Category: Tofino

When you think “surfing” you rarely think “Canada”. However, anyone who knows anything about Tofino knows about surfing. But it’s not the California or Hawaii surfing. Think 10 degrees Celsius water temperature and lots of rain. Tofino is at the edge of the Clayquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and in the middle of the Pacific Rim National Park. One of my favourite things to do is to head down to the dock where you can find the official sign indicating the end of Highway 1 at the bottom of First Street. Imagine that only Pacific Ocean is between you and […]

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A fluke of timing (yes, I intended the fluke pun) allowed my family to partake in the Pacific Rim Whale Festival, an annual event that March 19-27, 2011 was the 25th anniversary. Significant restructuring of all the closets in our home led us to flee and we chose Tofino as our destination. As we reached the crossroads between Tofino and Ucluelet we say the big banner for the Whale Festival and we said to ourselves, “What whale festival?  Annual?  We live in Vancouver, not Bolton Ontario or some place … How clueless are we?”  Into the tourist office we went […]

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Jamie Bray started out his whale watching trips out of Tofino in 1982, but on the day in March 2011 we wanted to go, we found out that the second office in Ucluelet had a family deal, which meant that the kids were free if there were enough adults.  It’s $99 per person for the whale watching tour.  If you have a child under 5 or a certain height, you are required to do the tour in a covered boat (not a Zodiac).  In this case, our vessel was the Lady Selkirk.  We were early in the season (the Ucluelet […]

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March Break 2011:  When restaurant hunting there’s an issue of finding boring enough fare for children that has something the big people will want.  Also it’s tougher when you have no idea what any restaurant in a town is like. Upon entering Shelter Restaurant in Tofino, we were greeted by good looking people who were the 20-somethings that you expect in a downtown Vancouver restaurant (think Earl’s or Cactus Club).  So, I was forced to ask if the place was kid-friendly.  “We love kids,” said the hostess and she produced a kids menu and crayons.  All the staff were great […]

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The trip from Vancouver to Pacific Rim National Park, Tofino and Ucluelet is a significant drive but has benefits, most of them visual. When you think about traveling around an island, you don’t often think of mountains.  On Vancouver Island, mountains are very real and have an impact on your driving plans, unless you’re a nitwit like me and forget about the mountains. As you take Highway 19 from Nanaimo (follow the signs to Parksville as you leave the Departure Bay Ferry Terminal) it all seems fairly normal coastal Vancouver Island terrain.  To get to the Pacific Rim, watch for […]

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Around the world you will find many sacred sites. Ancient rock and mystical tales abound in places like Scotland, England and Ireland. Canada I have been told is a young country. Well the land we walk on is ancient, full of mystery and natural beauty. Tofino is a fishing and tourist town filled with First Nations culture, art and people, hippies living their dream and people who just love the rain forest way of life. For 13 years we travelled to Tofino each winter and for us it became a sacred place. A place to watch the ever changing cycles […]

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I have had the opportunity to travel back and forth from Vancouver Island many times, but I mostly found myself in the heart of Victoria. There are many smaller towns which have absolutely charming attributes, and nooks and crannies waiting to be discovered. My parents took me to Tofino many times as a child, and as I venture back there as an adult, the outward appearance may have changed a little, but the spiritual heart of the town never escaped me. Tofino is an absolutely picturesque, healing and calming place. It is located on the tip of Vancouver Island, and […]

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Pacific Rim National Park is considered a “nature reserve”, having never actually been granted park status by the Federal Government, but that aside, it is a very unique and special place.   No, it doesn’t have any ski hills or major hiking trails, but what it does have is real.  What you see is the product of wind, rain and salt spray.   The trees are often twisted and stunted and when you look at them, you can see they are clinging on to the volcanic rock and you wonder how old they really are.  It is a marginal existence, coated with […]

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Tofino is a small village located on the north end of Esowista Peninsula in spectacular Clayoquot (Tla-o-qui-aht by Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations) Sound on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. The area can be reached by car via Highway 4, otherwise known as the Pacific Rim Highway. The journey is scenic and takes you through some wonderful scenery, make sure you have gas in the tank and are aware that you will be out of cell phone range for a good part of your trip out to the west coast. One other important tip, if the sign says SLOW DOWN, do […]

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On the far side of Vancouver Island, looking out onto the Pacific lays Tofino – a true nature lover’s paradise. You can find activities for all ages on in the coastal community ranging from surfing lessons, to whale watching and kayaking to natural hot springs. In my experience, the most striking thing about Tofino was the unrelenting intimacy with the ocean, not matter how good of a swimmer you are. On both my trips to Tofino, I stayed right on the beach and spent most of my time in the ocean being tossed around in the waves. Chesterman Beach and […]

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