Vancouver Island is situated just off the coast of Canada
and is part of British Columbia. It’s a popular destination among tourist from
decades. Vancouver Island is further divided into small towns and the most
popular among them are Victoria, Nanaimo and Tofino.
You will need more time if you plan to more towns on the
Island.
Tofino
We decided to maximize our time in Tofino, and so headed
straight to the destination after reaching Nanaimo early morning from Vancouver.
Drive from Nanaimo to Tofino (~170 km or 106 miles) is beautiful criss-crossing
mountains with plenty of hikes, viewpoints, and beaches. You can pull over and
enjoy in a number of spots, and you definitely don’t want to rush through it.
Unfortunately, ferry delays and pre-booking of whale
watching tour didn’t leave us with any option so we had to rush for Tofino
without taking any stops.
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| (Tofino is known for surfing, Dont forget to experience surfing or enjoy watching others doing surfing) |
Why we chose Tofino
over Victoria for whale watching?
While planning our trip I had a long debate with my husband
as I wanted to head to Victoria and he wanted to explore Tofino. Truly speaking
both of these towns are amazing but with a different vibe. Victoria is known
for Orcas and beautiful gardens and I was over excited to see some dolphins. My
husband somehow convinced me to go ahead and see grey whales (that you can only
see from Tofino) and get a small town feel with open Pacific Ocean. Please note
from Victoria you would be exploring the channel (Haro Strait). The open ocean
also brings surfers from around the world to Tofino, and watching them perform
incredible stunts is a great way to spend some time.
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| (Picture Credit: Google Images, Right Side- Orcas Left Side - Gray Whales) |
Honorary mention: If you are whale watching junkie and don’t
care about anything else, forget about Tofino and Victoria and head to
Telegraph Cove, 5-hour drive north of Nanaimo, and known as one of the top
whale-watching spots in the world.
Whale Watching in
Tofino
There are many companies that offer whale watching tours. I
would recommend booking tour in advance to avoid disappointment as they have
limited seats and can get full during peak season. There are two kinds of boat
tours available one is a small boat which has 10 seats and other is a small
house boat which (recommended when you are with kids).
We had already booked grey whale watching tour for 3pm by
Ocean Outfitters in Tofino. I would say all the companies give their best
effort to spot whales, and make the tour exciting and informative. So, I don’t
think choosing a particular company over the other would make much of a
difference, though, you can definitely reviews over TripAdvisor.
After reaching Tofino we headed straight for whale watching.
We choose the smaller boat as it gives much closer look and is completely open.
The boat was more like a speed boat. I do suffer some sea sickness so was bit
afraid initially but the boat was way more stable than my expectations.
After reaching we were given our suits to put on before we
head towards finding whales. After wearing our suits, I felt like I was going
on some adventure trip instead of whale watching. It was my first time wearing
and getting inside anything like this suit so it started as fun but became an
irritation as putting on this huge suit was definitely a hassle.
The guide provided us with loads of information about the
habitat, whales and the region keeping us engaged. As we went deeper in the
ocean the waves made the ride a bit bumpy though manageable. It was almost
30-mins from the time we started our tour, I noticed that the captain slowed
the speed and soon came to a completely stop, and I was not sure what is
happening. I could at least see nothing apart from vast ocean around me.
Suddenly I noticed someone screaming whale-whale and
pointing in a certain direction. Before I could align my eye to that direction,
people in my boat became mad and everyone was pointing a different direction
and screaming whales. For a moment I was so confused that I was not able to figure
out which area I should see, as we were surrounded by five huge gray whales
approaching towards us. I haven’t even imagined anything like this before, and
at the same time I was scared, what if these giant whales attack us or dis-balance
our boat.
The captain soon tried to explain that these are one of the
most human friendly whales on the planet, so it was time to overcome my
thoughts and enjoy this amazing sight. I would say we were extremely lucky to
witness 5 whales at the same time playing in the water. Within fraction of
seconds they dispersed and now you could only enjoy watching these whales from
a distance as they don’t generally cross each others way. The captain also
mentioned that it was his first such experience in years and thousands of such
tours he has done.
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| (So happy to capture a perfect shot of Gray Whales. One of the beautiful memory for lifetime) |
After almost another 45-mins in the ocean and enjoying the
beautiful evening, it was time to head back to the port. There was a silence on
the boat as everyone was just trying to think back and relish everything that
happened in the last one hour. The entire tour generally takes about 2-3 hours
depending on how much time you will spend in the ocean spotting whales.
Unfortunately, my husband was scared of taking his camera
and phone on the tour so he decided to leave it in the car. I still managed to
keep one phone in my pocket without letting him know that acted as a savior. I
was able to capture some pictures of the whales. I wish I would have carried my
camera and captured some more shots for the memory of a lifetime. I would recommend
you to take your camera along with you as the boats are very stable and your
belongings will be safe and secure.
After returning from the tour it was time to relax for the rest
of the evening.
Tofino Town
Tofino is a small town with a number of boutique restaurants
and beaches that are known for surfing. Apart from this, you can enjoy wildlife
watching tours (bear, whale) and hot spring tours. These tours typically cost
approximately 100$ per person.
The climate change with rising temperatures and water levels
can have a significant impact on these small communities, and you will notice
how environment conscious residents of these small town are. In evening when we
headed out for the walk, we noticed that there were no plastic bags in the
stores. You will also notice environment friendly products stocked everywhere. It
made me realise the role we all can play towards protecting the environment. We
all talk about it, but do we actually take steps for the same? I think we all
know the answers deep down in our hearts. This town did motivate me to reduce
the use of plastic and help the environment.
On the other note, being a vegetarian its always a bit challenging
for us to find food especially in small towns. But in Tofino, we were
definitely able to find some good options. In fact, we found a great vegan
restaurant known as Bravocados that was super close to where we stayed. We also
went inside the Co-op, where we were able to grab some bread, salad and spreads
for our road trip next day.
Strolling around the streets in the evening was fun as the
town goes lively. It was fun strolling and exploring the streets.
Pacific Rim National
Park
It’s one of the highlights of Vancouver Island along with whale
watching and surfing. The park extends from Tofino to Ucluelet. The park is
known for rugged coast and temperature rainforest. You need to have discovery
pass or a day pass to park your car in the area, else you might have to pay a
hefty fine. Visitor Center is located on the way to Tofino or Ucluelet. So, I
would recommend you to make a quick stop at the visitor center where you can
buy your day pass, collect map of the area and gather information about hiking
trails while you are on your way to Tofino.
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| (View while driving in Pacific Rim National Park) |
There are plenty of hikes in the national park, and most of
them will take you to the ocean. Schooner cove and Wild Pacific Trail is one of
the most recommended trails in the area. Since we had just explored Canadian
Rockies and other Provincial Parks of British Columbia, we wanted to limit the
number of hikes here.
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| (While on the trail) |
As we stepped out in the morning to explore the park it was
foggy and rainy. It disappointed us and we decided to first drive till
Ucluelet. As we were driving still debating how to explore, we reached Wild
Pacific Trail. Inspite we did not want to go for long hikes, we decided to explore
this short trail. It started to drizzle again as soon as we headed towards the
forest.
We took our Ponchos and headed in the rainforest trees which
opens up with a view of the Pacific Ocean.
We enjoyed walking through the forest despite cloudy and rainy weather. Towards
the end of the trail we saw a red and white lighthouse that made the day of my husband
as he is crazy about these age-old structures.
After the trail, we headed back towards Tofino and continued
exploring the Pacific Rim National Park. We first decided to spend some time on
the Long Beach, the longest beach in the area and one of the most popular one
among the Surfers. The parking lot was almost full despite rainy weather. Truly
speaking as I headed towards the beach, I did not know what to expect. The
rainy weather and cold water prevented swimmers but not adventurous surfers to
experience the tides. I enjoyed watching people surfing on the waves and
definitely I had little courage to take a dip in the water.
Nanaimo is a small
town, with not many places to explore. We spent a couple of hours in the town before
catching our ferry to Vancouver. We strolled around downtown and Corniche. It
had some local artisan shops and cafeterias to enjoy.
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| (view of the town) |
If you have time, I
would recommend heading towards Victoria instead of Nanaimo, as you will
definitely have more things to do. We did contemplate of heading to Victoria,
but due to time constraint, we decided to just relax by the side of Corniche.
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