Tofino, British Columbia
I love BC. Vancouver is one of my favorite places in the world. I’ve been to Victoria in the southern part of Vancouver Island many times. A few years ago I was flying back from Seattle to LA and started reading in a travel magazine about Tofino. It caught my attention immediately and I made a plan to go as soon as I could.
Tofino is a small district on the western coast of Vancouver Island. Its a hot surfing spot and a great small town with beautiful beaches, cool breweries and lots to see in nature.
Pacific Islands Resort
Our destination was this lovely hotel on the beach, Pacific Sands Resort. Our room was 3 stories up, had a kitchen so we could cook if we wanted to, and a balcony with a jacuzzi….with a window looking onto the beach. It was heaven! One of the most interesting things about Tofino beaches to me is the tides. They drop dramatically for hours during the day leaving the sea life above without water and visible to walk around. I have never seen anything like it. Amazing these sea creatures can survive the 8 hours or so before the water comes back in.
The other stand out quality about the beaches of Tofino are all the logs that wash up ashore.
Tofino Drive
To get to Tofino we flew to Vancouver spent a few days there and ferried to Nanaimo. From there we rented a car and drove the 3.5-4 hours across the middle of Vancouver Island seeing many cool things a long the way.Part way between Tofino and Nanaimo, we found a boutique cool grocery store called “Goats on the Roof”…didn’t understand the name, until coming out, I looked up and saw the goats!
Awesome spot for groceries and quick, hot, fresh food! The falls are called Englishman Falls and you actually walk over and look down on them. So pretty and a very close walk from the car to the falls! I also included a video from the bear watching in case we want to add it to the bear tour section. The van could be a good lead photo for the website for this particular trip. And the giant tree….there is an amazing ravine part way across with a ton of these you can climb around the rocks and the trees. I can try to find more on this if needed. The last shot is from the sea plane we took back from Nanaimo to Vancouver. Very reasonably priced and flying by seaplane into Vancouver is spectacular.
Tofino Bay Excursions
We went on several day excursions from Tofino and we arranged them same day but you can also book ahead of time especially if its prime season. We used a company called Jamie’s Whaling Station.
Hot Springs
This day was a boat ride out to the see the hot spring caves. With a beautiful walk through amazing, complicated giant trees. It was spectacular.
Bear Watching
This was another incredible day and memorable experience. Watching bears in their natural habitat….climbing on the rocks, eating sea life….taking care of their babies….it was so cool! also being on a boat 20 feet off the shore, felt like a close but safe way to see this amazing experience.
