Published May 4, 2026 05:02AM
Fellow nature lover Carley Fortune cemented herself as one of my favorite authors with her knack for transportation. While romance isn’t my go-to genre, Fortune’s heartwrenching and nostalgia-washed story arcs, often featuring rekindled teenage love, have always pulled me in. But what keeps me glued to the page is her ability to whisk me straight into parts of Canada I’ve never experienced, whether that’s the sundrenched shores of Barry’s Bay or the sweeping landscapes of Prince Edward Island. Her sense of place is exquisite. When I read that her fifth and newest book, Our Perfect Storm (Penguin Random House; May 5, 2026), would be set in my favorite British Columbia town, Tofino, I nearly squealed with delight.
Perched on Vancouver Island’s central west coast, the little town of Tofino is sandwiched between old-growth, temperate rainforests and wide, sandy beaches that draw surfers to the mellow shore break. It’s just north of the island’s famous backpacking route, the West Coast Trail. I first experienced the alchemy of this place where forest meets sea in 2017. Most people probably choose somewhere you don’t need a 4mm wetsuit for their first surfing experience, but I rarely follow conventional wisdom. I flew alone to Vancouver International Airport to meet up with a group of strangers off the Internet to learn to surf for a week. What I didn’t realize I’d find was a magical spot I haven’t been able to get off my mind since.
Fortune’s first foray into writing about Canada’s west coast was everything I’d hoped it would be and more. Readers are given the perfect friends-to-lovers beach read set in one of Canada’s most gorgeous outdoor towns, but we’re also given plenty to consider, including how to find joy amidst climate anxiety. Childhood best friends Frankie and George head to the sanctuary of Tofino after Frankie is left by her fiancé the night before her wedding. They’re taking Frankie’s honeymoon, and while that means a stay at a luxury resort, reservations at one of the buzziest restaurants in town, and, predictably, the pair realizing that they’ve always loved each other, much of their stay strays from what you’d expect from a romance novel. It’s the perfect trip for someone like me, who lives and breathes outdoor adventure. Here’s how to recreate Frankie and George’s Tofino trip from Our Perfect Storm.
How to Get to Tofino
Start by flying into Vancouver or Victoria and renting a car. The journey is about the same length from either city, but Vancouver requires a ferry ride. The drive into Tofino winds along the stunning Pacific Rim Highway, filled with views of towering trees, mist-shrouded mountains, and riverbeds, but as both Fortune and I can vouch, it’s brutal if you get carsick. Pack the Dramamine.
Where to Stay
While Frankie and George partake in my dream outdoor Tofino adventure, they’re also on a trip that was originally booked as a honeymoon. It’s decidedly a little more glam than my budget allows, but it’s fun to dream. The Moss & Stone Resort they stay at is fictional, but Long Beach Lodge Resort (from $482) offers similar private rainforest cottages with outdoor hot tubs and fully equipped kitchens culinary-school-trained Frankie would be stoked to cook in.
What to Do in Tofino
Kayak Around a Floating Sauna
Head to the marina (after grabbing coffee at Frankie and George’s favorite, Rhino Coffee House), where you’ll want to have made a reservation in advance for the floating sauna experience. A private shuttle boat will ferry you into the heart of Clayoquot Sound, situated on Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations territory and in the middle of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Fortune notes in her novel. You’ll be dropped on a remote dock with no Wi-Fi or cell service, just a floating sauna, kayaks, and endless blue water and forested island and mainland views. Frankie and George spend their five-hour stay having a heart-to-heart, and the setting is romantic (dream proposal, anyone?), but I suggest you bounce between the sauna and 60-degree ocean, or explore the area by kayak or standup paddleboard. The private experience runs around $900 for four.
Learn to Surf with Surf Sisters
If I had any doubts that Fortune had spent time in Tofino, they were assuaged at the appearance of Surf Sister’s bubblegum pink vans. A women-owned company dedicated to inclusivity, they shepherded me, Frankie, and George into constricting wetsuits, forgotten as soon as we hit the waves. A private, 2.5-hour lesson for two costs approximately $240. If you’re not on your honeymoon, book a group lesson. You’ll feel just as taken care of by the expert instructors, and the cost is $75—all gear included. Like Frankie and George, go ahead and book a second lesson right from the get-go. By the end of day one you’ll be standing up, riding the gentle waves, and the feeling is absolutely addictive.
Hike a Rainforest Trail
A few relaxing days in Tofino swimming, sitting in the sauna, and indulging in local seafood sounds like the perfect end to the 47-mile West Coast Trail thru-hike. But a long backpacking trip isn’t the only way to enjoy the area’s trails. Pacific Rim National Park Preserve offers everything from well-maintained boardwalk trails to boggy backcountry excursions that left me covered head-to-toe in mud. I would not recommend the latter; stick to the maintained trails like Frankie and George, and hike the mile-long Rainforest Trail Loop A or B.
Take a Float Plane to Hot Springs Cove
“I’m going to freak out if they go to the hot springs!” I told my husband eagerly around page 100. And then, I actually squealed with joy 150 pages later when Frankie and George board a Cessna float plane to make their way to remote Hot Springs Cove. Located 30 miles from Tofino, this unplanned adventure was hands-down my favorite Tofino experience. Do you still have the Dramamine from the drive in? Good. You’re going to want to take some. Fly over stunning landscapes, including the home of the wolves from the Netflix documentary, Island of the Sea Wolves, before landing on the water of a remote cove. It’s a little under a mile hike through the rainforest to get to a wild-feeling hot springs on the edge of the peninsula, where the incoming tide cools off the scalding pools and waterfalls gush down the rock faces. While not unknown (you’ll find plenty of other people here), it’s absolutely magical. The journey by float plane is approximately $300 per person through Alteo Air.
Go on a Whale Watching Tour
A major plot point is Frankie’s complicated relationship with her mom, a marine biologist who studied endangered right whales. Frankie’s dislike of whales is well documented throughout the book, but one of the most emotional scenes comes when George convinces her to go on a whale watching cruise. She finds herself crying, watching a family of gray whales breach around their Zodiac tour boat. “It’s the most humbling experience of my life,” she reflects. “What I imagine it would feel like to sit before a god.”
Migrating whales start passing Vancouver Island in February, while in May resident gray whales are a frequent sight. Transient orcas and humpbacks can also be spotted off the coast of Tofino, as well as other sea mammals like sea lions, sea otters, and seals. Jamie’s Whaling Station offers three-hour whale watching tours on 12-seater Zodiacs for $130 per person.
Romance, as a genre, banks on a sense of fantasy and escapism. While readers know the main characters will face obstacles, they’re almost always promised a happily ever after, usually in a made-up setting with charming-yet-unbelievable details. That’s where Our Perfect Storm takes a detour. It’s grounded firmly in reality, not just because Frankie and George take a real-life vacation to Tofino we can recreate.
George is a climate reporter, and the state of our rapidly changing world is an ever-present plot detail in Fortune’s newest novel. There’s a gripping scene of George fleeing the 2023 Yellowknife wildfires on assignment, convinced he’s about to die. We hear frequently about his assignments tracking disaster and conservation efforts across the globe.
Whales are another throughline, though it’s obvious they’re more to Fortune than just a point of contention between Frankie and her mom. Spoiler alert: we get our happily-ever-after epilogue, but immediately after, we’re reminded that while fairytale love stories are possible, our world isn’t all rainbows and butterflies. Fortune includes a two-page endnote about endangered right whales and how to contribute to their research and conservation. In her acknowledgements, she reflects that Tofino is “a place where you cannot escape the wonder and majesty of the natural world–or how urgently we must care for it.”
