Tofino - Get away from it all (Tofino)

Member Name: petite_poupette

Product:	Tofino
Date:	26/08/09 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tuff Beans coffee shop

Disadvantages: Isolated

After weeks of glorious sunshine and very hot temperatures in mainland Canada, I arrived on Vancouver Island to be greeted by cloud and grey skies. The further across the island I got to Tofino, the worse the weather got, and this definitely set the tone for my few days in Tofino.

I didn't actually stay in Tofino but at a campsite between Tofino and Ucluelet. Both are located on the western coast of Vancouver Island and are part of the Pacific Rim National Park. The Park is in the tsunami hazard region and there are signs as to where to evacuate should a tsunami hit. Personally, I did think that it was probably a bit late to be trying to evacuate should the tsunami hit as they do say that if you can see a tsunami there's not a lot you can do.

Tofino is located on the main road which connects the eastern side of the island with the west. This road is particularly winding and I felt car sick for a lot of the way, especially once we'd past Port Alberni. As a result, even though the distance isn't long, it does take a good few hours to drive from Nanaimo on the western coast.

**Why go to Tofino?**

Most people go to Tofino because it is meant to be one of the best places to go for whale watching, sea kayaking and surfing. Now, I did none of these so cannot offer my personal view of what I thought of these, but the people I was travelling with did the first two. As a result I ended up with a lot of free time to spend and the thought of that in a place as small as Tofino when the weather was grey and by this point rainy, did little to cheer me up.

~Whale watching
There are several companies within Tofino that offer half day and full day excursions. The cost includes transport and all equipment, which in the case of my friends meant thick red padded overalls complete with hoods and lights and bright yellow rain macs (remember the weather was not good). Once they had all got themselves ready, watching them waddle to the inflatable boat was quite a sight! They went on a full day excursion which lasted some 6 hours and included a stop on an island to hike to the hot springs. As for the whales, they saw two whales. But, when I say saw, I mean they saw two grey humps slightly protruding out of the water - and I'm not exaggerating, I've seen the photos! For many, the best part was the hot springs, and nearly all of them fell asleep on the boat on the way back. So, it appears that whale watching was not quite the trip they had in mind, but they did get to see what they went for.

~Sea kayaking
As with whale watching, I opted out of this (I'm not a boat lover in case you hadn't guessed). This went a lot more successfully than the whale watching. The trip lasted about 4hours during which time they paddled to Meares Island and back, and went for a walk around the island. The kayaks seated two people and everyone was provided with life jackets and given a lesson on basic kayaking technique prior to going. From what I could work out, the back person has to follow the front one and both must paddle in rhythm for the kayak to move well.

~Surfing
No one I knew did this, but I did see companies within Tofino offering surfing lessons including all equipment so there must be some mad people out there who want to surf in the cold.

~Tofino town
Now, as I didn't participate in the whale watching or the sea kayaking, this left me with a lot of time to explore Tofino. Tofino is small. If you're from the UK, think of a typical British high street, and that is probably as long as the main road in Tofino. There are a number of coffee shops, a few clothes stores (mainly outdoor clothing), a few art galleries and the essentials. So not much, but to the surprise of my friends I did manage to wile away the entire day there.

My advice would be to go to a coffee shop and have a good hearty breakfast/brunch which is what I did. I stopped at a place called Tuff Beans which is right next to the laundrette and two doors down from the Visitor Information Centre. I had a full American/Canadian breakfast and a very delicious soy milk hot chocolate. The cafe has a number of tables indoors and outdoors, free wi-fi and a few internet terminals. Note though that the internet is not cheap. The cheapest internet I found was at the library, but this is not open everyday and only generally in the afternoons. Plus there are only a few internet terminals.

I then browsed all the shops, many of which had sales. There are a range of clothes stores - you could buy yourself hiking gear, clothes for a party or night out, and then general everyday wear. There is a pharmacy which seems to also act as a bookshop, a decent sized supermarket and two liquor stores.

My tour of Tofino also took me past the hospital which is very small, and the one restaurant that I found. Tofino seemed to have a lot more cafes than restaurants but then maybe the restaurants were elsewhere. As I already mentioned there is a laundrette for those needing to do their laundry, and a library. About half way up the main road, there is a park with children's play area and public toilets (which were clean).

I also wandered back to the wharf area and watched the heli-planes landing and taking off, and to the docks where the fishing boats were.

~Art galleries
I was surprised by how many small art galleries/exhibitions there were in Tofino. I went to a couple, the best of which was in a wooden effect building with a totem pole outside. Inside the gallery was very dark but this had the effect of making the paintings really stand out. There was also the opportunity to purchase some of the art. Off the top of my head I cannot recall who the artist was but if I do, I will add this into the review. Either way, I really liked the simple nature of the paintings and the black against the brightly coloured sky and water in the paintings.

**Overall

Surprisingly I quite liked Tofino and I definitely feel that I saw the place. One day would probably have been enough here and I'm not sure I'd recommend Tofino if you weren't going to do at least one of the activites that attracts people to it. For such a small place where there's not really much to do, I saw a lot of people in Tofino and the laid back air of the place meant I just went with the flow and relaxed, and from what it seems probably had a better time than my friends!

Summary: Surprisingly ok