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| Side Note: While on the ferry, I found myself in an ad in one of the tourism magazines! I'm famous! |
How to Get There:
We chose to drive. Take the Horseshoe Bay Ferry to Departure Bay. It'll cost you $60 for your car each way plus $13 for each passenger. It's about a 2.5 hour trip once you launch and there isn't a ton to do on the boat so bring your camera and a book. Get out of your car and claim a window seat on the deck as soon as you can. They go fast. It's a beautiful, scenic route - you can watch for whales and wildlife from the deck or through the windows. The food on board is actually not bad. There is a cafeteria run by White Spot/Triple O's and has burgers/fries, salmon, Asian noodle boxes, muffins, desserts, ice cream, drinks. There is a gift shop but most things you could get onshore for cheaper. There's an arcade too, but I've never been in it. Some boats have a buffet on board. This one didn't but it's a little pricey for me anyway.
Where to Stay:
Whalers on the Point Guesthouse is a hostel within a 5 minute walk of the heart of downtown Tofino. Because there were 6 of us planning to go originally, we opted for the Captain's Quarters Condo. The owner of Whalers owns it and charges $1400 for a week. It seems like a lot at first but divided between 6 people that is only $233 a person for a week of accommodation in Tofino. In peak season, the cheapest place I could find to stay was Tofino Trek Inn, which is a hostel and it costs $35 per night per person for a single bed in a shared dorm-style room. 6 people can fit in each room, so this could have been an option for us at $210 each for the week, but then we would have to share common areas and couples would have to sleep separately. So for $20 extra we could cook our own meals, which saved a lot of money
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| Birthday Party Crasher |
What to Do:
1. Go for a walk. Tofino is charming and you are bound to find interesting things.
2. Breakfast by the marina!
This particular morning happened to be my birthday, so my friend Cleo surprised me with breakfast pizza (scrambled eggs and bacon on a pizza!), coffee, and a cinnamon bun from Common Loaf Bakery.  |
| My battle wounds from slipping off the boardwalk |
3. The Rainforest Trail
On the tourism websites I look at, it called this a hike. This is not a hike. It's a lovely walk through the forrest on a boardwalk. It's still beautiful though. Be careful if it's rained recently. The boards are slippery.
3. Surfing
We got lessons from Tofino Surf School on the first day. The instructor was great and had us standing on the boards really quickly. We rented suits and boards later in the week from Westside Surf. Surf lessons were $70 I believe. Well worth the investment. Renting boards, suits, and boots for half a day was $35. The lessons took place at Cox Bay. When we went on our own we went to Long Beach.
4. Chesterman Beach
One of the most stunning places I've ever seen.
5. Kayaking
We did the 4 hour trip to Meares Island through Jamie's Whaling Station. Two hours total were spent on the water and the other two were spent suiting up, the introduction, and exploring Meares Island. Meares has a lot of history behind it and the tour guide did an amazing job of telling the story of this sacred place. The air here is unlike anything I will ever breathe again. And the close up view we got to so many different species of wildlife was so cool. While kayaking we could look down into the crystal clear waters to see the starfish and mussels and anenome. While on Meares the guide introduced us to his friend Jay - a bluebird that comes down to visit him every time he leads a tour. So cool.
6. Hot Springs Cove
This is a day trip. It's expensive, but so worth it. For $120 a small boat takes you to Maquinna Provincial Park entrance, accessible only by boat or plane. It would only be about 20 minutes if we went straight there, but they take you whale watching first. We followed a pod of whales for a while, stopped to watch them. Very cool. When the boat docks, there is a km long boardwalk leading to the hot springs. Some of the old boards have been replaced by newer ones that have been bought and custom carved by citizens. A lot were business advertisements but there would be a cute or funny one every so often. The hot springs themselves were very nice. It's very narrow and rocky. Feels almost like a hike in itself. There are a lot of people so it's quite crowded but it's a fun way to meet people. We met a couple guys from Germany, another Vancouver family, people from all over really. The minerals in the water were so nice on the skin. Overall a stunning location.
Have lunch at Darwin's Cafe - everything is vegetarian! The gardens are beautiful. The admission is only $10 and you can go as many times as you want over three days. It takes at least a couple of hours to walk through because there are so many hidden gems. My favorite was the children's playground, but the boat was very cool too. If you get some time alone, it would be the perfect place to find a spot to write in your journal or meditate. It's so serene and easy to lose yourself in the natural beauty of our earth. 
8. Get a copy of the town's local paper. They list the events going on each week. We spent a couple nights listening to live music. Some of the most genuine music I've ever heard. I don't remember what the place was called where we went but it was right above the health food store. The upstairs is basically a common lounge area. They sell a couple cold drinks but it is not a coffee shop. It has communal books to read. It's really just a place to chill. On Sundays they have a Pancake Reggae Dance Party. That's right. For a donation you can eat pancakes and dance to reggae music. Poetry readings. Plays. Movies. It's all in that paper. We participated in a yoga class too.
9. Tofino Public Market on Saturdays. Great way to check out local artisans and food vendors. If you have a vehicle, check out the Ukee Night Market on Friday too.
10. WestCoast Wild Zip
Another splurge. It was way more expensive than anticipated but it turned into my favorite thing of the trip. If I remember correctly, we paid $120 a person. You have to pay by credit card as the actual zipline launching zone is a trailer in the middle of no where. The guides were insane. We showed up and the whole place reeked of weed. Apparently we were the only ones who signed up for that time slot so the guide invited a couple of his own friends to come with us. This sounds sketchy, I know, and it was, but it made it all the more fun. There were 6 ziplines total and the insane guy stopped in between to talk about the different trees in the area and told us about some of the First Nations culture as the park is Native territory. We ziplined over canyons of water. Not only was the ziplining fun, but the scenery was breathtaking. I know I mentioned the landscape being beautiful on every bullet point so far but trust me when I say this was the best. I have never seen anything like it. Unfortunately I didn't take pictures. I was scared to drop my phone while ziplining and don't have a camera to tie around my wrist. The ziplining wasn't as extreme as it could have been. I was hoping it would be fast and adrenaline pumping but I think they take it easy on tourists for liability reasons. In the end, it was all so beautiful that it wasn't so bad to go slow and bask in all the beauty.
Where to Eat:
1. Tacofino - the locals will tell you, it's the best.
2. Brunch at Spotted Bear. Try the benedict. So good.
3. The Shelter - This is where we went for my birthday dinner. Make a reservation as soon as you can. We didn't and had to wait for 20 minutes. Food and service were great, though my vegetarian friend didn't have a ton of options.
4. RedCan Gourmet - Go there in the morning to get lunch to bring with you on the day kayaking or hot springs trips. The salmon chowder is delicious.
5. Chocolate Tofino - particularly for ice cream
6. Jack's Waterfront Pub - Typical pub food, but still classically tasty
We tried to cook our own food most of the time to save money. But those were the places we tried.
And that's it! Next Guide will be for Vancouver I think!
