMM!!!

I miss you and KL!!!!

Anyway, Matt and I just got back from a wonderful trip to Vancouver Island.  It was so fantastic!!!  You'll love every second you're there.

The absolute highlight of the trip is taking the water taxi from Tofino to Vargas Island, hiking across the island and camping on a completely secluded white sand beach.  The beach is full of tide pools to explore and the sunset is incredible.  There are all kinds of little creatures that live just off the coast.  We had a curious seal and a school (pack, swarm, murder????) of little porpoises come up to check us out.  Very cool.  Whales are common although we didn't see any.

At night, we had some interesting visitors come down out of the forest to see if we had anything good to eat.  A pack of wolves came through our camp and woke us up at 3 am with their wrestling.  They don't want anything to do with humans, so its no big deal, but seeing them was unnerving and pretty cool at the same time.  Check out my FB page for the pictures of our trip including the wolf paw print next to our tent.  The cover on my FB is of the trail to the other side of the island.  It was an awesome hike.

I'm certain you and KL would LOVE it.  The water taxi is $35 and about a 10 minute ride.  Dolphins and porpoises will escort you the entire way.  It was one of the most romantic things I have ever done... you guys would love it.

Hi there.  Lots of good suggestions already.  You will likely run into cool/wet weather at that time of the year, so plan for that.  The Grouse Grind is fun and challenging--as mentioned the view is great, but only if the weather co-operates.  Stanley Park (has an aquarium if that's your thing), Granville Island (artsy type shops, wonderful market) are readily accessible.   You can get transit to the Capilano/Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridges (http://www.translink.ca/).  Tofino you will be hard pressed to do without a car rental (4 hour drive from Nanaimo to Tofino).  Christ Church Cathedral Heritage Site (Burrard at Georgia St).  Robson street has lots of shops to check out--even if you don't like to shop, which I don't, the people watching is great.  The Seabus as mentioned goes over to the North Shore, the Dundarave Pier is cool at night.

Eating: sushi for sure.  For something unique there is the Revolving restaurant (Top of Vancouver)--a bit pricey.  Steamworks brewing in Gastown is good--Gastown is a big tourist draw as well.

ETA: You might also enjoy Commercial Drive for the 'atmosphere'.  Davie Village is downtown as well, but more populated by the brothers.

Hope you enjoy your trip!

Whoa, I thought it was closer.  Save LL for a different trip...  

Like others have said - save Tofino for a trip when you can visit only the Island and spend at least a week there. It will take you the better part of a day to just get to Tofino from the mainland - I know it's misleading looking at the map, but many a traveller have been disappointed as it is a long and slow trip. Beautiful, worth every second, but long.
Also at that time of year, it'll be pretty cold and rainy. Best to visit in the summer months.

I don't know much about the mainland, so I'll leave others to give that advice - but I think you're best to stick to just Vancouver & the Lower Mainland as there's tons to see and do there without spending so much time travelling. Do plan a second trip back though to tour the Island - it's an amazing place.

Thanks for all of the great responses!  We're firming up more plans day by day, but here is how things look so far:

Saturday evening:  arrive

Sunday:  tour Vancouver

Monday, Tuesday, Most of Weds:  tour Vancouver Island

Thurs, Friday:  my solo tour of Vancouver while KL networks at the convention.  Here is where we're staying http://www.panpacificvancouver.com/

Saturday:  fly home, packet pickup, get ready for half marathon the next morning

Any suggestions for places to stay Saturday - Tuesday night would be way welcome.  While in Vancouver, I'd like to stay somewhere cool that isn't downtown, as I'll have plenty of time to explore that area Thursday and Friday. 

ROBYN!!  Thanks for the awesome suggestion...I put it up to KL as a someday trip...it sounds so amazing.  For this trip, tho, I think we just won't be able to do it justice.