Tiny island town on Canadas Pacific coast is drawing big spenders with luxe lodges and gourmet grub

Do you have Carley Fortune’s new summer romance “Our Perfect Storm” on your summer beach reads list? Then it’s probably time to add its majestic setting, Tofino, to your travel list.The coastal town on Vancouver Island, home to some 2,500 year-round residents, punches far above its weight.It’s a “magical place,” with “a peace you feel just being there,” said David Healey of Victoria, capital of British Columbia, also on Vancouver Island.

He’s the executive chef and partner of Cottage Hospitality Group, which operates Wind Cries Mary, Rudi and Birdman across the island in Victoria.“Even your drive to arrive, weaving through the luscious forest, is as if you’re traveling into a fantasy,” he said.Healey won “Best Tofino Oyster” in 2025 at the Tofino Oyster Fest for his chicken-fried oyster with honey, butter, dill and caviar.So he knows a thing or two about this tiny hamlet’s culinary scene — its next biggest draw after natural beauty — and he recommends booking a table at Wolf in the Fog. “The chef and owner, Nick Nutting, has a passion for the hyper-local products available to him, and I am always in awe of the dishes,” said Healey, who is also a fan of Wolf’s sister restaurant, Ombré. Healey’s other top picks are the Great Room at Long Beach Lodge and the Bear Bierhaus.

This summer, he’s particularly excited for the opening of Saltrose Restaurant at the Pacific Sands Resort, pairing a pit master with an executive chef to churn out wood-fired fare. Dean Seguin, a publisher and travel expert at Travelzoo based in North Vancouver, also sings Tofino’s praises.It feels like “the edge of the world in the best possible way,” he said of its ancient rainforest, wild Pacific coastline and laid-back surf culture. “You can watch storm waves roll in during the morning, hike through old-growth forest in the afternoon and enjoy an exceptional seafood dinner overlooking the ocean at sunset,” he said.His go-t...