Tofino

Tofino is a town on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Tofino is a small town on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It is famous for its great storms. Because of that there is a lot of tourism going on. In the summer months the population can grow up to 25.000 people a guy told me. Tofino is great for surfing but there are also quite a few trails. You should prepare yourself always for rain. Sometimes you see no sun for a week there.

Hitchhiking out

South towards Ucluelet/ Port Alberni

There is just one "big" street in Tofino (Pacific Rim Highway). Because there are no traffic lights or crossings with stop signs you have to find yourself a nice spot on the side of the road. You could try it just outside of "downtown" if you only want to go to one of the beaches or Ucluelet. But if you want to get to Nanaimo or Port Alberni you should use a spot away from the "city traffic". A good place would be the parking of the entrance of Long Beach. There is no public transport, because of that you would have to walk (7km) or hitchhike to this spot. If you want to make it to Port Alberni or the east coast you can easily accept rides to Ucluelet. But you have to get off where the Pacific Rim Highway makes a 90 degrees turn to the left. The street that extends the PRH in straight direction is called Peninsula Road. From this spot it should not be to hard to get a ride.

Accommodation and Sleep

Unfortunately I do not know about wild camping spots. But be aware of the rain. Tofino is in the Canadian Rainforest. Other than that be aware that there will be a huge tourism going on in the summer time. If you should come here in the off season you maybe should check out the trekinn guesthouse. You can talk the price per night down. I just asked him, if he could make us a better deal and we ended up paying 30$ a night. Probably as cheap as it can get in Tofino.

Wild camping laws are strictly enforced in Tofino and could end up in a $5000 fine if you get the wrong officer... I'd recommend the hostels there or just stay in Ucluelet and make a day trip for Tofino.

Other useful info

The area around Tofino is fu*king beautiful!

Prices for food and services are based on tourism so expect to pay a couple bucks more for whatever you may desire