Planning a Trip

Getting There

By Plane -- Orca Airways (tel. 888/359-6722 or 604/270-6722; www.flyorcaair.com) offers year-round flights between Vancouver International Airport and Tofino.

By Car -- Tofino, Ucluelet, and Long Beach all lie near the end of Hwy. 4 on the west coast of Vancouver Island. From Nanaimo, take the Island Highway (Hwy. 19) north for 52km (32 miles). Just before the town of Parksville is a turnoff for Hwy. 4, which leads to the mid-island town of Port Alberni (38km/24 miles) and then to the coastal towns of Tofino (135km/84 miles west of Port Alberni) and Ucluelet (103km/64 miles west). The road is paved but very winding after Port Alberni.

By Ferry -- A 4 1/2-hour ride aboard the Lady Rose Marine Services (tel. 800/663-7192 Apr-Sept, or 250/723-8313; www.ladyrosemarine.com) MV Lady Rose takes you from Port Alberni to Ucluelet.

By Bus -- Greyhound Vancouver Island Coach (tel. 250/388-5248) operates regular daily service between Victoria and Tofino. The 6-hour trip, departing Victoria at 7:30am and arriving in Tofino at 2:35pm, costs C$65. The bus also stops in Nanaimo and can pick up passengers arriving from Vancouver on the ferry. The Tofino Bus (tel. 866/986-3466; www.tofinobus.com) also offers daily bus service from Victoria and Vancouver to Tofino. A one-way ticket from Victoria to Tofino is C$64.

Visitor Information

The Pacific Rim Visitor Centre, located just north of the Ucluelet junction with Hwy. 4 (tel. 250/726-4600; www.pacificrimvisitor.ca), is a clearinghouse of information on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It's open all year. From October through March, it's open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4pm; through mid-June, it's open the same days but till 5pm. From mid-June through September, it's open daily 9am to 7pm.