SURFING IN TOFINO / BC, CANADA

Oh, does there exists a place like that? I don’t think so.

I discovered Tofino in early March, this year. It is a smaller district, located on the West coast of Vancouver island, with a huge set of lakes, hot springs, rain forests and mile after mile of sandy beaches, with an exceptional surfing. Taking a ferry from Vancouver to Nanaimo and then driving to Port Alberni should be a good option. After that, there’s just one highway that goes in Tofino direction. Some people say it’s one of the sketchiest highways around, but I’ve seen much worse back South, in Argentina. Very relaxed, gypsies town with aging hippie vans, Westfalias and Jeeps with surf boards on top and full of peace and surf bumper stickers. Besides storm watching, paddling or relaxing, many people from all over the world come here for one and mostly one reason. Surfing.

AN ABSOLUTE BREATHTAKING EXPERIENCE IT’S A ONE WAY TICKET FOR FORGETTING MY DAILY PROBLEMS AND OVERTHINKING AND FINALLY JUST RELAX AND ENJOY THE WATER. SALT, WATER AND SUN CREATE A PERFECT MIX THAT COMES IN A FORM OF ADRENALINE INJECTIONS, PUMPING MY HEART AND BLOOD. ALL FOR THE THRILLING FEELS OF EVERY WAVES BEING DIFFERENT AND I NEVER KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT.

I took my very first lesson at the Surf Sister (downtown Tofino). I was surprised by the difficulty of the sport. I said to myself, this is awesome and stuff , but will I ever be good at it? By the end of the lesson I was proudly riding my first waves, totally amused by this magical sport.

There’s so many surfing spots to choose from, like Long Beach, Florencia bay (a bit rocky), Chesterman, Mackenzie and Tonquin beach. One of my favourites it’s Cox Bay. Water it’s pretty cold, average temperature around 10°c, doesn’t change much between the seasons. So, the wetsuit it’s a must! I use the 3mm one in summer and 5.5mm one in the winter. I really recommend taking a lesson, if you’re new to surfing, they’re simple, useful and not super expensive. But anyhow, there’s so many places to rent surf boards or wetsuit, bike or car racks for couple hours or days and the prices really should’t be a problem. Most of the things are open all year-round. For accommodation, there are hotels, hostels, camping spots and many couch surfers or airbnb’s offering their places 🙂

Tofino it’s just on of those dream relaxed places where you could stay there forever. But every thing, as good as it can be, must come to the end. And that’s what makes it so special. Also, check out the video from Tofino.

Island Bond / Tofino, BC