When most people get to the junction of the Pacific Rim and Tofino-Ucluelet highways, they turn right to Tofino, one of the best known tourist destinations in British Columbia, famous for its white sandy beaches, glitzy resorts and beautiful rainforests. My girlfriend and I instead turned left to Ucluelet, a fishing village often thought of Tofino’s poor cousin. After spending a long weekend exploring this beautiful part of the west coast of Vancouver Island, I would suggest going left and right, and stopping at a few places in between.

Listed below, in no particular order, are some highlights, framed as recommendations, from our trip.

Do as the locals do, and bring your mug for a coffee at Big Wave Coffee. If you really want to fit in, leave your shoes at home.

For the very best coffee in town, along delicious pastries and sandwiches, head to the Break Cafe and Bistro. Have the bread pudding if there is any left.

Take a slow stroll amongst the centuries old cedars on the Wild Pacific Trail. When you do, be sure to visit the interpretative centre at the Amphitrite Point Lighthouse

Have breakfast at Hartwood Kitchen. While the acoustics can make conversation at times a little challenging, the quality of the food, the setting and service more than make up for it.

Grab some hearty and delicious vegetarian fair from Yayu Cafe for a picnic lunch at the relatively secluded Halfmoon Bay Beach. If you are feeling as energised as I was by the Yayu Phad Thai, take a dip in refreshingly freezing ocean water, before doing your best Guy Leech Collongatta gold impression to get some circulation back to your extremities.

Eat at Ombre. in Tofino. We only ate there because we couldn’t get in at Pluvio, but we were all really glad that we did. Absolutely stunning food and drinks in a very chic, cool setting.

Watch the sunset at Wickaninnish Beach. Here’s a few reasons why…

Grab a (really thick) wetsuit and surfboard and head to Long Beach for a truly Vancouver Island west coast experience. While I got nowhere near to standing up, I had absolute ball catching waves in the wild and choppy surf. If you need to hire your gear, buy some hipster skater/surf apparel or engage in some fun banter with locals, head to Relic Surf Shop.

Head to Roy Henry Vickers gallery in downtown Tofino. Be sure to take the time to read the descriptions of the many stunning works on display.

Please, please, please head to Mears Island and do the very aptly named Big Tree Trail . Some of the trees you will encounter are thought to be over 2000-years old. To fuel up for the ~ 2 and half hour hike, grab a gourmet sandwich or pizza from Adriana’s.

And finally, if you need one more beautiful BC sunset before heading home, stop at the far end of Cameron Lake.