For a very long time I had made up my mind that I would fall in love with Tofino when I was finally able to visit. That really isn’t much of a stretch as I have always been partial to west coast locations with their beaches and wonderful sea air. When we planned out our Vancouver Island trip last summer there was no doubt that a significant portion of it would be based out of Tofino. While the warm up acts of a few days in Victoria and spending some time at a cottage on the east coast of the island were splendid, I was giddy when we pointed our car toward the west coast and Tofino.

On our way there we made a few stops to break up the drive. First up was MacMillan Provincial Park and Cathedral Grove. Finding a parking spot in the tight highway lot was a bit of a chore, but after that was sorted out, our hike through the forest was perfectly serene.

Looking up at trees that reach 250 feet in the air that have had their roots firmly planted in the soil here for more than 800 years will give you some perspective on life. It was tranquil on our hike with the sounds of streams and birds muted by the canopy. The air here seemed fresher, the greens seemed greener. We were off to a great start on our way to Tofino.

We planned a break in Port Alberni at a place with a great name – the “Bare Bones Fish House and Smokery” – a 100% gluten free restaurant my wife located. Our lunches were outstanding (lucky for me, their beer selection was not strictly gluten free!). With full bellies, we grabbed a seat on the patio at Twin City Brewing Company where due to a very chilly and damp breeze I motored my way through a tasting flight before getting back in the car and cranking up the heat.

On the highway just outside Tofino we made another craft brewery stop to kill some time before our lodging was ready for us. Thankfully, Tofino Brewing Company’s patio was sheltered making for a more comfortable visit. Their kelp stout was really unusual in a good way. Probably not something I would have selected on my own, but a co-worked strongly encouraged me to order it if I made it here and I’m glad I did.

After a quick stop for some groceries, we arrived at our glamping pod, right on the harbour. This was the view from a small private deck we had. It very quickly became my happy place. Tofino and me were off on the right foot!

To continue on with the love-fest that was now well underway, my wife and I had dinner at Wolf in the Fog. On a trip of wonderful meals, this meal won hands down with the most interesting and delicious food. We ordered a variety of small dishes (many of them sea creatures, satisfying a craving for seafood) and each had a few cocktails and left full and happy.

What’s a trip to Tofino without some whale watching? We got lucky that an ominous forecast didn’t pan out during our tour save for about 2 minutes of showers as we were heading back into harbour. Here we are as we got underway, decked out in our orange safety suits in case we went overboard our zodiac.

We were lucky to almost immediately spot a small family of whales in a shallow area about 15 minutes out of Tofino. As a few other tour boats gathered and waited patiently, every time a whale breached the surface of the water you would see a flurry of arms pointing in that direction and a chorus of “ooohs”.

While the whales were the star attraction, just being out on the open water and seeing the mountains, the sea, the jagged islands and a host of other sea life was an amazing experience.

Once we extracted ourselves from our survival suits, we headed out to the Wickannish Inn and the Pointe Restaurant for a blow-out 9th anniversary dinner. We have continued a tradition of taking a honeymoon every year (the 2020 one was a pandemic-induced road trip to Regina to keep the streak alive) and while this entire trip was the “honeymoon” we marked our actual anniversary with cocktails, wine and a great feast.

Of course, we went with seafood dishes for our main courses – sturgeon and poached halibut, both delicious!

On our last day based out of Tofino, we headed down to Ucluelet to do a hike around the Lighthouse Loop. We had perfect weather luck on this day with dramatic skies of clouds mixed with blue sky patches and warm temperatures.

The views all along the shoreline hike were spectacular. As we would stop along the route at every viewpoint, each scene seemed to get more and more beautiful.

I absolutely loved the rugged landscape, the cliffs, trees and coastline all along here.

While I was disappointed Ucluelet’s craft brewery was closed until much later in the day, that passed when we stopped for lunch at Uke Dogs Taqueria. Shrimp tacos for her, octopus tacos for me (sense a theme of our eating out here?)… 100% delicious sitting outside at a patio table with a cold beer.

Back in Tofino that afternoon, a neighbour mentioned to us that a pod of whales was approaching. As we were looking out to the harbour you could see waves of people making their way down the steep streets of Tofino to get a look as word spread. We had the perfect private vantage point as the pod of 5-6 whales slowly made their way past…. Really, one of the most awe-inspiring moments I’ve had in my travels.

For our last dinner in Tofino, my wife had an amazing find. A small outdoor food court tucked around the corner from where we were staying. While a number of places looked great, we headed to Al’oha Poke & Tostada for their gluten free creations. A last meal, outside, of delicious deep fried seafood was a perfect note on which to end our visit.