Tofino, surf capital of Canada

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 Japan.

But back to surfing, one of the two key reasons people love to come and surf is that, despite having to wear wetsuits and other protection, surfing is easy to learn here. Also uniquely, there’s a surf shop, specifically Surf Sister School, that specializing is teaching women to surf. No where else are half the surfers on the water female.

The other bonus is remoteness. With Tofino being three hours from Nanaimo, it’s not prone to boat traffic; you are isolated and ready to have a new experience.