WHERE TO STAY: IN TOFINO

For our Tofino food frenzy, we hit the ground running with Kate McCallum, whom I love from the moment she hands me a maple doughnut with bacon on it. This is just scratching the surface I soon discover, as we meander through town learning bits of local lore and present-day news punctuated by stops at Schooner Restaurant for chowder and beer, the Paddler’s Inn waterfront patio for charcuterie and cheese, the Ice House Oyster Bar built into an ice house at the end of a pier, and Dockside Smoked Fish Store, which specializes in my precious cured and smoked and jerked salmon. At last.

I become really chummy with the wild chum salmon jerky and buy a mittful for my suitcase. No one really bats an eye when I begin talking to the food.

THINGS TO DO: VANCOUVER ISLAND

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Vibe: Rustic comfort rules at Tofino Resort + Marina, which opened in July 2017. The five main buildings are simple but slick, lots of white and natural wood, with a pared-down Canadiana vibe. This is a rubber-boots-and-jeans kind of playground for any age and any size of wallet. The typical guest is the adventurer who just wants to spend the entire day on the ocean fishing, sight-seeing or surfing, crash right after dinner, and then do it all over again the next day.

Rooms: Frill-seekers need not apply—the focus here is on essentials only, the idea being if it’s not useful, it’s gone. (Bye-bye throw pillows.) That said, the 63 rooms are comfortable, with simple bathrooms, everything done in black and white and gray. Many of the kitchenettes from a previous incarnation have been turned into a second bedroom. Rooms on the second and third floors sport balconies with plastic Adirondack chairs.

F&B: At the sunny 1909 Kitchen, ingredients are sourced and foraged from Tofino’s oceans, shoreline and forests. Wood-fired pizza and fresh seafood rules, complemented by an assortment of small dishes, including wild mushrooms and wood-roasted vegetables. The kitchen will also happily prepare any fish you catch. Breakfast is hearty and healthy, the menu including a BELTCH—bacon, egg, lettuce, tomato and cheddar on a house bun. The rustic Hatch Waterfront Pub is the only bar in town where the locals actually hang out with the tourists.

TASTE TO TRY: TAKE A FOOD TOUR

Extras: The Adventure Centre is a big draw, setting you up with fishing charters, whale- and bear-watching tours, cultural tours and sight-seeing to all the nearby islands, forests and inlets. Go for surf lessons, crabbing excursions, scenic flights, free diving, sky diving or yoga. A water taxi can take you to hike the hilltops or swim in a secluded cove. The marina is the only full-service dock in town, accommodating boats of up to 130 feet. Harbour Air also docks here, its float planes bringing in guests directly from Vancouver Harbour. As the resort co-owners are NHL hockey players, a big state-of-the-art gym is equipped the best of everything and a hit with the locals, too.

Off-Site: Tofino is just north of a magnificent string of surf-worthy beaches and the rugged wonder of the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, a three-hour drive from Nanaimo, B.C., and a 45-minute flight from Vancouver Harbour. The resort is a five-minute walk to the centre of Tofino, with all its restaurants, surf shops and artisan boutiques. The Tofino-Long Beach Airport is a 20-minute drive south.

Rate: $$

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First stop: Comox. Hop in a car and onto the ferry at Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo, then head north. This thriving region offers nature-lovers plenty of adventure via wildlife viewing tours, mountain biking over 250 trails, year-round golfing—even caving on a rainy day. Add a tasting at 40 Knots Winery to your list of must-dos. You’re staying at Kingfisher Oceanside Resort and Spa for the picture-postcard views of the Strait of Georgia and the unique Pacific Mist Hydropath at the resort spa. We take the waters in an almost Flintstones-like cave, guided through five different sandstone-sculpted alcoves and pools—a shower, a pool, a waterfall, a steam, an ice-cold waterfall, a hot-cold bath, a mineral soak and a scrub.

Second stop: Forest. Before you head down famed Pacific Rim Highway #4 that winds through the mountains to the Island’s west side, stock up on car snacks in Coombs, where the roadside Old Country Market has goats grazing on its rooftop pasture—not kidding. Along your two-hour drive, make time for two short walks: one at Little Qualicum Falls and the other at Cathedral Grove, home to the largest Douglas firs and red cedars in Canada. The island also has some of the oldest fir trees in the world, many commonly living up to 750 years old.

Third stop: Ucluelet. Once you reach the ocean, dip south for a night or two at The Francis, a self-contained, high-style boutique inn. It’s walking distance from the Wild Pacific Trail, a gorgeous eight-kilometre stretch of hiking through old-growth coastal rainforest. The seasonal Ucluelet Aquarium is Canada’s first catch-and-release aquarium, with an annual Release Day in early December.

Fourth stop: Tofino. Carrying on north, a few nights at the hip Tofino Resort + Marina is next on the itinerary. This combo hotel, restaurant, bar, gym, marina and outdoor adventure centre is a hub of activity night and day with both tourists and locals. Dinner at the resort’s 1909 Kitchen is a smorgasbord of taste sensations. Tofino is considered Canada’s surfing capital, with year-round waves enticing surfers to 35 kilometres of sandy coastline. Before you leave town, try to spend an afternoon with Tofino Food Tours to get in on some of the area’s top local culinary specialties. The Island produces some of the best hot-smoked sockeye and chum salmon in the world. Take some home from Dockside Smoked Fish Store in Tofino.

F&B: TOFINO FOOD TOUR

Fifth stop: Parksville. On your way back to Nanaimo or Victoria, book in for a night or two in one of the log cabins at Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort, and make sure to hit the detoxifying mineral pool at its award-winning Grotto Spa. After that, you can start planning your next visit.

VANCOUVERISLAND.TRAVEL

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