WarrenWST

Hi. Hoping you may help us plan a trip from Seattle to the Pacific Rim mid to late September.

There will be 4 of us and a dog. My wife and I will be flying into Seattle and meeting up with one of our children, spouse, and dog. Plan is to drive to the Pacific Rim National Preserve area.

Looking for the best route, suggestions on how many nights and places to stay and visit.

We love to hike (with the dog) and love local restaurants. I want to visit Tofino, Ucelet, and the Pacific Rim National Preserve. Not sure whether or not we could just find one location to stay in and drive to the different locations.

I noticed the Wya Point resort in Ucluelet is pet friendly and looks very nice. . No idea how expensive for the 2 bedroom lodge but I am interested in it based on your feedback.

Any advi

BC_Robyn

Tofino, Ucluelet, and Pacific Rim National Park are all one area. You either stay in Tofino or Ucluelet, not both, and Pacific Rim National Park is situated between the two of them. It only takes 40 minutes to drive from Tofino to Ucluelet so if you stay in one, you'll end up visiting the other town during your stay. No need to pack up and move hotels. Ucluelet's oceanfront accommodation generally has rocky shoreline while the oceanfront accommodations near Tofino have sandy beaches. Generally hotels book up well in advance so simply check out the prices online. If you like the accommodation and it's pet friendly, go for it! Generally they're some of the more priciest accommodations on Vancouver Island because demand is high - it's the most sought-after place on Vancouver Island.

Do note that dogs must be leashed in Pacific Rim National Park at all times: https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/bc/pac...t/chiens-dogs#

For restaurants, they're all local restaurants over there. There are no chains. Pluvio in Uclulet is phenomenal, if you can get a reservation - you need to book months in advance. Tacofino is a must for casual west coast tacos. It's a food truck. Wolf in the Fog is swoon-worthy, too. Check out the cafes there too - Rhino Coffee is great. Tofino Brewing is fun. And just explore - you'll find fun stuff everywhere.

Take a look at the Tourism Tofino and Tourism Ucluelet websites if you haven't already and start making a short list. Again, this is an area without chains so you're not going to find anything that isn't a local restaurant. These are small villages at best. They're tiny towns at the end of the road at the edge of the world:

https://tourismtofino.com/plan-your-...bs-food-to-go/
https://www.discoverucluelet.com/mak...an/food-drink/

Finally, from Seattle, drive 3 hours north to Tsawwassen, BC (a 20 minute drive from the border crossing) and take the ferry over to Nanaimo's Duke Point ferry terminal (a 2 hour crossing) then drive the 3 hours from Nanaimo to Tofino. That's the most direct way to go. If that's too long of a day, spend the night north of Nanaimo in Parksville for the evening and drive from Parksville to Tofino or Ucluelet the next day. Again, it's about a three hour drive but you go up and over a mountain range going from the east coast of the island to the west coast. And local tip is that "going to Tofino" is the catch all phrase for going to Tofino, Ucluelet, and Pacific Rim National Park.

WarrenWST

Thank you so much for that information. This is wonderful.

Glad to hear there are no chains!

Are there any places that you are aware of that the dog may run free? A large dog park? Not a deal breaker but he loves to run and play soccer!

Also, are there any areas you would recommend for a long hike or walk. Prefer easy to medium. Just not strenuous.

Thanks again, Warren.

DaveS

We really liked Pacific Sands resort south of Tofino, right on the beach.. We saw a number of dogs (guessing they must be leashed) there and they have two bedroom units.

WarrenWST

Thank you. We will check it out.